After a late start in Ashland, rolling out of the hotel parking lot just minutes before the 11am checkout, I hit the road with one clear goal: make it to Shoreline in one piece.
Spoiler alert. I did.
While Day 3 was a bit of a push, it wasn’t a dramatic, white-knuckle, screaming into the void kind of push. Just a long, steady grind north. The kind where my body settles into the driver’s seat, my brain drifts between podcasts, music, and stretches of silence, and the miles start stacking up in a way that feels both endless and oddly meditative.
Not that I took many photos, but Oregon and Washington showed off their beauty along the way. Pockets of green that felt like finding Oz. Trees for days. The kind of scenery that let me forget, at least for a moment, about the tightness in my shoulders and the reality of sitting in the same position for hours like a human pretzel.
Still, driving nearly 500 miles in one day is no joke. My hat’s off to the truckers who do that and more every single day.
By the halfway point, I could feel it setting in. The road fatigue. The creeping stiffness. The quiet bargaining with myself. Just get to the next town. Just get through this stretch. Just keep going.
And I did.
Somewhere along the way, the whole trip started to click into place. Not just the logistics, but the why. There’s something about being alone on the road for this long that strips everything down. No distractions. No noise. Just me, my thoughts, and a long, lonesome highway daring me to keep moving forward.
By the time I crossed into Washington and made my final approach through Seattle and up to Shoreline, I was equal parts exhausted and wired. A very specific kind of road trip delirium.
Pulling into my sister-from-another-mister’s driveway around 8:30pm felt like docking after a long cruise. Miss M greeted me with open arms. Simon, the misunderstood pitbull, matched her energy with open paws. Within minutes, we were back to playing tug-of-war again, his full body wiggles and complete disregard for personal space totally cracking me up.
It was exactly the kind of welcome I needed.
Day 1 = Pasadena, CA to Woodland, CA = 408 miles
Day 2 = Woodland, CA to Ashland, OR = 277 miles
Day 3 = Ashland, OR to Shoreline, WA = 469 miles
Total Tripe = 1154 miles!
Not bad for a late start, huh?
Today and tonight are all about staying put and enjoying being in one place for a while. No more pushing. Just food, chosen family, that “mi casa es su casa” kind of love, and lots of naps.
Lots. Of. Naps.
Keep calm and get your recharge on!
Clint 🌈✌️
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ICYMI = IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
SUNDAY = A Healing High Hangover?
MONDAY = Ease On Down The Road (Part 1)
TUESDAY = Ease On Down The Road (Part 2)
WEDNESDAY = "He has BEEN insane."
THURSDAY = Ease On Down The Road (Part 3)
FRIDAY = When It Rains, It Drizzles
SATURDAY = Son Of A Tile Man
FROM THE ARCHIVES
BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY
04-12 = Amy Ray (1964- ) = American singer-songwriter 🌈
04-12 = Magda Szubanski (1961- ) = Australian actor, comedian and writer 🌈
04-12 = Slava Mogutin (1974- ) = New York-based Russian artist and author 🌈
04-12 = The Vivienne (1992-2025) = Welsh drag queen 🌈
04-12 = Willi Ninja (1961-2006) = American dancer, choreographer, and voguer 🌈
MAN CRUSH OF THE DAY
“The control of information is something the elite always does, particularly in a despotic form of government. Information, knowledge, is power. If you can control information, you can control people.”
Tom Clancy
Well done Clint....ya made it...and even missed out Bates Motel 😎. Now that kind of milage is hard to do in 🇬🇧🏴 as it's only 870 from John O' Groats to Lands End road driving. That's North to South. Using 'As the crow flies' it's 603 miles. Nothing compared to your 🇺🇸 distances 😝 Do you have to drive back to Passedena area to catch your cruise or the departure port is I'm Seatle area? Cheers DougT 🏴 🇬🇧
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