Traveling moments

I enjoy driving.  I don’t even mind driving alone.  1700 miles in this last little trip.  No one could have guessed that the weather would be perfect and I should have retired my snow tires in favor of my radials.  The highways were mostly dry and the sky was mostly blue.  Other than losing a tire mid trip (and me worrying about the others all the way home), my little car just rolled merrily along. 

I don’t care, however, for those those wacko drivers.  My cruise control is faithfully attended.  That is why I know that I’m not the one with the inconsistent gas pedal.  Does anyone else ever get exasperated when passing or being passed by the same car for the nth time?  Or even worse, getting blocked in by a few cars that have drivers chit-chatting with passengers or someone at the other end of the cell phone.   My biggest pet peeve is to be passed by a car, only to have it swerve quickly over in front of me and slow down.   I told WR that I wished for magical powers on my way home.  There was heavy traffic on I-205N through the Portland, Oregon area.  A very small (and dirty) car changed lanes abruptly causing me to brake.  Then, the little man held up his middle finger.  He may have been holding it up towards the driver of the car in the other lane.  I didn’t care.  I just wanted to swish my Hermione wand and break it. (The finger.)  Or, maybe just freeze it in place.  I don’t know.  If I hadn’t already discarded it, I could have thrown my soggy egg salad sandwich at him. 

Lovely things about the road included a rest stop in Northern California where the trees and grounds were filled with red-winged black birds.  Their music was nearly deafening, but ever so beautiful.  I could sit and rest in their song had there not been so many miles and hours ahead.

One area on I-5 in northern California is being decorated with metal sculptures.  I was especially impressed by a huge bronze sunflower reaching for the sky.  For as long as I can remember, there has been a huge metal sculpture of a range cow.  It can be seen from several miles away.  Not too far up the road there is now a huge dragon.

The Oregon roads and rest areas are well maintained.  Unfortunately, I think there is a roving band of beggars that use the restrooms as their headquarters.   They stay within the time constraints and then rotate to the next rest stop.  The next group moves in and sets up in their place.   I truly think it is an organized venture.

I can’t help but feel like I’ve experienced a real life Brigadoon when dropping into the beautiful green valleys and farmlands in central Oregon.  Especially this time of year when the grassy pastures are emerald, accentuated by the whites and pastels of the early spring blossoming trees.  Even the Angus and Hereford cattle seem to have vibrant colors against the hills and the backdrop of the season.

I purposely pulled off the freeway to fill up with gas in a place called Cottage Grove.  My late mama reminisced with such yearning about meeting up with friends there,  that my childish vision of the place was magical.  Spring’s magic was certainly apparent.  I need to go back and spend more time.

The wind greeted me as an old foe when I entered the Columbia River Gorge.  I was driving into it. I call it a friend when I get a tail wind!  Either direction, it provides another exciting weekend for wind surfers and parasails – at the wind surfing capital of the world.

Not much snow in the Blues when I got home, but the weatherman predicted the weather would cool and it would arrive up in the higher elevations.  Rain predicted for the valley.  I’m glad to be home.  Now I just need to get back into the rhythm.

(short video of grands.  19 month old Caboose, singing "Twinkle, Twinkle."  Two and a half year-old Dinkum teaching 9-month old Smurfella how to pat-a-cake, Dinkum and 4 1/2 year-old  Zbub using their super powers to rescue the cul-de-sac, and Smurfella rocking it with a guitar.


Four Grands from pamela on Vimeo.

Comments

karisma said…
Simply adorable. How quickly Caboose has grown.

As for the impatient drivers...grrrr. we have a stretch of road here that winds and is mostly trees. One lane each way. Although the speed limit is fast, there is always one idiot risking it all to get to the front, generally overtaking when you cannot see the oncoming lane. It really irks me. People like that generally end up killing someone.

I like the way you finished this post on a positive note. Hugs xoxox
jettie said…
OOHh how cute!! our kids have the same quitar...how i loved it when the batteries went!! hahaha...And how perfect boys saving the day!!
I love that twinkle song & cute pjs!!
Kim said…
I have been thinking about driving down to San Antonio for spring break but I am not looking forward to the drive. I think all of our pet peeves are the same!

Oh, those grandbabies! They are so adorable, Pamela. I love when you share video and pics of them with us.
Peter said…
A great run down of your trip Pamela, welcome back!!
DesLily said…
I want to say long drives can be scary but I think I've heard (over the eons) that most accidents happen within 10 miles of your home... so I am glad you made it back safely!.. that's still a long drive no matter how nice..but bad drivers do make it a harrowing experience !
as always: cute cute vid !
Intense Guy said…
Ah the call of the open (and traffic-less) roads is calling!

And yes, those red-wing black birds can really belt it out can't they? I've watch them call to each other and they really use their whole body to develop that beee-aaaaaaaaaaaalllkkk!

Hmmm.. if you ever get a Hermione wand, could you clear up the roads on the East coast too? Someday, we will wake up and all be packed in a gridlock since there are too many people and too many "drivers".
1700 miles..now that is a trip! I am glad you are home safe and sound! You have lots of traffic out that way..but I really enjoyed your descriptions of all the greenness of that big W.Valley and the wind in the Columbia Gorge...I could almost see the wind surfers!! As for your traffic..we have so little of that to contend with. Even in the mid size town we live near..there are only four stop lights and two of them are because we got a Wally World.
Cute video..the Caboose is a great singer! The cul de sac was saved and you have a rocker for a grand! :)
tlawwife said…
I love to drive by myself. It gives me time to think. That person who passes me over and over again makes me nervous.

The video is very cute.
ChrisB said…
They are adorable. You have a budding musician in the family.

I love the description of your car journey, I'm a better passenger than driver (or should I re-phrase that to back seat driver! LOL)
Jan n Jer said…
You traveled a lot of miles and glad to see you are home safe n sound. I hear you on the bad drivers...we travel on interstate 95 and the part that runs through Va. is where all the nuts come out. Cute video of the grandkids.
darkfoam said…
adorable video of the grandchildren.
and i especially enjoyed the description of your travels.
i've never been that far west. one of these days i will though. hey, on your way down into the deep south and on my way into the northwest we can wave at each other .. with the whole hand while we wish the middle finger of obnoxious drivers to rot and fall off.
grammy said…
Grandkids are the greatest source of entertainment (o:
Sounds like a long trip...but beautiful. I think I would be afraid to stop at a rest stop alone if i knew there were 'beggers' there. Did you take pictures along the way? You did a great job of describing things...like the bird song.
Ms. Kathleen said…
Having recently driven thru Northern California and Oregon this brought back wonderful memories, except for the finger of course. I can just picture myself snapping that dirty little finger right off but an egg salad sandwich in the ugly face would have been hilarious!

Hugs to you -- Can't wait to get moved out that way :)
Debs said…
I despise those kind of drivers and our roads are full of them. Last weekend a woman was texting while driving. She weaved int our lane more than once. I gave her a dirty look as we passed by. She then passed us and her "passenger" took our pic. Like we did something wrong. I just smiled and waved. A real wave not the middle finger wave. I was being nice. :D


Those kids are so cute. I miss mine being that little. I hope ten years from now to have grandkids of my own. Not sooner than ten years. *LOL*
Hayden said…
ouch, hideous drive. I hate those!

adorable video!
Kila said…
I enjoyed hearing about your drive!

You're a lucky grandma!
Swampy said…
I kept waiting for someone to get whacked with a "sword."
Isn't it amazing how those babies just know how to dance to the music?
Loved the video...
I'm not fond of road trips for mostly the reasons on your post.
Sounds like a great road trip (except for the erratic drivers ... and yez, they can be annoying). Loved the clips of the grandkids ... adorable ;-)
Hugs and blessings,
Unknown said…
I hate drivers like that too! And rude drivers like mr flying finger! I bet it was heaven listening to the blackbirds and I bet the metal sculptures were awesome!
Susie Q said…
Your grands are precious...getting so grown up!! How does that happen!!

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