The Backstory...Liz's Version

So, who would have thought that when Betsy and I met back in January of 1993 that we would embark on so many road trips together?First there were the trips in Betsy's brand spankin' new Honda Civic way back when. One of our trips included Jen and her fabulous Saturn--which my brother JC is still driving to this day. That Saturn just won't quit! Then there was the pick-up truck, a rental car, the 4Runner, and now, the VW. No matter where we've found ourselves in life, somehow, some way, we usually find time for a classic road trip. (And, this time we have satellite radio!)

While it was once our starting point for road trips, this time, our destination is Washington, DC, where Betsy and I first forged our friendship at the National 4-H Center. Serendipity brought us back together for the past several years in Oregon, and at Oregon State University in particular, but my Potomac Fever has flared up and my husband Andy and I are headed back East. Andy will be overseeing contractors in our house in Portland and keeping our dog, Doogie, company in Oregon for the next week or so while Betsy and I take on the task of getting my car out to DC.

Although maybe I should count the trip with Jen and Rich to Potomac Falls in Jen's little yellow car as our first road trip, Bets and I first put the rubber to the road going from Washington, DC to Virginia Beach to meet up with one of my best friends from high school. Then, there were the trips to Upstate New York... Binghamton... Rochester (Wegmans!)... Ithaca. Betsy also drove all the way from DC to my hometown, Liberty, NY, to pick me up and bring me right back to Washington, DC in 1995 for my International 4-H Youth Exchange orientation and departure--destination: Luxembourg. (A shout out must go to Colleen for driving me back home to Liberty six months later after my return! Hey Coll, there's nothing like being pulled over at the exit for Liberty, huh?) Back to the trip with Bets, that was the year M&M's started making blue ones and Betsy got to see the site of the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

There have been day trips to Monterey and Napa (when Bets was in the Bay Area), to the Oregon Coast and Corvallis (years before I even moved to Oregon) and weekend trips to the Olympic Peninsula and Seattle. There have been ski trips to charming places in Upstate New York as well to Oregon's premiere skiing destination, Mt. Bachelor, in Central Oregon.

Thanks for taking the time to check-in on our journey. We'll try to keep this updated--and interesting-- and we hope you that each time you visit our blog over the next several days that you'll be inspired to come back again to let us tell you, "just one more story".

Our trip begins on Saturday, June 30, 2007.

Liz