Friday, August 24, 2012

Road Trip: CA/OR/WA

On the spur of the moment (or about a week ahead of time which really is spur of the moment when trying to make hotel reservations during summer tourist season), I decided it was time to visit my dad in Washington.

There had been random talk in our house about taking a road trip some day, and Frank volunteered his car for this one. Handy could not leave work, as a co-worker was gone at the same time. So it was just me and the boys.  The cats were quite pleased that Handy stayed home to feed and pet them.

Ernest was struck by the different roadside businesses as we traveled. In the State of Jefferson area, hydroponics were big. Well, we did pass through Weed.  Just kidding, Weedians.  Weed was named for sawmill founder and pioneer, Abner Weed.  I'm sure he didn't inhale.


On the California side, giant liquor warehouses were widely advertised. Only 80 miles away! Just in case you need to stock up! Oregon is rather controlling of its alcoholic beverages.


On the Oregon side, boldly announced in yellow and black, were numerous Adult Store and Arcade signs at truck stops. No picture of those.

Some great roadside art, though.  "Mom, did you get a picture of the dragon?"  Yes, I got rather good at shooting out of the car window at 80 mph.  Ahem.


Although I sat in the backseat, I was not your stereotypical backseat driver.  I mostly minded my own business, only letting the Mom-Thing rear her naggy head once a day.
Day One:  Please get gas before we get into the middle of nowhere.
Day Two:  You should have done your summer homework before we left. *
Day Three:  Don't take off your EMP stickers in case you want to go back after lunch.
Days Four and Onward:  The Mom-Thing was tamed and didn't have much to say.
We split the drive into 2 parts, spending the night in Ashland, Oregon.  Add the Oregon Shakespeare Festival to my bucket list!


*This in response to how long we should take on the return trip.  The quicker return was requested, using homework as the excuse.  But I noticed that no homework was actually done on the first day home. Or the second.  Today's the third...

5 comments:

Janet said...

That dragon is sooooo cool!!!

Cassi said...

It is strange to me, to even contemplate a road trip where Emma does any of the driving :-) We have so long to go, still.

Cool dragon :-)

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

LOVE the dragon! Is that right off I-5? Do you remember where (which milepost or something)?

Ashland's Shakespeare festival is awesome -- or at least it was when I was there about 33 years ago. (*cough*)

And WA used to have reasonable prices on booze but now that the State is no longer in control (I blame Costco) the prices have gone UP. On the other hand, you can buy it at Walgreens when you purchase cough medicine at 2am. J.D. will kill off that tickle in your throat...

[please don't talk to me about summer homework. I'm going insane here...]

smalltownme said...

The dragon is north of Weed CA but south of the Oregon border. 18 minutes south, according to my camera! On the northbound sight of I-5.

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

That's a fun drive--I've dome it a couple of times. Wonderful to have road trip partners like your boys.