Jul 30, 2009

Running on Empty

This past week we've been on a road trip up north to Portland for a long awaited visit with family. The itinerary called for a vehicle that would fit 2 dog crates with 2 dogs, a guitar, an amp, luggage, a cooler and 2 adults. Comfortably. So we rented an SUV, it was supposed to be a RAV-4 but we ended up with a Saturn Vue which is actually larger so that worked out in our favor:


A couple days before, we used our Best Buy Reward points from purchasing the fridge and microwave, towards the purchase of a GPS. Yes folks, we have finally hopped on this technology bandwagon:


After eating dinner and a quick nap on Wednesday, we left at 7.45 pm for our 15 hour drive. 20 minutes into it, we were dying for caffeine so that was our first pit stop. The long trip was not looking so good already.

Once it got dark I did most of the driving. 2 things got me through: cold air and good music. Even if that meant the music was the same stuff on repeat which was unfortunately our case (I mistakenly assumed that satellite radio in the car meant the rental company subscribed to it! Boooo for them!).




The nighttime driving went well due to zero traffic. I listened and sang to Jackson Browne and pretended I was a trucker along with the rest of them on the road. When it comes to driving, truckers are really courteous and get out of your way (most of the interstate is only 2 lanes), and they actually use their blinkers! And I saw a bobcat, that was pretty cool!

We made good time and arrived at 9:30 am, that's including several pit stops for gas, food, and potty breaks. The last hour of driving was eventful, Rylie peed her crate. She just absolutely refuses to potty away from home. In fact, I've only seen her go 1 other time, in a park back in January at a flyball tournament. The entire weekend. This time, she only lasted 13 hours.

And because we were cranky and starving, we went to a drive through for breakfast. I accidentally spilled the entire cup of coffee and Jesse nearly cried (I'm not exaggerating). I couldn't stop laughing and giggling as I was so sleep deprived and couldn't believe how the last hour of the trip was playing out. The server clearly thought I was on something but gave us a coffee refill anyway.


The downside to night driving was not being able to see how beautiful it was outside. Luckily we caught it on our drive back during the day, where Jesse did 99% of the driving.

What truly helped on the trip home, was a small coffee chain called Dutch Brothers. I miss them already! We also stopped at a Java Detour where I got a latte but the server forgot the espresso so I basically had warm milk, the opposite effect desired. Boo for them.

Any other suggestions for a long road trip? What do you make sure to do or pack?

1 comment:

  1. Update: Rylie has pottied away from home this past weekend at flyball. And #2! I'm so proud :)

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