Road trip continued...

When I left Eugene, I was headed for Portland. KG discovered that an Ikea had opened up there just the day before! SCORE! Now I could swing by on my way home and get those great finds I had talked about in this post. It was perfect. Although Marco was totally willing to bring them up for us the next time he came to town, this would be much easier. I wouldn't have to try and describe the items to him, then deal with paying him back and knowing that I'm causing him extra things to do. Plus, I would get to go to Ikea again. Well, let me just tell you that if I had known it would add 6 1/2 damn hours to my trip I would have taken the Bend way home and inconvenienced Marco later! Having only had 3 hours of sleep the night before and after only an hour of driving I had to stop and wake myself up. Plus there was no stereo and there was no way in hell I was making the entire drive back to Boise with no music. I spotted a K-mart and pulled off. I spent a good hour or more just walking around. I found three pillows for the bus and a blanket for when I pulled over to sleep. I found a great little radio and the batteries to power it. Of course I had to get a cd to listen to when the radio stations wouldn't tune in. I loaded the cart up with complete crap to eat on the drive plus a 12 pack of water to wash it all down along the way. Anything to keep me awake. Although sugar has the opposite affect on me. Oh well! Then I hit Portland traffic. UGGHH. Oh, how I love Boise! Lucky for me, or should I say everyone else on the road, I am pretty laid back or there would have been some serious road rage going on. I actually really enjoyed myself. Yes, even for the more then two hours of driving at less then 10 miles per hour. That is until the last mile, when I was forced off the freeway an exit too soon by a total ass. He wouldn't let me over and then I couldn't for the life of me find my way back on the freeway! I finally made it there at 7:00 pm with the help of KG, and google maps. Once inside I found exactly what I was after, bought myself some hot dogs for dinner on my way out and was on the road again by 8:30 pm. It was really a beautiful drive!


And, yes, I am fully aware of the danger I was to everyone else on the road but I had to have the pics!

Unfortunately I only made it 70 miles before I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I pulled over at a gas station and slept for an hour. Here is one of my favorite shots as I headed into the tunnel! :)My cell phone was dieing as well so I had it turned off and only called KG when I stopped to sleep and when I was back on the road.


I drove about 100 miles after that and then had to pull over again. I pulled into a McDonald's parking lot and slept for 4 hours. I had already completely resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't making it home that night!
I woke up at 5:30 am and started again, only to make it another 65 miles.

I then slept for another hour. Keep in mind that I'm only driving 55 to 60 miles per hour so this was turning into a long trip. I just couldn't help that the road was completely hypnotizing me. I slept for another hour and then tried again. After 50 miles I had to stop in a city to restock my junk food stash. Actually I needed protein and something healthy but this little town wasn't the right place. I had to settle on a can of applesauce and beef jerky. I then drove some more until I arrived at Baker City, which I love! I thought I'd stop and get some lunch. Unfortunately, I forgot it was still early and no one was serving lunch. I wasn't in the mood for breakfast so I kept going. I made it to Ontario and gassed up the bus and was so relieved that the end of my trip was near! I finally made it home at noon! I had enough time to shower and meet my 1:00 pm appointment for an apartment showing. Whew! So glad I made it. Yes, it was all worth it!