"This mass of humanity is blocking the trail!"

Okay, technically I think that quote is from Yukon Trail (Oregon Trail for poor children), but it fits. 

We travelled over 700 miles on our first day, and currently in Tennessee (somewhere between Chattanooga and Murfreesboro).  Highlights from today:

-We stopped for lunch at a Wendy's, and the cashier was friendly and super efficient.  I was surprised, as the majority of Wendy's employees are really slow in southwest Florida.  I was however, disappointed that the boneless wings are just saucy chicken nuggets.  No need for that kind of attitude from my food.

-Thanks to my poor planning, we got stuck in Atlanta rush-hour traffic.  It was as bad as expected.  Ben was driving at this point, so it was quite the road trip initiation for him.  At one point, he had to get over 3 lanes of traffic to stay on the right interstate.  You're saying, big deal, it's not THAT hard to move over 3 lanes during rush hour.  False.  It's really intense when you can't SEE OUT THE BACK WINDOW.  And a truck pulling an Airstream in front of you keeps randomly braking.  Ain't no wagon train ever had to deal with none of that craziness.

-So we wanted to go to Zaxby's for dinner.  We must have seen 5 before we were ready to stop.  When we started to look for one, they were nowhere to be found, so we stopped at Panda Express.  I should mention that this Panda Express only had Caucasian employees (?).  Also, I got an actual fortune in my fortune cookie.  It said, "Long life is in store for you."  Very encouraging.  Ben's stated, "You are an adventurer- travel the highway of life."  Not really a fortune, but definitely fitting under the circumstances.  Anyway, after we left Panda Express, we saw 2 or 3 Zaxby's at the exits afterwards.  Fiddlesticks.

-Not too long after we left Chattanooga, we ran into crazy fog.  Like, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" nightmare-land fog.  We couldn't see more than 5 feet in front of the car.  It was awful, but Ben did an awesome job of driving really slowly and carefully.  Kudos to him.

-We gained an hour!  It's pretty magical how we will gain an hour almost every day.  Like time travel or something.  Maybe we can gain more time by going 88 mph?

More to come!

Pre-trip update

Preparations are well underway at this point.  I have obtained 1 winter coat (LL Bean, $2 at Family Thrift Center in Fort Myers what WHAT?!), fetched my passport and birth certificate from the safety deposit box, secured semi-permanent lodgings in Keizer (like Salem, but smaller and apparently rogue), and had my car checked out by the dealership for trip-worthiness.  I also put St. Christopher in the car to keep an eye out for us (thanks, Anna!). 

The other member in my party, for those who don't know, is Ben.  His occupation is Student.  He adds $0 to the group funds.  His skills include winning friends and influencing people.  Also he can lift heavy things. 

Here's a link to what will hopefully become my apartment.  It is walking distance from a Dairy Queen (holla!), and a lake where I intend to pan for gold.
http://roseparkapartments.blogspot.com/

Kicking butt and taking inventory

This is totally boring, but according to the game Oregon Trail, you need to keep a detailed inventory of what is in your wagon.  I'll stick to foodstuffs, because I don't measure my clothing in sets (you're just gonna have to mix and match!).

200oz bottled water
8oz coffee
3oz tea
12oz Spam
6oz Craisins
4oz beef jerky
5oz gummy bears
8oz crunchy granola bars
23oz trail mix
7oz dried apricots
16oz chocolate

1 pair boots
3 sweaters
3 blankets

2 windshield wipers

Here's hoping I don't lose it all trying to ford a river.

First Journal Entry

The countdown has begun!  Okay, technically I've been counting down for the past few months, but now that my BIG MOVE TO OREGON is only 12 days away, I figured I ought to start documenting it.  Because an event didn't really happen if it wasn't photographed, right?  Anyway, the purpose of this blog is to document my week-long trek across the United States and serve as a vehicle (puns!) for sharing the experience with my friends and family.

Today was my last day at work.  Everybody was really encouraging of my venture and gave me a ton of travel stuff (snacks, road activity books, a compass, etc.).  Next week begins the mad rush to pack, get the car ready, deal with banks and apartment complexes, emotionally prepare my cat for the temporary separation we will experience, and make sure nothing is forgotten.  So I'm on the verge of being overwhelmed.  But I'm holding steady!  Gotta make a list of supplies to buy.  Anybody know where I can get some cattle tongues?