Dull Day, Nice News

So it turns out the route between Redding and Bakersfield is less than interesting.  Lots of fields, lots of flat roads, lots of truckers.  No cool mountains, no snowy passes and no exciting off-road attractions (at least none that I saw signs for).  The only picture I managed to take was of the sunset as I was coming into town (to make up for no sunset pic yesterday).

Right near the end, the entire sky, from west to east, was all highlighted in pink - but I would have had to shoot video to give the full-surround effect - not easy to do while driving. ;-)

It was even a boring food day - hotel continental breakfast, Subway tuna salad for lunch (eaten in the parking lot of the gas station) and Denny's take-out chicken noodle soup for dinner.  I guess they can't all be gourmet days, eh?

As for my news . . . I talked with the recruiter at Getty today and they are ready to move forward with the position I interviewed for and just want me to come in and talk to the Director of Development, as the role has shifted from reporting to the head of Program Management.  The nice part is they are willing to wait for me to finish my vacation, so he can meet me in person.  (I thought it might be an actual offer, but given the reporting structure changes, I need to meet him first - mostly to make sure we've met, talked and understand any differences in the role from when I first interviewed until now.)

Sorry it wasn't the exciting news I anticipated, but it is still GOOD news!

That's really it for today - I'm just glad for some rest and am excited for tomorrow, since I'll finally be getting to the Grand Canyon!!!

Redding Ho!

Today's route was Vancouver, WA to Redding, CA.  It was cloudy, but dry the whole trip and the mountain pass roads were completely clear, too.  My first stop was in Roseburg, to grab lunch (tacos), where I meandered to a nearby park so I didn't have to eat and drive.  Here was the view where I stopped:

Figured I should snap a shot of my trusty steed, too:

I decided to pull off and check out this covered bridge, too - it was quaint, but not much else around.

My next stop was much more interesting.  As I rounded a bend, Mt. McLoughlin came into view - kind of reminds me of Mt. Fuji in Tokyo, actually.

I had to drive a bit until I could get a clear shot of it, though, and along the way I found this cute little farm

with pumpkins still in the field

and rows of spent cornstalks - kind of cool, too.

And my final stop before Redding was at the Mt. Shasta viewpoint.  The top of the mountain was fogged in, but it was still a fantastic view of all the surrounding mountains.

There was a beautiful red sunset as I pulled into Redding, but by the time I got to my hotel, it was all but gone, so no pictures of that.  :-(

I found what may have been the yummiest Thai restaurant down the road for take-out - I wanted to eat more, but forced myself to stop before I got stuffed.  Now I'm just catching up on email, checking in with family, watching TV and preparing for another day o' driving tomorrow.

BTW - I may have some really exciting news to post tomorrow, so be sure to keep checking back!

Fellowship, Food and Fun

Today was another wonderful day with friends in Vancouver.  The day started right with an excellent message and fellowship with the saints at Columbia River Bible Fellowship.  A whole bunch of us grabbed lunch at Chevy's (yum!) - we took up two banquet sized tables there were so many of us!  My friends Kelly and Megan persuaded their husbands to take kid-duty, and the three of us headed to the mall - what a treat for us all.  Kelly found some AWESOME new boots, so we decided that was the photo for today:

We grabbed Burgerville on the way back to the guys (I enjoyed a yummy fish fillet and even had room for a couple of their seasonal special Yukon Gold french fries) - I just love hanging out at the Richardson house, full of good friends and busy kids.

I'm now back at my friends Deb & Bill's - providing a little tech support, blogging, and checking the pass report for tomorrow's drive through the Siskiyou Mountains as I head for Redding (no warnings in effect, so I should be good to go).

Time to rest and relax, so I'm ready for tomorrow's drive.  G'night!

First Stop, "The 'Couv"

I didn't see anyone commenting on odds given, but I made it on the road this morning less than an hour behind schedule.

Thankfully, being a Saturday, traffic was smooth the entire way to Vancouver.  Having some good friends and family to talk to along the way sure helped, too.  :-)

I met up with my dear friend Becci and we had some yummy Thai food, did a little shopping, fueled up at Starbucks, got pedicures (need those toes in top shape for possible flip-flop weather further south, you know) and topped off the night with dinner and a movie at one of my favorite places - Cinetopia.  If you live near one (or something like it), I think it is a great treat to see a movie in this venue, especially when the food is good like it is here.  We had boneless chicken wings and sweet potatoe fries, then sat back and enjoyed a complete chick flick.

Day one is complete and all is well on this trip so far.  I'll be spending another day and night here, seeing more friends tomorrow . . . so stay tuned!

While I'm Away . . .

I'm gonna miss this little girl SOOOOOOO MUCH!!!

Okay, I'll miss some other folks, too.  ;-)

I spent my last full day in town hanging out with Kaylene, Jolene and Norma - shopping downtown, eating yummy chop-chop salad at Palamino and playing with Kaylene at her house.  A perfect way to squeeze in a few more precious moments before being apart for a while.

It is just a matter of hours until my departure, now.  I have plenty to do still, so I'll make this short.  I'm aiming to be on the road by 9am tomorrow morning.  Anyone taking odds on how close to that time it will actually happen?

Pilgrimage Preparations

Well, today is Thanksgiving and just two days remain before I begin my adventure.  I was thinking about the pilgrims setting out for America and all the things they needed to do to prepare.  This year I can definitely be thankful for many things, but at the moment I'm thankful I don't have to pack as much as they did!

I'll be spending most of the day today with family, trying out a new appetizer recipe, tasting as much of Thanksgiving dinner as "Pouchy" will allow and hopefully even playing a game or two!  Just need all of this crazy snow to melt a bit so we can have safe travel to and from my mom's.

With that brief intro, welcome to my blog - check back for updates along my journey and do have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!