April 25 - 28, Portland, OR to Superior, WI
By Brian Gilbar
Saturday morning, April 25th we headed out at about 6:30 a.m. to pick up the rental truck. We had a quick breakfast at Village Inn with Chris' Dad and then headed to the storage place. It was really quick work with help from our friends Daniel, Lyn, Josh and Roger as well as Chris' Dad. As we got close to the storage units being emptied out, I drove the car to pick up Splash (cat) at Bob V's house and then met Chris at Penske. Roger and Josh nicely drove me to the storage place to close my account and then back to Penske where we loaded up the cat. Chris and his Dad had already loaded the car on the trailer. Then we headed out!
Day 1 on the road was fine. Splash stayed under the seat the entire day and Chris did an amazing job navigating a 23 foot long truck towing a car. The first night we stayed in Sandpoint, Idaho at Best Western, City Beach. We had to park in the parking lot of the park next door. We were right next to the water and it reminded Chris of Newport, Vermont. We had a nice dinner at the Best Western Restaurant called Trinity. We shared a stuffed chicken dinner and it was delicious. We were both pretty tired as it was a long first day.
Sunday we were up early again and headed to Malta, Montana to the Great Northern Inn. We originally planned to stay in Havre but couldn't find a pet friendly hotel. So, we ended up having a 523 mile day which is really long in a truck that averages 50 miles per hour or so. When we arrived at the hotel I was a bit concerned. From the outside it looked old and not very nice, and Malta was a rather small town with very little there. But it ended up being an amazing experience starting at check in.
When I was checking in, the guy at the desk let me know they had left the fryer on in case we wanted dinner. They had fried chicken available which we ordered. They could have cleaned up, but they knew we would be there around 8 so they waited. The cook came out and was very friendly and accommodating as well. We had dinner in our room, and it was quite good. Splash was extra friendly while we were eating the chicken! The room was really nice, and clean and very spacious.
We then went and checked out the attached bar. The bartender was very friendly, although briefly started to share his frustrations about something related to the government with us. Luckily he stopped and we had some drinks and played some slot machines there. We won $120 bonus on one machine and left with the same amount of money we started with, even after paying for drinks and a large tip. At one point several locals came in and it was interesting to listen to the conversations. Especially from the woman who loved and was friends with everyone...except the woman who's ass she was going to kick. The bartender invited us to do B-52 shots at the bar which we did. It was quite tasty. We were both exhausted and relaxed at this point so we headed back to the room and went to bed.
Loud knocking on the hotel room door at 3:45 a.m. startled me out of my sleep. I went to the door thinking maybe a drunk person was at the wrong room and said "hello?". It was the local Sheriff...apparently someone had hit our rental truck. They also hit the car that was parked in front of us and did major damage. Luckily there wasn't too much damage to the truck and we could still drive it. The driver who crashed into our vehicles wasn't drunk but clearly must have been speeding and/or texting or something. She was given "several tickets".
Monday morning was a struggle to get up after the interrupted sleep but we headed out at 9 a.m. to get to Devil's Lake, North Dakota. We both seemed more relaxed and settled in to the drive and it was a quick day. The hotel (Fireside Inn & Suites) was ok but the staff wandering through the hallways were not friendly (none said hi even when we said hello to them). The room was ok, but the bed was soft and not very comfortable. We ate at Pizza Ranch and it was not a very pleasant experience. Food was ok but the person who greeted us at the door wasn't very friendly or helpful (her first words were "what do you want?"). But over all it was ok. We then went back to the room and were able to relax and I caught up on e-mail which was great. It's tough to stay up to date when you're traveling.
The best thing about Monday was that I received a call offering me a job! I accepted happily. The position is HR Director at Devereux Poconos, a non-profit with about 200 employees. I am very excited to get back to work after so much time off. I enjoy routine. It really was a weight off my shoulders to know I had a job.
Chris noted that Montana travel was ok but the roads were not as well maintained and it was always two lanes. Once we got into North Dakota the roads were bigger, mostly 4 lanes, and much smoother. There were very few towns or places to have to slow down. It was also very flat which helped us make better time. Though we went on a bypass around Williston, we saw a lot of activity from construction. It was clear that there were a lot of jobs there both in the oil industry and house and road construction. Oil has really been a boost for North Dakota.
Tuesday morning we slept in until 9 a.m. (well, I did at least...Chris was awake much earlier). Splash decided to hide under the bed so it was a bit more challenging getting her out and into the truck. I imagined her saying "please don't make me get in that darn truck again"! When Chris turned on the truck the check engine light came on. It was a bit stressful, but after a quick lunch at McDonalds the light was off again and we headed out to Superior, Wisconsin. It was a beautiful day, sunny skies. We stopped at a rest area in Minnesota and there was a lake right behind the building called Oak Lake. I took a couple pictures.
This was a good drive day. Very little traffic and Splash was good the whole day. We arrived that night at Best Western Bridgeview Motor Inn in Superior, Wisconsin. It was a really nice hotel but the staff there were not very friendly. We got there in time for reception hour. They had chili and chips and open bar where you make your own drinks. Chris really enjoyed that! Then I did laundry while Chris struggled to find a place for the next night that took cats...it is amazing how many hotels won't take any pets at all, or just take dogs, not cats. We walked over to a place called Sweeden's Sweets and got some treats and then back to the hotel for the night.
Saturday morning, April 25th we headed out at about 6:30 a.m. to pick up the rental truck. We had a quick breakfast at Village Inn with Chris' Dad and then headed to the storage place. It was really quick work with help from our friends Daniel, Lyn, Josh and Roger as well as Chris' Dad. As we got close to the storage units being emptied out, I drove the car to pick up Splash (cat) at Bob V's house and then met Chris at Penske. Roger and Josh nicely drove me to the storage place to close my account and then back to Penske where we loaded up the cat. Chris and his Dad had already loaded the car on the trailer. Then we headed out!
Day 1 on the road was fine. Splash stayed under the seat the entire day and Chris did an amazing job navigating a 23 foot long truck towing a car. The first night we stayed in Sandpoint, Idaho at Best Western, City Beach. We had to park in the parking lot of the park next door. We were right next to the water and it reminded Chris of Newport, Vermont. We had a nice dinner at the Best Western Restaurant called Trinity. We shared a stuffed chicken dinner and it was delicious. We were both pretty tired as it was a long first day.
Sunday we were up early again and headed to Malta, Montana to the Great Northern Inn. We originally planned to stay in Havre but couldn't find a pet friendly hotel. So, we ended up having a 523 mile day which is really long in a truck that averages 50 miles per hour or so. When we arrived at the hotel I was a bit concerned. From the outside it looked old and not very nice, and Malta was a rather small town with very little there. But it ended up being an amazing experience starting at check in.
When I was checking in, the guy at the desk let me know they had left the fryer on in case we wanted dinner. They had fried chicken available which we ordered. They could have cleaned up, but they knew we would be there around 8 so they waited. The cook came out and was very friendly and accommodating as well. We had dinner in our room, and it was quite good. Splash was extra friendly while we were eating the chicken! The room was really nice, and clean and very spacious.
We then went and checked out the attached bar. The bartender was very friendly, although briefly started to share his frustrations about something related to the government with us. Luckily he stopped and we had some drinks and played some slot machines there. We won $120 bonus on one machine and left with the same amount of money we started with, even after paying for drinks and a large tip. At one point several locals came in and it was interesting to listen to the conversations. Especially from the woman who loved and was friends with everyone...except the woman who's ass she was going to kick. The bartender invited us to do B-52 shots at the bar which we did. It was quite tasty. We were both exhausted and relaxed at this point so we headed back to the room and went to bed.
Loud knocking on the hotel room door at 3:45 a.m. startled me out of my sleep. I went to the door thinking maybe a drunk person was at the wrong room and said "hello?". It was the local Sheriff...apparently someone had hit our rental truck. They also hit the car that was parked in front of us and did major damage. Luckily there wasn't too much damage to the truck and we could still drive it. The driver who crashed into our vehicles wasn't drunk but clearly must have been speeding and/or texting or something. She was given "several tickets".
Monday morning was a struggle to get up after the interrupted sleep but we headed out at 9 a.m. to get to Devil's Lake, North Dakota. We both seemed more relaxed and settled in to the drive and it was a quick day. The hotel (Fireside Inn & Suites) was ok but the staff wandering through the hallways were not friendly (none said hi even when we said hello to them). The room was ok, but the bed was soft and not very comfortable. We ate at Pizza Ranch and it was not a very pleasant experience. Food was ok but the person who greeted us at the door wasn't very friendly or helpful (her first words were "what do you want?"). But over all it was ok. We then went back to the room and were able to relax and I caught up on e-mail which was great. It's tough to stay up to date when you're traveling.
The best thing about Monday was that I received a call offering me a job! I accepted happily. The position is HR Director at Devereux Poconos, a non-profit with about 200 employees. I am very excited to get back to work after so much time off. I enjoy routine. It really was a weight off my shoulders to know I had a job.
Chris noted that Montana travel was ok but the roads were not as well maintained and it was always two lanes. Once we got into North Dakota the roads were bigger, mostly 4 lanes, and much smoother. There were very few towns or places to have to slow down. It was also very flat which helped us make better time. Though we went on a bypass around Williston, we saw a lot of activity from construction. It was clear that there were a lot of jobs there both in the oil industry and house and road construction. Oil has really been a boost for North Dakota.
Tuesday morning we slept in until 9 a.m. (well, I did at least...Chris was awake much earlier). Splash decided to hide under the bed so it was a bit more challenging getting her out and into the truck. I imagined her saying "please don't make me get in that darn truck again"! When Chris turned on the truck the check engine light came on. It was a bit stressful, but after a quick lunch at McDonalds the light was off again and we headed out to Superior, Wisconsin. It was a beautiful day, sunny skies. We stopped at a rest area in Minnesota and there was a lake right behind the building called Oak Lake. I took a couple pictures.
This was a good drive day. Very little traffic and Splash was good the whole day. We arrived that night at Best Western Bridgeview Motor Inn in Superior, Wisconsin. It was a really nice hotel but the staff there were not very friendly. We got there in time for reception hour. They had chili and chips and open bar where you make your own drinks. Chris really enjoyed that! Then I did laundry while Chris struggled to find a place for the next night that took cats...it is amazing how many hotels won't take any pets at all, or just take dogs, not cats. We walked over to a place called Sweeden's Sweets and got some treats and then back to the hotel for the night.
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