Wind, wind go away...

When I left Boise this morning, I was not looking forward to the seven hour plus drive I had ahead of me. It was actually a pleasant drive until I came down the steep grade over Pendleton, OR and was literally hit by a wall of gusty crosswinds. Oh, no! Not again! Thankfully, I experienced the worst of it for about a half hour. As I headed north, the wind became less intense. I arrived at my pit stop for the night...my last of this road trip...in the Bavarian town of Leavenworth, WA.

It was still pretty windy, and I found out when I checked in that they had sporadic power outages in the morning. In fact, there was a warning sign on the hotel's elevator to use at your own risk. Not worried about getting stuck inside, I used it anyway. I was also informed that some businesses in the village...where most of the stores and restaurants are located...had closed due to the power outages.

Now, my plan for dinner was to get the iconic German dish, wiener schnitzel. I wanted to get takeout from one particular restaurant, but it was closed. I tried another one...also closed. But, I lucked out at the third restaurant. When I got back to my hotel room and looked at my food, I was a bit disappointed...hey, no gravy? And, it tasted just okay...that's spaetzle and red cabbage with the pork cutlet. I should have gotten the bratwurst!

And, so, my road trip...my LONG road trip...has come to an end. Tomorrow, I'll be driving back HOME! I've been away for nineteen days, and it's time to get back to my own bed and my beloved cat. I'll have driven over 5000 miles on this trip...the longest so far! I had a lot of fun and collected some wonderful memories, both literal and in photos. It won't be long before I start planning my next road trip...