Hitched and Rolling

We woke up at our wonderful parking spot overlooking Pendleton, Oregon. We have been using an app Called iOverlander which offers a variety of tools for RV travelers, the relevant one in this case being it’s crowdsourced directory of vetted and commented-on sleeping spots, overtly sanctioned or otherwise. In this case the app led us to a gravel parking lot by the airport which offered a tremendous view, a cool breeze, and a quiet and peaceful night’s sleep. 

From bed using the starlink Bre found a coffee shop that he determined she wanted to try. It was called the Bucking Bean. Being the fantastic husband that I am, I offered to drive there while she and Duke stayed in bed. I took back roads and drove carefully as I transported my lounging cargo such that their bed found itself parked about 40 feet from the object of Bre’s desire. I even went in to grab the coffee and breakfast, a fact that would actually backfire for Bre. 

When I got into the shop I knew that it was a good spot because of the coagulation of older locals that sat there chewing the fat over morning coffee. Like the gas station in Enon, Ohio, this was a community meeting place. 

As I taking the photo that you see directly above, a gentleman saw me and asked whether I was from out of town. And this is where Bre’s plan began to backfire. His name was Rick and he loved to talk about the history of Pendleton, Oregon and the surrounding areas. “The Oregon trail ran right through here, you know”. Soon Rick had called over a buddy to tell me his slice of Pendleton history as well. I really enjoyed learning what they had to share, it’s always nice to dig into the context of an area while travelling. I told them that we had googled Pendleton and seen that there was an old mill, and they assured us that we had to go take a tour.

When I finally got back to the car, the coffee and breakfast burritos were cold. I’m just kidding – but the conversation had certainly slowed down my time-to-delivery. Luckily, my sleeping and cozy wife was unfazed. It appears as if Bre’s patience while cuddling with Duke in bed has no limit.

There just so happened to be a park directly across the street from the Bucking Bean so Duke and I initiated our morning routine while Bre, post coffee and breakfast, tidied the van. Soon we were ready to get moving.

The Mill was much cooler than I expected. Turns out Pendleton is a company famous for their blankets, and the mill in town was actually their original factory. We got to take a tour which was really unique. The blankets are very expensive, but at the mill they have an area where they sell “defective” blankets at around 40% off, except in most cases the defects are unrecognizable. We did a bit of gift shopping. I actually wanted to look at the flannel shirts as well and Bre basically had to drag me out of there because we were a mere 6 hours from the goal we established at the conception of Hitched and Rolling – Bre’s sister’s house in Bremerton, Washington.

I worked in the car for those 6 hours as Bre drove, and we arrived at her sister’s house around 7pm. Just in time to say hello and then retire to our hotel room so we would have energy for the next day. Another great day on hitched and rolling.