THE FIRST DAY

Our FIRST day........ only one of those - right?!

And good thing to because it sure didn't start out all that well - Houston we have a problem.

Oh - it all started out fine - we woke, we packed and said a sad so long to Derek's mom. We stopped and picked up Roofous and we were on our way - all in good time.

We didn't even mind - too much - the 45 min or so wait at the border because, well - we were ON OUR WAY.

But mere seconds after Derek stopped in front of our border crossing guy things took a definite turn for the worse.

I KNEW we were in for a lengthy border stay when the officers eyebrows went up when Derek mentioned how long we were to be away from Canada. And his face only became more twisted as he tried to figure out how we were paying for all this.

So - when he handed us an orange piece of paper and said "Park over there and go inside" we couldn't say we were all that surprised.

I'll save you all the details of the next 1 1/2 hours spent in the Customs Office - although it does make for a lively story. Short version? We stood, we waited, and we listened. We were entertained by all the other detainees as they told their stories.

Do those border guys and gals - smile - EVER? 

Glad to say that after all the eyebrow raising and grilling we were finally free to go with a "Have a good time." Only 2 hours gone out of our life.

Sorry no pictures of that adventure - I doubt that would have gone over well - right?!

Glad to be in the USA we headed to Bellingham. We had two stops to make. The first - for a solar panel part which we found at a marine shop and second - Trader Joe's. 

YUP! A trip to Trader Joe's right off the bat - was I HAPPY or was I HAPPY! Border problems? What border problems?

As always we could go seriously CRAZY at Trader Joe's but we were conservative - again. Our must have's for today were olive oil popcorn, coffee, greek yogurt, almond and coconut milk, beer and coconut oil.

And these! Something new - and both very good I might add.

It was late in the afternoon but with still some sun we quickly continued on our way south on the I5. I don't know WHAT I was thinking when I mentioned earlier that we were going to Portland and then east. I think it was because Derek said it and I believed him. 

WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!!!!

Look at I90 that heads east at Seattle and over to Ellensburg and down - THAT's the way to go. 

Mountains? We can do mountains - right?!

So with just a little rush hour traffic, which Derek handled very well by putting us in the HOV lane, we were on the 90 in no time. 

After stopping fairly early for dinner we ended up driving a few hours in the dark - in the rain - before settling on a rest area just west of Ellensburg for the night.

Ahhhhhh REST AREAS ....... oh how I've missed you. 

Too dark to take a picture when we arrived so I took one just before we left Wednesday morning.

Sadly, as we readied our bunk bed we realized that we had a serious leak up there. Thankfully after Derek flipped the cushions and we salvaged the dry blankets and pillows we could still put a bed together for the three of us. 

Yes, we all FIT in the bunk bed - and hey - who needs to actually MOVE while they are sleeping anyway - right?!

And so went DAY 1 - a bit challenging, a bit stressful, and a bit tiring.

But boy did it feel good to be ON THE ROAD AGAIN. Which just got me singing along with Willie Nelson in my mind ......

Teresa

TODAY'S INTERESTING LINK: Do you need another travel blog to follow? How about The Long Way South with Nate, Sarah and Brady who have just completed their first 30 days on the road of their Pan American adventure. I'm excited for them and can't wait to see how it goes for them through Central America - fingers crossed that they'll be going through before we do.

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