Next stop - Portland!

We wake up at 6am as we have any early drive day of this trip and Tina wakes up to see us off. Roni's cousins have been so very kind this whole time. Treating us to each fantastic meal and just sharing so many laughs.

We eat a little breakfast and re cap the day before and prob don't hit the road til 7:45am. Unfortunately we don't get to say goodbye to baby Emma who has also welcomed us in her adorable 2 year old voice, "Hi Doggyeeeee!"

None the less we have a 9.5 hour voyage ahead.

It's another gorgeous 50 degree day and we head up and around big ole snow capped mountains.

The Cascades are amazingly gorgeous.

We decide to stop in Mt. Shasta for some grub. Roni suggests a Taco Bell/KFC but I feel so spoiled on good food so I encourage her to check out this lil hippy dippy town.

We decide on Thai food and walk around this little village w lots of coffee shops and every other shop sells some form of crystals.

We head into Oregon and the mountains are even more fantastic.

There is a layer of fog that sits amongst them and the sky contains patches of puffy cloudscapes.

I get a text from my new roommate warning me they got a bit of snow last night and to be extra careful on the roads because Oregon doesn't see a lot snow.

Eventually we are surrounded by snow.

We head into some freezing rain, which I'm not worried about because I'm used to New England weather.

We pass one really bad accident and a few cars mangled on the shoulder of the road. All of a sudden my tires skid out and jerk the car in an S like motion. Roni says, "What the hell is that!" I tell her black ice, I don't think the roads are treated. She persists on arguing with me that there is no way the roads are left as is in an ice storm, but my car is telling otherwise and the tires slip on the road again.

So now I am driving right around 45 mph watching for idiots and trying to stay in the best looking lane as far as snow and ice. I make a pit stop to pee and almost fall immediately as the sidewalks definitely aren't treated as well!

Finally we get to my new apartment. My roommate Britney opens the door and offers to help unpack my things.

We throw everything into the corner of my big new room and have to make another journey out to buy some bedding. Britney suggest Fred Meyers because there we can buy both bedding and food items as we are hungry at this point too. 

Fred Meyers is like a giant Super Walmart that has a clothing store and supermarket and prepared food area and even a growler fill up station! It's giant and its fluorescent lighting is making me feel crazy. I circle through food after finding sheets and pillows and once I find Roni I tell her, "I need to get out of this store!"

We get back and inflate and make our air mattresses and scarf down a quick meal. I feel tired and crazy in this new place but I am tired enough to pass right out.