Vacation Reflections

Reflecting on this vacation over the past couple days. I realize we are very blessed to be able to take two weeks and just start down the road. We knew we were going to Seattle, Bremerton more specifically, but other that that we were open as to where and when. We used hotwire to reserve a room each day and had good results. Most days we were upgraded with out asking upon arrival. We planned a day at a time and looked at the map and decided what we wanted to do on the way to and from Seattle. We took some roads less traveled and found that the meat of this country is not found on the Interstates, but on the little country roads and byways. If we always know where and how we are going, we will only be encountering what we already know and expect. It was the unexpected that made this trip so special. We drove the Murano just over 4800 miles in 12 days. We spent right at $2,700 for everything. I know, I know we are blessed to be able to do this. Lots of folks are working two jobs and will not get the opportunity to travel like this. Cheryl and I travel well together. I say this and people roll their eyes, but it is true. We always have and after 40 years we still do. Kind of says it all there. We have decided on our best experiences of the trip and here they are. We took a chance and left the Interstate in Utah and drove a local road from Cisco to Moab. It was about a 40 mile trip down the Colorado river canyon. At times it felt we could have touched the walls of the canyon out one window and the water of the river out of the other. The canyon was quite narrow and deep, paved yet almost no traffic. Amazing and it felt like a gift. We both enjoyed the Bonneville salt flats and to be on the track, or just beside it also felt like a gift. We also agreed driving up Hell's Canyon on a one way gravel with no guard rails was exciting. One of us loved it, and I still have grip marks on the steering wheel. The Columbia River Gorge was beautiful and inspiring as were the mountains. The ferry ride across Puget Sound to Bremerton was memorable. It was also emotional for Cheryl on a number of levels. Being at the Pacific Ocean was outstanding. The smell of the salt and the sound of the surf is beautiful. This country boy from Iowa could live by the Ocean. There is something primordial about the ocean and it speaks to my soul in an unexpected voice. Visiting the Temperate Rain Forest less than an hour from the Ocean was one of our unexpected experiences. Amazing place. Just very special. We noticed the changes in the agriculture of different areas of the country with miles and miles of open plains. We came around a corner in Yellowstone and a Buffalo was slowly plodding up the white line in the hi way. He looked at us as if he was saying, "Oh, please won't you people all just go home already.". We laughed at the sight, still do. He was so humble and unassuming in his walk while surrounded by human traffic. And yet people were interesting and unexpected for us. From the Asian man on the ferry who took our picture to the clerk in a little gas station in Dubois, Wy.; folks were always unexpected and many times a blessing. Maybe my take away reflection at this point in time is simply to attempt to live in the midst of the unexpected and pull off the Interstate every so often to find real people living real lives.