The big drive and my GTI

So last weekend I made the drive out to Atlanta from Portland. 2700 miles. It's a helluva adventure, especially since I had a couple copilots...Paisley and Max (the cat and dog). At least I got to drive my car this time...something I actually enjoy driving. Considering that's all I was going to do for multiple days, that's a good thing :) I'd done the reverse drive before, and that took 3.5 days of pretty solid driving. I gave myself 5 days to complete this journey, just in case something might come up. This was going to be a little different though, since I was driving solo I was going to try and cut it down to 3.

Day 1- Portland, OR to Laramie, WY

My original plan was to try and make it to Cheyenne, with a backup of Logan, UT if it was really unbearable. I planned on leaving Friday morning at 6am to beat the rush hour traffic. I had already said my goodbyes to Gayle, since she and Shawn had gone to H20 earlier in the week, so really all I had to do is get up and go. Of course, not being used to Gayle being gone...I was up and gone at 5am.

It's really difficult to write about driving, since the act really doesn't involve much. Most days I only stopped twice for gas and food. I did have an adventure in Utah, where Max got out at a gas station. LOL...he ran around for a little while, and then hid under the car. When I tried to get him out he actually crawled up in the engine bay. This grew a small crowd...which was actually helpful since it took 4 people to eventually get him back in the car.

Only other semi exciting thing to report was somewhere in Wyoming or Utah a semi kicked up a rock and totally cracked my windshield. Ugh...one more thing to fix along the way.

All in all- 1150 miles in 16 hours. A very productive Day 1. I found a Hampton Inn and got a room with a jacuzzi tub. I unloaded the car, took a soak, and passed out.

Day 2- Laramie, WY to Mt. Vernon, IL

The plan was to make it to St. Louis on Day 2 if I could. This would make for an easy day on Day 3- comparitively speaking of course. I got a little later start than I thought, 8:30am. It wasn't very eventful. By this point, I was getting sore and totally tired of road food. I did have lots of time to ponder things though, some very deep and others notsomuch. Examples you ask? OK...deep thought: proposing to Gayle. Notsomuch thought: why do Funyuns only taste good either when you are high or when you are on a roadtrip? I did develop a fun game to occupy my time too. Somewhere in Wyoming I started letting go of the wheel and seeing how many Mississippis I could count before I had to make a correction. I made it up to 43!

The only other thing I had to entertain me was XM Radio. I can't tell you how awesome it is to have satellite radio for a trip like this. Continuous music, and I got to listen to the Ducks, Huskies, and Beavers lose in terrific fashion. Gotta love PNW sports teams!

I made it to St. Louis, but it's such a shithole I couldn't stop there. I wanted to get on the other side of the city to avoid and traffic in the morning. I put in Hampton Inn in the GPS and found one in Mt. Vernon, IL. Exhausted, I rolled in at about midnight.

Just over 1000 miles in Day 2. It was starting to get old.

Day 3- Mt. Vernon, IL to Duluth, GA

I made it today, even though it was another late start. I think this time I started at 10:30am...LOL. And how was this for karma...I was arriving a little early and my temporary apartment is gated, so I wasn't sure how I was going to get in. By chance my rental agent answered her home phone and told me the gate was broken and going to be open all day. Perfect.

Day 3- 550 miles

We rolled in, unloaded, and crashed. It was exhausting to say the least. I'm still trying to get settled, learning the area and trying to get out and meet people. The worst part is being all alone...I miss my friends, family, and Gayle. Hopefully work will fill a little of the void and drive me freakin insane before Gayle can come out and join me.

And I really don't want to have to make this drive again :)