Day 7: Home Stretch

The alarm goes off at 6:30am. We get up, pack up, grab some crumbled remains of banana bread and I wake up my cousin to thank him and say goodbye. We get in my foul smelling rotten car and hit the road for the last time. 

Dannah insists on driving the entire way home because I drove the whole way from Eugene. We have an 8 hour drive ahead of us and she refuses to let me drive. What do I do? Sleep. Well not from the get go. We drive for about an hour and a half and then we have to get gas. We stop at this station and the attendant is so creepy and weird. I can't really explain it because I was sort of sleep drunk but I got weird vibes. Not only do I want to write a book about truck drivers, but gas station attendants as well. Grave yard shifters in general are just mesmerizing. I get crumb donuts and a Dr. Pepper. Throws me back to my breakfast of champions everyday of my senior year in high school. 

We hop back on the road and I knock out. Next thing I know we are in Sac Town stopping at a Jamba Juice. Dannah insists on buying. Original Strawberries Wild. We get on the 5 for the longest stretch of highway known to man. We bump Pink's first CD, sooo good. Bugs splatter the windshield like no other. I sleep some more and we finally make it to Paso Robles where we stop for some more bombass chicken tacos. Remember the Carl's Jr. disguised as a Green Burrito, yeah that one. We stopped there again and then the 2 1/2 hour home streeeetch!!! 

We finally pull into to my driveway at about 3:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday. The epic road trip has come to an end. Sooo sad. Dannah and I exchange hugs and she gets all her ish out of my car. We are both exhausted but every single second of this trip was nothing short of epic. Except for the broken snow-mobile. So not epic. 

I think I have caught some sort of virus, however. The virus is one of longing. Yearning. Anxiety and un-requitted anticipation. I'm obsessed with the open road. The options and adventures are endless. From gas station bathrooms to open fields of flowers. From icy highways to bug splattered windshields. From dirty fast food to home-cooked meals gone wrong, there are soooo many adventures to be had, so many smiles to crack open, so many friends to visit. Driving tickles my soul and one thing I learned on this trip is that driving certainly is a privilege and I intend to cherish it for what it is. My road rage has gotten significantly better since this trip and I think it's because I have fully realized how much I actually do enjoy being on the road. Why should I get mad at someone for allowing me to spend more time doing something I love, right??