The First 900

Yes, we survived the first day!  This is the most driving we will do in one day on this trip.  I'm pooped!  Can't go to bed, yet...

We left the house at 4:15am.  Mike's idea, not mine!  This got us through Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia before rush hour.  Good deal because it POURED rain the entire time.  However, we did hit rush hour in Portland.  We like driving around the city on Hwy 205, and I believe that helped quite a bit because we only had a few slow downs to contend with.  Still pouring rain at this time.

It poured rain most of the way through Oregon, too.  I mean, IT NEVER STOPPED.  I was very fortunate at one point to put the intermittent wipers on low.  It really never stopped.

In southern Oregon the rains started to let up a bit.  We could actually see the ground in the distance!  We rarely travel through here in the spring and the hills were covered in green.  This is the most beautiful section on the drive to California.

After entering California, the rain--guess what?--continued.  Not as heavy, but it rained.  Of course, we planned to get pictures of Lake Shasta as we drove over so we could report to the rest of the family.  This year is houseboating year and we always ask about the level of the lake.  What we could see--a very low ceiling--showed us water all the way up to the tree line.  THAT doesn't happen too often.  Good news for us this summer!

We stopped in Corning at the Olive Pit to pick up a couple jars of olives.  They also had some wine tasting, so Mike indulged. (Yes, Elysa, we found a bottle for you.)  If you like olives, then you HAVE to stop at the Olive Pit.  They have olive tasting and more ways to jar olives.  We bought a jar of mustard olives for my Dad.  Visiting the Olive Pit reminds Mike of his Grandpa who used to jar his own olives.

15 and a half hours after we left our home we pulled into my parents driveway in Walnut Creek.  They waited dinner for us, so we had a wonderful, albeit late, dinner.

It's 10:30pm.  We're pooped.  Exhausted.  Achy.  Yet, excited to be here.  Tomorrow will be a day filled with history, wine, and scenic drives.  Stay tuned!

[Now, I can go to bed.]