- Quick facts
- Total days on the road: 586
- Currently in: USA
- Miles Driven: 36821
- Countries Visited: 17
- Days Camping: 389
- Days Indoors: 202
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Let's Get this Show on the Road
Start: October 6 - University Place, Washington
Finish: October 10 - Crescent City, California
Miles Driven: 506
Number of Fish Caught and Eaten: 3
Days Camping: 6
Days of Rain: 6
It has begun. Six days down, 450ish to go. In that time we've traveled from our home state of Washington to northern California. It hasn't stopped raining since we arrived in Oregon, Jessica and Kobus spent last night sleeping in a pond now known as Lake LifeRemotely. Our gear is soaked and we're looking forward to a bit of sunshine.
Two weeks of feverish moving results in a storage unit full of stuff, one pinched nerve and the realization that, despite our best effort to pawn things off on everyone we know, we probably still have too much stuff. After the move we spent a few days with mom and dad, ate some delicious food and said our good byes.
First stop was Gearhart, OR, the site of our cousin's wedding. We didn't really have a plan - aside from "We'll just show up and camp on someone's lawn." It worked out great, until the sprinkler system came on.
After setting up camp we headed into town to pick up some supplies. Above is our first meal of the trip - steak tortillas with fresh quac-a-moles, habanero pepper salsa and accompanied by a 2006 Page Springs Cellars Syrah that I picked up near Maynard James Keenan's winery in Arizona a couple years ago and was saving for a special occasion (turns out that was a $200 bottle of wine).
Our "campsite" in Gearhart was on the edge of the sand dunes, a two minute walk from the Oregon coast. The first morning we were greeted by a herd of elk - this was obviously the man in charge.
Jessica spent most of our first day in Gearhart working. Meanwhile Kobus and I spent six hours stuffing mushrooms and rolling chicken in preparation for the wedding dinner. That afternoon the three of us went dumpster diving at a construction site up the road for firewood. We were put in charge of that evening's late-nite festivities - a bonfire on the beach.
We started off small, so people could roast some s'mores, but the fire was too hot. Our cousin Veronica sports a five foot long, 90 year old antique cedar siding marshmallow stick hand crafted by yours truly.
At around midnight it was time to commence Operation: Burn-All-The-Wood. It was a smashing success.
Saturday we spent most of the day preparing dinner. Ever try to cook two 20-pound prime rib roasts in two separate ovens four blocks apart? I don't recommend it. Nevertheless, thanks to our hard work and a couple other volunteers (thanks guys!), we were able to pull off a dinner service for the 100+ friends and family at the reception, which was held in a barn. An old, dirty, awesome barn.
And then the after party started. That's me rocking the googly eye glasses. I may have had a bit to drink at this point. I'm not entirely sure, but I do know that I fared better than others.
Jess and Kobus also get a bit crazy at the after party.
After waking up and rehydrating on Sunday it was officially time to get this show on the road. We made one quick stop in Seaside, Oregon to say goodbye to our family and then headed down the Oregon coast. The weather was not very cooperative, foggy and light rain most of the way.
Our halfway point between Gearhart and Oregon was a campsite just south of Florence, Oregon called Honeyman State Park. We arrived in the dark, setup camp, had a cheese and crackers for dinner and went to bed. This is what we woke up to... Jessica and Kobus' tent became a water bed overnight. Not so awesome. Needless to say, we are happy to be headed south!
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