Leaving Home...

I've decided to try and keep a travel journal while travelling to TN. Since I'm doing this for myself, I thought maybe some of you would like to follow along as well. My posts will most likely just be random thoughts and notes not necessarily a consistent story...just so you know. :) Here is what I have from my first day on the road:

"I'm letting go of the life I planned for me and my dreams, I'm losing control of my destiny...

This is a giant leap of faith... the fear of the unknown beyond my comfort zone...

Giving into your gravity, knowing you are holding me... I'm not afraid." - I'm Letting Go by Francesca Battistelli

Stopped to get gas at Fred Meyer... was posed this question by the pump: "would you like to use your $.10 /gal rewards discount?" This seemed like a really stupid question seeing as I was about to set out on a journey that will take me about 2500 miles away from what has been my home for over 23 years!

It has been a beautiful day for a drive... crisp and clear with the sun shining all day. Saw beautiful fall color crossing the Cascade Mountains and then again when crossing over the Mountains in Montana. There was a lot of gold colored trees in Idaho and Montana... and I wasn't sure what they were at first. I finally got close enough to some and decided they must be Larches, because they looked like conifers. The color was stunning and I was able to take some pic to share when I stopped at one of the rest areas. I also noticed a light scent of pine lingering in the air when I got out of the car. It was a nice addition to the feeling that I was in the middle of autumn there.

Once I got to Missoula (my destination for the night), I met a family friend for dinner next door to my hotel. The food was delicious and it was nice to catch up with her. After dinner, we were discussing how far from Missoula, Bozeman is, and ended up getting some helpful info from a waiter who had just ended his shift. I then started out to go back to my hotel room, and the friend came out after me and said she was going to drive me back to my hotel (even though it was just next door). Apparently the guy we had chatted with, followed me out of the resturaunt even though he still had half a beer left at his table. I was thankful for her concern, and took her up on the ride. Now I'm going to try to get to sleep, even though the next door neighbor is talking very loudly (on his cell phone presumably) and get an early start tomorrow morning.

Here are some pics I took today...hope you enjoy.

The first pic is of The Gorge at Vantage, WA. The second is of the fall color in Montana.