Day 1.1.0: To Crater Lake
Getting out of the house at 5pm on Friday was a pipe dream. In our perfect world, I was to get off work in the early afternoon, help pack up the car, and make our way South. Seems like a weird way to start a trip East, but I (embarrassingly) have not ever made it to Crater Lake, so we decided the detour was worth it if we could get a head start.
But, our performance out of the starting blocks was, well, more like a stumble. The movers picked up the POD early, leaving last minute small belongings in the middle of the living room. Solution? Shop for a car coffin to fit the rest of ALLLL the things. Pretty sweet alternative.
Then, the husband decided to repaint the kitchen, stain the last bit of the deck, sell our lawnmower, and rewire an old outlet. Amidst my grumblings and complaints, we got it all done somewhere around…..12:30am on Saturday. (p.s. Anyone need a wheelbarrow? Sigh.) However, it made it a whole lot better that the husband showed me a good juju sign about our trip. Five years earlier, he had picked a beautiful green to paint his bedroom. As he touched up some old spots tonight, he brought me the can. The color? Whispering Pine! (The town of our new address in North Carolina). I’ll take whatever we can get.
Bright and early Saturday morning, we tried again. This time, after hugs for the neighbors and Cory’s sister, we were off. I couldn’t shake my usual road trip questions: “What did I forget?”, “Where’s my coffee?”, and “Are the puppies doing ok?”. But, each time I asked myself these questions, it dawned on me. ALL of my belongings are with me. NOTHING was left behind. But, there is still the sense of forgetting something, which I now realize is…the wonderful framily and tribe I was so lucky to be a part of in Portland (Basaltians, Dinner Club Peeps, Second Ball Sensitivity Trivia Team, Kickballers, Crossfitters, Happy Hourers, and Coffeers). If any of you are reading this, I love you all and miss you already.
Back to the trip itself: mile over mile, we approached Crater Lake (with a small pit stop to dip our feet in the Willamette just once more). Needless to say, it did not disappoint. Henry and Sadie loved the snow and the cool air. Cory and I basked in the sunshine and in the profound vastness of this wonder.
Have you ever felt your heart get physically fuller? Or maybe it’s my soul breathing? Sounds like woo woo, but I still feel it tonight, as I settle into a tiny A-frame room of the Aspen Inn. The puppies and the husband are zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, but I wanted to stay up and write to you.
When I wrote this blog last time, people loved to hear what we were listening to, so I’ll do it again. Maybe just to look back and laugh, but I think music, podcasts, and audiobooks say a lot about where we are as individual people and society. Today looked like this:
- OPB (while we can, right?)
- This American Life: Gary Gulman (More good juju. He’s my favorite comedian.)
- Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! (Personal Fave)
- The rest are oldies, but goodies that happened to be the least static-y in the middle of nowhere: “What it Takes” by Aerosmith, “Start Me Up” by The Stones, “Austin” by Blake Shelton, “Crash My Party” by Luke Bryan, “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac, “I Want a New Drug” by Huey Lewis & the News, and “Beds are Burning” by Midnight Oil……to name a few.
Alright. Until tomorrow, friends. Tomorrow will be an early one, but we’re heading out to eastern Oregon to the Alvord Hot Springs! Getting as much Oregon in as we can.
