Leaving Was Harder Than I Thought
Yesterday morning I finished packing the van, made a TJ run with Rob, bathed Daisy, and checked my lists to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything.
This is how my packed van looked:
By about 11:15 am, I was ready…but I didn’t feel ready. I felt anxious with all of the “what ifs”. What if I break down, have a tire blow out, have van troubles, am lonely? I was very emotional saying goodbye to Rob. It will be three weeks apart – the longest of our ten years of marriage. Rob is my safe place, my biggest supporter, and my person. I said “you will fly to meet me sooner if I need you to, right?” He reassured that he would. With Daisy strapped into the passenger seat, I drove away with all my fears and a lot of FOMO for the time I am missing with my grandson.
I stopped for gas in Lafayette and was shocked to pay $8.69 for diesel (yikes!). $144 later, we hit the road headed North.
Driving Day
We covered 345 miles in about 5.5 hours. We stopped at two rest stops for quick breaks, but I regretted missing the In n Out in Redding. I was slightly worried the first two hours because the van feels heavy and the Mercedes vehicle assist feels really scary when it “helps me”. I turned off the assist, which helped a lot. I listened to a 70s hits playlist on Apple and a few podcasts. Once I hit the 505 and I-5, the drive was very easy.
Overnight at a Harvest Host
Last year I joined something called Harvest Hosts. It’s a nationwide network of farms, wineries, breweries, golf courses, or just people with land where you can request to stay a night in your trailer or RV. In exchange, a guest is expected to purchase or use the host’s services or make a $30 donation.
When I drove in and saw where to park for the night, I felt relieved and happy. We made it by 5pm and I could hear music from the winery tasting room. The spot was pretty level, had a view of the pond with gorgeous swans, and a picnic table and chairs.
I fed Daisy and got her bed ready, then headed up to the winery to fulfill my duty to spend $30.
Okay, so I over ordered on food, but I enjoyed the assortment and took 2/3 of it back to the van and saved it for the next day. The live musician was great. Maybe this wasn’t a terrible mistake?
After my girl dinner, I walked Daisy around the winery. It was lovely.
We were in bed early and it was very quiet and peaceful. The other harvest host guests (a van and a trailer) were very quiet.
Day 2 Plan
I woke up at 3:30 am again, so I guess we will be ready to hit the road when the sun comes up. (My sleep issues are partly hormonal and partly work related.) There is a Costco Gas station in Central Point that has $6.49 diesel. Rob will be excited to know this because very few Costco stations have diesel and we have never been able to take advantage of it.
Tonight I’m camping in a state park in northeast Oregon. It should be about a 6-hour drive, but will take longer because I plan to stop and see anything that looks scenic. Sadly, I am skipping Crater Lake because I don’t have the time to give it the day or two it deserves, but it’s close enough that Rob and I can visit it another time.
Happy trails!
Note: I am not carefully proofreading before I hit “publish”. I just don’t want to make this more time consuming because then I won’t want to write. Please forgive any typos.
jenbentley71-heron 
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