We’ve all heard about how the journey should be as enjoyable as the destination -- but half the team thinks this philosophy absolutely stinks.

For Leslie, the long trip home from the Bay Area was a big pain in the… you thought she was going to say something crass, didn’t you? Ha!

We’re going to turn the wheel over to LK for this report, which she’ll get to as soon as she eases the pain in her neck from riding in the passenger seat for 1,000-plus miles over the course of three days. Here goes nothing.

This time it’ll be different: If there’s one thing I’ve learned during six years of RV living, it’s that I don’t like driving. I’m just not that good at it and when you’re piloting a massive motorhome, you need to bring the A game. Fortunately, my partner of 40-some years doesn’t mind racking up the miles. But here’s another confession: I also don’t like being a passenger if it involves traveling more than 300 miles a day for several days in a row. Go ahead -- call me a big baby.

So we’ve come up with a strategy to limit drive time and make lots of stops along the way, which has worked out well … except on occasion. This time around, we wanted to make a beeline back to the PNW to take care of business. So, the course was charted, the plan was agreed to, and we took off before 7 on a Monday morning from the Marin RV Park.

We decided to stick to U.S.Highway 101 instead of scooting over to the dreaded I-5 because the weather report predicted snow in Northern California.

The scenery was pleasant, especially through Redwood National and State Parks, but it was all business for our pilot. When John’s in travel mode, there’s no stopping for curbside selfies.

And six hours later, we were in Brookings, Ore., where we pulled into an old favorite, Harris Beach State Park. It was pouring, but it felt good to be back in the Pacific Northwest. After dinner, the clouds parted and the sun started lighting up the signature rock formations offshore and we took a lovely walk to the beach.

Day Two: We slept well and decided to take a leisurely approach to getting back out on the road. This stretch would involve a push from Southern Oregon up to Salem, about 250 miles. No biggie. I even convinced the driver to pull over for a biscuit stop in Bandon, where we were treated to rare midday live music at The Rolling Pin Bake and Brew. Bravo!

The two-lane road takes plenty of twists and turns and, oh, is that the sound of our brakes grinding? Should we stop at Les Schwab? Nah, we’ll make it home before tackling that maintenance chore.

That evening, we pulled into Hee Hee Illahee RV Resort north of Salem, slid into a pull-through and took a walk around. Lots of folks were living at this nicely maintained property, many with toy haulers, which makes sense in a region that loves its ATVing.

The final push: That last day was a doozy. The pilot deftly navigated through traffic in Portland, Tacoma, Seattle and Everett before pulling into our home base. Whew. It helped that we timed the trip to miss “rush hour” whatever that means when freeways can clog any time of day.

What did I do during all these hours of driving? I put together a lineup of snacks, found local radio stations, changed CDs, looked at social media on my phone and read the headlines out loud to my audience of one.

But after three straight days on the road, I was running on empty when we finally made it home.

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