We went west on Friday, March 6th – right on the cusp of the world turning upside down. The world was on edge, but hadn’t yet tipped.

We had bought our flights only one week prior, having delayed our return to van life, and so far having planned only five weeks on the road.

The van had been in Reno since Joe dropped it off three months prior at the beginning of December. We picked it up from the repair place, and the next morning got breakfast and hot beverages at Coffeebar just like the good old days, and then got on the road! We might have done a quick shop that day or somewhere along the way, on our trip to Ashland for a night. On Sunday, we arrived in Portland. We checked into our Airbnb on Monday, two days ahead of the Tool show. This workspace/home-base was strategic. Our friends would be arriving over the next two days, and we were planning to see Tool in Portland and then Eugene.

The next day, Joe started to feel cold and achy. […]