Made it!

We were up early (thanks to the time zone changes) and on the road.  The main goal: get through the Seattle/Everett area before the afternoon rush hour.

Joan has been checking road conditions and traffic situations while we're rolling...

Technology is a good thing.  Yesterday, she saw that a portion of I-90, our intended route for today, was closed due to "blasting."  One hour delays expected.  Any other routing would add 100 miles to our travels today.  This morning: construction in the area, minimal delays expected.  We're rolling!

We turned off of I-84 in Oregon, onto I-82, a connector between I-84 and I-90.  New road for us.  We were delighted to find ourselves in "Washington Wine Country."  We enjoy seeing all the agriculture when we travel; Joan is especially taken with vineyards.  She said, "Maybe next year, I could get a job at a winery, pouring for wine tastings?"

I said, "We haven't even made it to our jobs this year, and you're already thinking about next year?  Really?"

Knowing my appreciation for all things aviation related, she said, "Look - there's an airport in the middle of all this!"

"OK, you could get a job at a winery, I'll apply to be the fuel guy at the airport."

"Good idea."

"I have an even better idea: you get a job at a winery, and I will be a stay-at-home Dad for Izzy!  We will miss you."

"Maybe it's too early to talk about next year?"

"Ya think?"

The wine country along I-82 is beautiful...

We also saw quite a few dairy operations.  And apple orchards.  We could pick up some fried chicken and have a romantic picnic: wine, cheese, apples... nah, we still have miles to make.

As quick as we drove into the lush valley, we drove out of it - back to barren hills with hardly any scrub-brush.  Onto I-90 and the last major westbound part of the drive... and right into a strong headwind.

There is a lot of up and down mountains in this stretch - and it is beautiful...

I was glad to have that wonderful transmission in Big Red...

She pulled up the grades without missing a beat; click on the transmission retarder and I didn't have to touch the brakes on the downhill portions.

On the last long downhill portion, we saw an extremely wide load going the opposite direction - it was taking up all the lanes!  And moving slow.  With workers riding on the side of the equipment to watch for clearance.  Highway patrol escort.  No idea what it was, but it had traffic backed up behind it for over 5 miles as it moved up the mountain at a snail's pace.  And more traffic pouring out of the Seattle area on a Friday, stacking up even further...

No traffic build-ups on our side.

We turned off I-90 and onto the 405, slightly by-passing Seattle for Bellevue...

We were onto the last stretch of our drive, heading north.  The 405 leads to I-5; the traffic was thick, but moving at the speed limit.  Well, I was driving the speed limit... OK, maybe a couple miles per hour over, but I was still being passed on both sides.  North of Everett, the traffic slacked off.

We turned off the Interstate a few exits early to drive through the countryside on the way to Anacortes, the road is named Best Road... appropriately; lots of beautiful flowers and greenery on this stretch...

We rolled into Anacortes before our 3:00 check-in time at the motel that will be home for the next few days.  It gave us time to stop and check on Wild Blue...

She has been stored inside all winter; looks like she did fine without us.  Tomorrow, I will get onboard, check her out thoroughly, hook up the batteries and get them charging.  She is scheduled for bottom paint and fresh oil, plugs, and impeller starting Monday.  I may even be able to get a fresh coat of wax on her before she goes back in the water.

We checked into the motel - nice place.  I held my breath after our experiences with motels this week.  We are in a king room with a fireplace.  Izzy was quick to find her favorite place at one of the windows...

I'm ready to get moved back onto the boat, but this will be home for the next 5 or 6 days, while we get the boat prepped.

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Epilogue...

It was just under 2,700 miles... some rough road, but most of it not too bad.  Big Red is a champ, and ate up those miles.  The Featherlite trailer has a good suspension (especially compared to some cargo trailers we saw rockin' and rollin' down the road).  My RainSong guitar rode in the trailer all the way here... from hot and humid to below freezing to hot to cool, to high altitude, and back down.  Most of the road was decent, some was downright awful... it's not a contest, but New Mexico has the worst drivers.  They make up for it with crappy roads.  This last stretch today in Washington State was pretty rough, too.  I did get a bit homesick for Texas when we saw drivers in heavy traffic today cut across 4 lanes of solid traffic, just in time to make the exit!

When I took the RainSong out of the trailer, I expected it might have a scuff or two in the finish... nope, the new hard gig bag from Access did a great job protecting the guitar - that pretty carbon fiber finish remains unblemished.  And what amazed me the most: after all that rough road, altitude changes, and weather swings, the guitar was still in tune!

Nice!