Day 9 – aka the day of never-ending driving
I’m writing this on Day 10.
We had to get back to San Jose by 10 AM on Monday so we had to hustle back from Portland. I wish we could have had more time in the city, especially after our awesome day with Melissa on Sunday.
Parting shot of the city as we left
We headed out from the hotel at 9:50 AM, earlier than we’ve checked out of any hotel during the whole of our vacation! From there we drove steadily south on I-5, stopping every hour or so for a bathroom break and to change drivers. A little after noon we stopped for gas in Eugene at a 76 next to a biofuels station!
The 76 looked like it had a mini-mart behind it so I went in to use the bathroom, and found a restaurant! There were omelettes, waffles, burgers, and Asian food, and shakes. I really wanted a huckleberry shake but I’ve gained enough weight on this brief vacation as it is, so I settled for a rice dish. For some reason — I hardly ever want rice when I can have it — being away from good Asian food makes me crazy to eat rice. This rice was mushy but still tasted good, and made me supremely happy. The owner also gave us free fruit salad!
Thus fortified, we continued south and saw some really beautiful scenery in the mountains and woods, especially in Shasta County in CA.
Sadly, after Shasta, the vistas got a lot more boring — even the rest stops seemed dingier — and it was all downhill (haha!) from there. We drove and drove and drove, and finally got to Sunnyvale around 9:30 PM, when we stopped by Shra’s and Devin’s place to drop off some of our Cacao take and have a little chat (and a desperately needed bathroom break — we’d left rest-stop routes long ago).
Just around 11 PM we arrived at my parents’ home in San Jose, ate some leftover noodles, talked a little with Mommy and Al, and then just crashed.
It’s a pity we had to end our beautiful vacation on such a dreary note; after rock climbing on Sunday, our forearms were sore and hurt during the driving, and twelve hours on the road is draining in any case. Still, we are glad for the day of rest before the rest of our haul down to LA. After the Portland-San Jose leg, San Jose-LA will be nothing!
[This post was imported on 4/10/14 from my old blog at satsumabug.livejournal.com.]
satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia 