Day 5: Roadtrip Time- Lynnwood to Bend, OR

Due to our rodent misadventure, our time of departure was delayed. By mid-morning we’d done all we could and were ready to get out of Lynnwood and hit I5. We grabbed some chai tea lattes for our am. fuel and despite some nasty traffic in the express lanes through Seattle (Whaa? Why the regular highway going so much quicker?), a quick stop at the Capitol buildings in Olympia, and some getting-lost-ness near Portland, we were soon on our way to Bend. Mt. Hood was gorgeous and glorious. Bryan and I decided that since we’ve already summited Mt. Baker, and it was amazing, and since Hood looks so incredible and climbable, we should try to climb Rainier, Hood and Shasta in the next few years. Not this time, but soon.

Just short of Bend, in Redmond, we stopped at a Starbucks so I could complete an online course on HIV-AIDS—a weird necessity on this roadtrip as part of applying for Washington Department of Health licensure. Thank you Starbucks for free WIFI and a comfy place to sit. The 40-multiple choice test at the end was totally bogus. Example “What county in Washington represents 2/3 of the state’s population with HIV-AIDS?” Goodness, I thought that was just a byline in a huge paragraph with lots of stats, not a need-to-know fact. Thankfully I’m a good guesser and there were about 15 “All of the above” questions for which the answer was always “All of the above.” 95% later, HIV-AIDS course completo.

We spent the night at Tumalo State Park, best campsite ever due to free, actually hot, showers in the morning. Bam. Plus, the sign said “Full” but we went in anyways and there was one site left. The host kept telling Bryan he was a lucky guy, because he sold it to someone who never came back with the payment slip, and then here we were. It was full every night of this entire month, except this night. Not lucky, but God providing for us in unexpected ways yet again. We have such a loving God.