Steve and Bon and Sarah's Most Excellent Adventure

OUR VACATION TO OREGON

PART I

Saturday, 8/21/10

7:38 am: Steve sets the GPS, so for the next two days, we'll be accompanied by Jill, the voice on the GPS... don't ask me how I know her name... that's what Steve calls her: Jill, she sounds more like a Melinda to me but I digress... Jill's estimated arrival time to Grant's Pass, OR is 1:51 pm... we'll see... our rental car is cool, a 2010 Nissan Murano which is a small SUV which is good as I've brought 25% of our wardrobes (mine, Steve and Sarah's), enough food to survive till spring, our own 12 cup coffee maker, a beach blanket, and a very large paperback book I'm sure I'll never read...

7:40 am: 'forgot the FASTRACK for the Benicia Bridge, went back home to get it... yup, 2 minutes into our trip and we've already blown the ETA...

7:43 am: OK, now we're REALLY on our way...

7:49 am: forgot California and Oregon State maps in our cars... opted to stop at a gas station instead of suffering the embarrassment of returning home yet again... gas station had California map only... well, they actually had Nevada, too but since our ultimate destination is Oregon, just bought the CA one... will pick up an Oregon and Washington map closer to the border... Mama loves her maps!

9:00 am: We're on I5! 302 more miles to Grants Pass, I'm really excited now!

(I guess it's around here I stopped marking actual times...)

Snow on Mt. Shasta! Freakin' snow... in August!!!!!!!!! Oh! I named our rental car "Magda" after a Grayson Hall character on Dark Shadows as she is silver (the car, not Ms. Hall) and silver is kind of like gray and she was so over the top on that show (Ms. Hall, not the car).

Lunch at Taco Bell in some town just north of Redding... this family of about 16 (okay there was only 6) walked in like one second ahead of us and apparently had never been to a Taco Bell before as it took them forever to read the menu, discuss lunch options and finally frickin order. LONG wait for lunch... but then we were entertained by a small child throwing a fit and grandma angrily marching her back to the car. No taco for YOU!

Stopped for gas in Montague, CA... forgot to purchase Oregon map... 87 miles to go! So excited, so excited!

2:07 pm: WELCOME TO OREGON

3:07 pm: arrived at Riverside Inn... looks nice... is nice... balcony overlooks the river, hence the name, I guess... that's the Rogue River to you rubes... took a walk. Lots and lots of Emo/skater kids... two hit me up for smokes... 'seems Oregon takes the whole "Must be 18 to purchase tobacco" thing pretty seriously... Black Forest Family Resturant for dinner... veggie sandwich and black forest cake (what else would one order at a dining establishment with the name Black Forest Family Resturant?) for dessert... the absolute yummiest cake ever! Had the sweetest waitress named Megs... she was quite touched by Steve's generous tip as she told us she is new to waitressing... I commented I never would have known, being a former food server myself, we can spot these things... back to the hotel to rest up for PART II of our trip tomorrow... hope the Emo kids are all home in bed...