9/15/14 Day 1

The car arrived at last 5:30 Sunday night. Dianna cleaned it up and took some pictures for the web site. I loaded it in the dark and got everything in. Just like the reality shows it all works out in the end, we just don't have dramatic music and I haven't thrown anything. We left Joe and Priscilla's house  at 6:30 AM this morning. Any one that says that traffic is light in the early morning in Portland is not traveling at that time of day. Trucks are coming off Swan Island, including the entire fleet of  UPS trucks one after another. We had smooth traveling east, on I84 and decided to stop for breakfast at Cousins in The Dalles.  Their dishes are so big that we didn't feel the need to stop for lunch.

The T-bird is running fine.  When we stopped for gas we calculated that we had managed 13+ mpg! Not good by today's standards, but we have gotten worse in this car.  On a trip this long better mileage means big savings on gas.   We stopped in Kennewick to see Al and Claire and then continued on northward. We stopped by the JDRF office in Spokane and talked to the staff there and took some pictures of them with the T-bird. We continued on to Lake Coure d'Alene, ID and are staying with Joe's family this first night. My initiation into the family was at the local watering hole.  After a beer they suggested I use the  restroom before we went home. This place has one way glass over the urinals so it is possible to see people eating and drinking, but no one can see into the restroom.  No one told me that.  I was startled to looked up  and see Sue, Gary and Joe having a great time making faces in the mirror on the other side. Beware of the restroom at Shooters in Coure d'Alene!

Lake Coure d'Alene

See more pix in the gallery - Our Trip