3-2-1 ignition, we have lift off

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After more than a year of talking , an entire winter of planning, a shake down cruise and many sleepless nights, my next adventure has begun!

Usually when I was leaving on a big trip I would be up bright and early to get going. In fact my kids will tell you our road trips usually started about 1a.m., with them climbing sleepily into their seat belts and being asleep again before we pulled out of the driveway. This time was different however, as I rolled over several times denying the sunshine coming past the slats of the bedroom shades. I did get up, ate, finished packing the last couple items, took out the trash, turned off computers and TVs, water pumps and HVAC systems. I strapped everything down tight and "lifted off" at 9:53 a.m., with 11,934 miles on the odometer marking my starting point.

A couple quick errands on my way out of town and I was gone. I had remembered to turn on my navigation system and she wasn't happy. I am staying off of Interstates and she wanted so badly to put me on I84 west bound. Every time I took a turn it was in the opposite direction from the route to which she was trying to get me. (Is that right Lisa? Tom?) when I had cleared the western suburbs I intended to take 55 to 95 to Nyssa, then turn west toward Vale, Oregon. Somewhere along the line she caught on to my idea and began instructing me to take shortcuts to Vale. I thought I detected a bit of attitude in her voice as she told me to take the next left, then "stay on this road for 22 miles". I was expecting herr to come back with "I've got you now. You're in the middle of God only knows where and have no idea where your precious route is now do you? Well, DO YOU???"

A quick stop at the state line for an obligatory pic of the "Welcome to" sign, the first of 30 plus such pictures I hope to collect, and that's not counting a couple of Canadian Provinces!

I had been watching the weather forecast in both Boise and Sisters since last Friday. Nothing about Monday had looked good - cold, rainy and high winds, but as Monday came and went there appeared to be a small window of opportunity for Tuesday. It ended up being the right decision. It was a little chilly, a little windy, but no rain! The precip (do I sound like your local weather man?) should roll through this evening and by mid-morning clear out again for my dash to the coast.

So, 348 miles in the books, over budget the first day (I was already cold and not looking forward to camping in the rain so I got a motel room). To get my cost per day back down I may need to spend a couple more nights visiting with relatives (it's like diluting hazardous waste to get the parts per million below acceptable levels, even though the EPA says "the solution to pollution is not dilution". Hey, if it works for them...