On the road- again.

….Ladies and gentlemen! Start Your Engines!!

And so we did start our engine today and (finally) hit the highway, eyes wide with excitement and atlas at the ready. Fittingly, I remember driving into Portland for the first time almost thirteen years ago on route 84, cursing at all the wind, driving rain, and tractor trailers.

Today? Same thing, only different direction. I wanted to post the photo below (taken last summer on a day-trip to Lyle) as my departure scenario; a warm and fuzzy image of the highway heading east through the Gorge, gently waving good bye to all our friends in Portland.

But that’s actually a mirage. The real image you need to see is one of tidal wave splashes from a semi-truck’s tires, wind gusts coming from every direction, and me with a death grip on the steering wheel. Shanna, on the other hand, is happy as a clam in the passenger seat, rocking out to the road trip tunes, and celebrating the start of our journey. I can’t help but think how much it would really suck if we got into an accident on the first day of our trip, within the first hour. Let me rewind for a second…

A couple of nights ago, mi amigo y yo celebrated with a fine cigar and a single malt Scotch on our deck. The whisky, a 12 year Glen Garioch,was a fitting drink for our departure, as we’ll be in Scotland soon. I appreciated this moment of relaxation, good conversation, and mutual appreciation of the good things in life– lord knows the past few weeks have been anything but relaxing. Whoever told me quitting your job, selling off your possessions, saying goodbye to all your friends, and leaving the country is easy was LYING. But I’ve got my start and I have a feeling I shouldn’t be complaining about this.

In any case, we spoke about many things including the drive back East, and the joy of some sun and warmth on our trip. Today was far, far from that. At one point past Pendleton, we drove through driving snow and crawled into La Grande about 4 hours ago. I wish I had some great reviews on a local wine or our dinner, but I’m afraid Quiznos and bottled water just aren’t that exciting.

One of my goals on this trip is to taste a local wine from every state (and country) I pass through. Tomorrow, the great potato state of Idaho will be on the menu. Riesling anybody?

With drier, warmer roads in mind,

Jared

~ by Jared on April 2, 2009.