By the time the sun was rising Sean and I were about 150 miles north on Hwy 5 in Northern California. Just about 816 miles and fifteen hours later we pulled into my parent’s driveway in Duvall, Wash. Sean took the first shift, driving from home to Redding. After fueling both the car and ourselves (with bagels) we began the ascent into the Siskiyous. As luck would have it, the roads were clear though snow was piled high alongside the highway. In short order we were in Eugene, again fueling up both ourselves and the car. (Got 33 mpg across the passes!)

Sean again took the position of wheelman and we forged ahead through the drizzle. I squeezed in a couple of catnaps. Portland presented a bit of a challenge, putting us on a very short detour through some downtown streets. Soon we were in the Evergreen State and munching on hamburgers at C&L Burgers in Castle Rock.

Taking the steering wheel I pointed the car in the direction of Lacey, where, in wide-eyed wonder, we visited Cabela’s. Then we were on the last leg of our journey. Despite our best efforts to silently and stealthily pull into the driveway, my dad just happened to be in the garage and heard us pull up.

It was a fast trip across three states and we were no worse for the wear…