March 31, 2013

On The Road To Portland (Part 2)

It took us six days to make the drive from San Diego to Portland. Why, you ask? Why did it take us 6 days to drive the 1,000 short miles? Well, because we were pulling a trailer and going under the speed limit, but also because we wanted to catch as many of the destinations along I-5 on our way as we could. In the first four days we went roller coaster riding in Santa Clarita, spent a long day driving most of California to Redding and then two adventurous days in Redding itself (I wrote about those four days here). Here is how we spent the next two days, ON OUR WAY TO OUR NEW HOME IN PORTLAND! :o)

Thursday morning we woke up in Redding and got back on I-5. Within minutes of getting on the interstate we were greeted with gorgeous vistas of Shasta Lake. I had noted in the atlas that we'd be passing by this lake when planning our route, but had not expected it to be as magnificent as this. The views we saw that day strongly reminded me of the views we'd seen off of the Sea-to-Sky Highway in Vancouver, BC and we were both blown away by the natural beauty.

View of Shasta Lake from I-5
View of Shasta Lake from I-5
View of Shasta Lake from I-5
Shasta Lake
Soon after passing the lake we rounded a bend in the road and were presented with another amazing site- snow covered Mount Shasta, the fifth tallest peak in California at 14,179 ft. The view of the mountain got better and better as we got closer (I probably took a million pictures, thinking each was better than the last) and eventually we were directly next to the imposing mountain.

View of Mount Shasta from I-5
First glance of Mount Shasta
View of Mount Shasta from I-5
Getting closer!
View of Mount Shasta from I-5
Mount Shasta!
Not thirty minutes later we passed the last exit on I-5 in California. This might not seem that interesting, but it was exit number 796, meaning that I-5 stretches almost 800 miles north and south through the state! Right after crossing the border into OREGON! we also passed another I-5 landmark: Siskiyou Summit, the highest point on the I-5 at 4,310 ft elevation.

The last exit in California on I-5, exit 796!
The last exit in California on I-5
Welcome to Oregon sign on I-5
Welcome to Oregon!!
Our destination that day was Ashland, a super cute little town tucked deep in the Rogue Valley. We'd heard great things about Ashland, and my Pacific Northwest guide recommended it as a culinary delights destination, which is always a huge plus in my book. The town was located conveniently right off of I-5 and we had no trouble finding parking for our truck and trailer on one of the side streets right off of Main Street.

Walking around Ashland, OR
Walking around Ashland
Walking around Ashland, OR
Main Street in Ashland
The biggest reason we decided to make a stop in Ashland was because it was also home to one of my favorite bloggers, Patti from One Road At A Time (Patti wrote a great write-up on Ashland here). After living in the Bay Area in California for over 30 years, her and her husband Abi decided to shake things up by moving to Ashland, buying a Bed & Breakfast and renovating it! Today, two years later, they are running a successful business and have gone on several exciting adventures around the US and abroad. I really like reading Patti's blog because she is totally open about what it's like to run a B&B, and haven't we all wandered and dreamed about what it would be like to open and run a B&B some time in our lives? Well, I know I have, and I really enjoy reading the "behind the scenes" stories. Patti also writes a second blog on behalf of their B&B, On the Road to Abigail's, where she shares up to date interesting information on what's happening in Ashland and the Inn.

Abigail's Bed and Breakfast in Ashland, OR
Abigail's Bed and Breakfast in Ashland
So! After wondering the town we made our way to Abigail's Bed and Breakfast and Patti gave us a true "behind the scenes" tour of the B&B. It was awesome to hear about the before and after progress they made on their renovations. Then the four of us made our way back down Main street to one of Patti and Abi's favorite restaurants, a quaint Italian place called Pasta Piatti, and we spent the rest of the evening swapping blogging secrets and sharing funny stories. It's really funny how the four of us would have never met had Patti and I not accidentally found each other on this huge world of the internet. How amazing is it to find friends like that?

Abi, Patti, Sky and I at dinner in Ashland
Abi, Patti, Sky and I at dinner in Ashland
The following morning we'd planned to drive to somewhere between Ashland and Portland, to arrive in Portland on Saturday, but we couldn't help our excitement and drove all the way to the city. On the way the weather could not make up its mind and we kept passing under grey clouds and light rain and then blue skies and bright sunshine. Right before we drove into the city limits we were greeted with a huge and beautiful rainbow that seemed to begin right at the side of the intestate and stretched far into the countryside. Does this mean we've found the end of the rainbow? We've found the gold? I sure hope so! We plan to call this place home. :o)

The rainbow right off of I-5
The rainbow right off of I-5
Huge rainbow over Oregon!
Huge rainbow over Oregon!
Now we've spent the last week running around Portland, trying to get all of our affairs in order before I start my new job tomorrow! I have lots to say about this last week, and plan to write about that soon.

To see more pictures of Ashland, click here.

Happy New Beginnings!

M.

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7 comments:

  1. We had such great fun meeting you in person and sharing stories! I continue to be in awe of how my laptop brings the world to me, it's wonderful. And now look, you're living just 5 hours north of us!

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