We started the day early. Our typical 5am. Well, let’s be honest, that’s our goal typical wake-up time. And today, with a long list of things to prep, we actually met it! When you’re about to take a multi-thousand-mile (and Km!) adventure in a camper van named Trooper, there’s no such thing as “too early.”

The morning was full of the usual pre-trip, final prep. I handled my “pink jobs,” (as my sister likes to say) … packing snacks, organizing Trooper, making sure everything was photo-worthy … while Scott tackled the “blue jobs,” like mechanical checks, ensuring we had enough coffee (apparently we didn’t), and watching the video on how to use a dumping station like a pro-in-training. That came in handy around Redding when there was a slight bathroom mishap … lesson learned. 💩🚿

We said a teary goodbye to our sweet senior citizen Havanese, Ms. Torrie, who stayed behind with an amazing couple from TrustedHousesitters. Major shout-out to that community and thank you Stephanie and Liam! We’re feeling totally at ease knowing she’s in loving hands while we’re away.

We officially rolled out of the Bay Area at 10am. Thankfully, there was no traffic, and we cruised over the Bay Bridge and made our way up Hwy 80. Scott had a few Friday work calls to take, so I drove for most of the day, which was perfect – totally felt like my #SoloRoadTrip would have typically started out! We did, however, swap out once so I could take one inspiring call with a female founder doing fascinating work in science and health. (Let’s be honest though… aren’t all conversations with female founders inspiring?) I’ll be following her journey closely. 🎙️ Thank you, Cata, for the intro!

📍 Route today: We started on the 101, hopped onto the 80, and passed through Redding … where the farm fields started rolling in and I soaked up the peace and stillness of mother earth. Then we joined one of my favorite highways … Highway 97. It’s a lot of single-lane road, surrounded by farmland, forest, and mountains. We passed by Crater Lake, which I visited on my inaugural #SoloRoadTrip in 2019. No time to stop today, but we’ll be back… Scott needs to experience her beauty too.
Our final destination was Bend, Oregon, where we enjoyed dinner and a beer 🍻 at Bridge 99 Brewery. And then, thanks to Harvest Hosts, we parked the van for the evening and had 20 steps from bar to bed!

✍️ While I wrote this post, Scott pulled out the whiskey and sat outside enjoying the peace and quiet. I joined him and we drank the last of our nightcap together. 🥃

🛑 Roadside Highlights:

• 1 Starbucks stop (the upside with Trooper is the bathroom onboard .. the downside is less stops for my Chai lattes 🙂
• Filled up at Costco in Redding where gas was $3.81/gallon (yay, the cost is going down!)
• Temps hit a toasty 37°C (99°F) … AC and cold drinks were non-negotiable
• Spotted a “Dunkin’ Coming Soon” sign, which made Scott (Boston born and bred) light up
• Bought our ritual lottery tickets … one per gas stop, one per state … manifesting that millionaire van life 💰🚐
• Love’s was a life saver … and we’ll leave that story for another time 🤣

🎧 We had The Highway (SiriusXM) playing most of the way. Thankfully, Scott shares my love of country music. When Scott was on calls, it was Podcast and Audible time for me! 🎙️ I’m into a great little story on leadership and influence right now so highly recommend.

📸 Odometer at start: 5,099 miles
🎯 Estimated drive time: 8 hours
🕗 Actual drive time: 10 hours (with joy, scenic stops, lotto ticket purchases and quick driving swaps)

And while this isn’t exactly a solo road trip… it technically is the #SoloRoadTrip+1. I’ll still claim the true solo journey on the return drive later this month. Gotta keep the tradition … and the hashtag … alive.

🍻 More reflections tomorrow. For now, cheers to the open road, good company, and a very full first day.

— Joanne (and Scott)