Portlando we love you!

After a restful night's sleep in Missoula we hit the dusty trails shortly after 10:00.  We had an amazing siting of an SUV with Wisconsin plates and an SNC alumni sticker!  The driver was identified as Ms. Stephanie Hill.  Pretty crazy!  Today also marked the first day we saw hitchhikers on the road.  Three of them to be exact, or rather three parties.  We thought about picking them up but decided not to.  We were traveling at such a fine clip that we decided to stop for sushi in Spokane.  We enjoyed a nice lunch there plus more Starbucks and were off again.  We stopped for gas in Ritzville Washington at 1950 miles.  At this point we were supposed to finally get off I-90 W and onto 395 S but due to some confluence of circumstances which shall be blamed entirely on the GPS (what better to blame than an instrument that can't defend it's sassy self?) we somehow stayed on I-90 headed towards Seattle rather than southwest to Portland.  We eventually realized and were able to regain the proper course.  While driving through Washington we saw several dust storms on the hills along the road.  Sam mused on what it would be like to be inside one.  We both decided it would be unpleasant.  In Pasco, Washington we saw the first road sign listing the mileage to Portland.  That was exciting!  I don't remember what time we crossed into Portland or Washington today or the mileage.  An oversight.  However, the drive through Oregon to Portland was beautiful.  The road ran along the Oregon-Washington border which is divided by the Columbia river.  Gorgeous river to our right and tree covered mountains to our left made for a really stunning drive.  We could see several forest fires on the Washington side which was scary.  We made our very last gas stop in Rufus, Oregon at 2137 miles.  In Oregon it's illegal to fill your own gas tank!  Who knew?  Sam did, but not Sarah.  We reached our destination, the home of Sam's cousin Terry and her husband at 9:00 PST where we enjoyed a wonderful dinner of salad and pasta with bay shrimp, heirloom tomatoes, five cheeses and sautéed mushrooms topped off with brownies and homemade coffee ice cream. Such a fantastic end to a great trip!  Tomorrow Sarah departs back to Wisconsin and Sam begins the next wonderful chapter in his life.

What we learned was covered in our video blog and since we've reached our destination no need for goals.  We're now both perfect!

Please enjoy our video blog at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYHGHeHUX_I

Road Warriors

We are writing this a little off schedule.  As you may have seen from our video blog post, we arrived at our destination quite late after a long day and went to bed.  By the end of day two we had traveled 877 miles and by the end of yesterday we were up to 1658 miles!  Just short of 800 miles in one day and all driven by Sam.  Upon entering the car we discovered that one again the alarm clock was sounding from the trunk.  It didn't last long this time.  We stopped at Mt. Rushmore around 10:45 and then drove past (literally, we just entered and turned around) Crazy Horse.  Both were nice.  haha Not much to say really.  We hit the road for travel around 12:00 and reunited with I-90, the main route around 1:13.  We weren't in South Dakota for too much longer and entered Wyoming at 1:30.  We saw our first oil drilling in this state!  We also had what we thought was our first glimpse of the Rockies around 1120 miles.  After examining the atlas we discovered that it was actually the Bighorn Mountains.  Very stunning.  Sam gave me an amazing surprise in Wyoming.  Dutch waffle cookies he had hidden in the center console.  They were gifted him by Rol VanArk.  What a tasty treat!  We stopped for gas in Ranchester, WY at 1197 miles.  Being the little dairy queen she is Sarah had developed a craving for milk.  However, in three stops in Wyoming she was unable to locate so much as a single carton of skim.  Sam offered to play her a tune on his tiny violin but she declined his kind offer.  We enjoyed the radio today more than we had before on the trip and were very surprised to hear Michael Buble "Just Haven't Met You Yet" twice!  Classy Wyoming!  We stopped in Bozeman to get gas at 1425 miles.  We realized we'll probably be driving until midnight.  The Bozeman gas station was fantastic!  They had a milkshake/smoothie machine and we enjoyed some treats.  Amazing!  We crossed the Continental Divide at 1658 miles.  Could someone explain what that means?  We finally arrived at the very comfortable Hawthorn Suites in Missoula at midnight for a well deserved rest.  And we have heard rumors that some of you out there believe that much like Santa Clause, this blog is not real.  I am here to correct you LISA DEHAAN!  We're as real as reindeer!  So please enjoy
Tiff tally: just one minor one, quickly resolved

Goals: Collective, reach Oregon before dark, don't drive off a cliff
Learned: Sam, California was next state admitted to the union after Wisconsin, Sarah, difficult to find skim milk in Montana

And happy birthday Schtinka!  And many more!

Lastly please view our most recent video blog at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyU_CZhtdhw&feature=youtu.be

Day 2

Our second day of travel was just as great as our first.  We made it 337 miles yesterday which was a very good start.  And we're spending tonight in the lap of luxury at the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City, South Dakota.  Sam booked a room for us this morning before we departed which proved to be a boon. As you'll see on our video blog we departed Albert Lea around 10:30.  After speaking with here mother Sarah was happy to hear the Packers had won last night.  Wish we could have seen the game.  For those who have expressed concern we have not been significantly affected by Hurricane Irene.  For now we're safe, fingers crossed.  As we also mentioned in the blog when we first approached the car in the morning we were fearful that a bomb had been planted in it as a steady beeping was emanating from its bowels.  After some searching and a little detective work we discovered it wasn't a bomb at all but rather a travel alarm clock trapped (literally trapped, there was no way we were opening the trunk with those darn bicycles attached to it) in the trunk, insistently sounding it's cheery call.  Fortunately the sound desisted around 11:00.  We filled up with gas at the 404 mile marker.  At this point Sam performed some adjustments on the bike rack and was able to secure them much more... securely.  At some point after this we saw a school bus pulling a trailer, something neither of us had ever seen before.  It's a first!  In addition to the numerous (literally dozens, maybe hundreds of) signs for the Corn Palace and Wall Drug we also saw a sign for "Dick's Toe Service."  Do we even want to know?  We made a quick stop at the Corn Palace and it was fine.  Cher, you're not missing out on much but if it's your dream, I'll support you :)  So far we've listened to the Book of Mormon soundtrack a mere two times.  An oversight that we'll no doubt correct over the next two days.  We refueled again at 626 miles and crossed the Missouri River at 5:35.  At this point we began to notice changes in the topography which was cool.  We entered Mountain Time at 5:43 (4:43).  We decided to take a scenic route through Badlands National Park and it was amazing.  We both were blown away by the natural beauty and honest to goodness majesty.  We saw a pack of antelope (???) grazing about five feet from the car.  Sam took some amazing pictures so be sure to check them out.  We hit the 800 mile mark on the way out.  After a quick stop at the closed Wall Drug (all that hype for nothing!) we made it to our destination, Rapid City, SD.  Our hotel is very nice and we had a pleasant dinner at the Ixtapa Restaurant.  Off to bed.  The goal for tomorrow is Missoula, Montana, about 650 miles away along with a quick gander at Mt. Rushmore.
Goals: Collective, reach Missoula, Sarah, see a buffalo (incidentally I came up with a really good before and after for Wheel of Fortune: Buffaloppian tubes)
Learned: Sam, most of SD is pretty beautiful, Sarah, all kinds of interesting info about the badlands

And as always enjoy our video blog at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wovIPoHi_f8

First night on the road

We (Sam and Sarah) have decided to document our westward adventure through an exciting travel blog  We have landed for the night at the glamorous Super 8 in Albert Lea, MN.  But I'm getting ahead of myself…  We departed Allouez at 5:30, a mere 30 minutes behind our scheduled departure time.  After a quick stop at Starbucks we hit the road.  Before we were even on the highway Sarah enjoyed some leftover cookie cake.  Thanks Betty!  Concern about the two bicycles we're transporting was a recurring theme.  While the narrators have the utmost faith in the engineering??? skills of Lauren and Jeremy, we have less confidence in the general sturdiness of the actual bike rack.   With each bump and jolt we (read Sam) feared imminent loss of one or both bikes.  Sarah secretly wished the bikes would fly free but like a stubborn zebra mussel they hung on.  While exiting De Pere Sam remarked with feeling, "Well, I'm not going to miss some of the trash around here."  With that great attitude he'll make friends in Portland in no time!  We're still acquainting ourselves with the intricacies of the GPS system which was generously lent to us for our journey by the Abbot.  Apparently if you set it to take you on the shortest route you will find yourself driving through meandering country roads.  Picturesque but not exactly efficient.  While rolling through rural southern Wisconsin we encountered a juvenile goose strolling across the street.  We dubbed him Augoostous Goose.  We also saw two Amish fellows in caps in a "serious" carriage of the variety driven by the queen per Sam.  I love seeing the Amish!  At the junction of 21 and 13 we passed Private Pleasures.  We were sorely tempted to stop but pressed on.  After driving 152 miles we stopped in Tomah for gas.  While waiting for the ladies room Sarah enjoyed a display of charming automobile stickers with a variety of broadminded and kind messages.  We also attempted to further secure the bikes.  Possibly a losing battle?  At 9:50 we crossed the mighty Mississippi!  Sam shared that henceforth radio stations will start with a K.  Fun fact!  With the amended speed limit of 70 mph we decided it was Albert Lea (Lee, Leah, Lay???) or bust for the night.  A questionable choice.  We opened the sun roof to enjoy the beautiful starry sky.  At this point the narrators got a little punchy.  Sample dialogue while discussing when we might reach Portland Monday:
Sarah: Anything's possible with Todd… Todd Danen
Sam: This is Todd Danen for Motel Six and we'll leave the extra long light on for you.
It's an SNC thing, you wouldn't understand.  We also thoroughly entertained ourselves singing popular songs but substitution meow, bark and eventually even chicken noises for the words.  Lovely!  We eventually reached Albert Lea and had some difficulty locating suitable accommodations.  We found our way to a Super 8 ($62.95/night including internet + tax!!!!) where we called it a night.  Tomorrow: Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, cookie cake and more fun!  Taking a page from our Sacred Hour ritual:
Goals for tomorrow: Sam 600 miles minimum and a photo of Mt. Rushmore, Sarah finish cookie cake and read two sections of newspaper
What we learned today: Sam speed limit in MN is 70 mph, Sarah I don't care to live in Tomah or Albert Lea

Please visit our video blog at:  http://youtu.be/-XMLqnM11ao