Take The Long Way Home
Our goal is to drive across the country taking only back roads. We have chosen to follow the historic Yellowstone Trail. "A good road from Plymouth Rock to Puget Sound"
Thanks for following along with us on our adventure!
-
On Wednesday August 25th we arrived at our new home, the A-bode!
Of course, our stuff was not going to get there for at least 5 more days. Our moving company screwed up (is it a requirement that the all do??!!) and our things went to Los Angeles instead of San Francisco. I was on the phone for over an hour with them, not taking no for an answer. I just couldn’t understand how after they admitted to the mistake, that they couldn’t find a way to expedite the process to make up for their error. LA is only an 8 hour drive from SF, yet it was going to take them 5 days!? They will not be getting a good rating from me.
Anyway, our things did make it eventually, and we’re slowly unpacking now. We have significantly more space than we did in our NYC apartment, so we have to get some new pieces of furniture to fill in the space. (Yes, I’ll post pictures of the finished space once we’ve gotten there. Don’t worry!)
Our neighbors brought us cookies and brownies, and have been very welcoming. We’ve noticed that living in a rural area is not as anonymous as life in a crowded city is. That’s something to get used to. For sure we’re already used to the trees, the amazing fresh smells, and the space. We love grilling on our deck, playing scrabble in front of the fire, and jogging along the hiking trails down the road. It’s like living full time in a vacation home!
We are still waiting for a land-line and internet service. So, we’re not yet connected to the rest of the world (as I write this from our local coffee shop). Somehow the delay is helping us ease into our new life by relaxing and enjoying the changes before jobs, responsibility, and routine set in.
-
On Tuesday 08/24 we made it to Davis, CA where Robin’s sister, Heather, and brother in law, Ricky, lived for the last 5 years! Of course this summer they moved to Washington DC and we moved to CA! Bummer.
They left their car there for us to pick up and keep as a second car, yay!
We spent the night at the Econo Lodge downtown, drove by their old apartment (so weird they were not there to say hi to!), and picked up the car the next morning from Kate who had been watching it all summer… now it was time to head to our new home!
08/24/10
-
At 12:44pm (PST) on August 23rd we crossed the border into our new home state. There was an agricultural inspection, but we could keep our grocery store apple and pear.
We drove down the “Redwood Highway” winding along a river, and to Crescent City, CA for lunch. We drove through Redwood National Forest with tall ancient trees shading the ground and keeping the atmosphere damp and dark. We camped at Patrick’s Point State Park (which cost $35!! Compare that to $12 at Yellowstone National Park!). The campground was nestled among tall pine trees right on the ocean cliff.
08/23/10
-
We headed to Crater Lake National Park. The color of the lake is AMAZING. I’ve never seen water like it before. It’s literally royal blue. Crazy! When we camped that night, the temperature was in the low 30’s, brrrrr! It was hard to get out of our tent in the morning as we were all cozy in our sleeping bags.
08/22/10
-
Scenes from driving along the Oregon coast.
We camped in the Oregon Dunes Horsfall National Recreation Area just north of North Bend / Coos Bay. For dinner we ate at La Costa in North Bend. One word. Awesome! The hospitality was fantastic, the owner himself served us, and there was a great guitar duo playing classic tunes in the corner. We had a fabulous time.
08/21/10
-
As we headed to Mt. Rainier the feeling of fall was definitely in the air, and even apparent in some of the trees. After waiting through multiple road repair delays, we set up camp at the White River campground on the East side of Mt. Rainier. After exploring the area around the campground, late in the afternoon we drove up the road to the Sunrise Visitor Center. A kind stranger left a note on our windshield that our car was “leaking a fluid fairly heavily.” It was obvious from the fluorescent green tint of the liquid that we’d lost a lot of engine coolant. When we opened the hood, it was obvious that we’d lost all of our engine coolant. We called AAA from the ‘courtesy phone’ and decided to coast down the mountain to the campsite and get a tow in the morning.
I called AAA the next morning at 7:30am, and at 10:45 am they showed up. The guy was super friendly and a great conversationalist, and we thoroughly enjoyed the 1-1/2 hour drive with him to Enumclaw, where he left us in the hands of Mike’s Auto Clinic. They did a terrific job, and $xxx later, we were on our way with a new radiator, and an oil change as it was time anyway. We hung out in town at The Mint for lunch and then the afternoon as the car was being worked on. We even decided to take dinner to go from them as we headed down to Oregon.
All in all, we had an unexpected, and expensive, great time in Enemclaw, WA. Thanks everybody!
08/19/10
-
Late Tuesday afternoon we made it to Seattle. The official end of the Yellowstone Trail! Puget Sound. We paid for a convenient downtown and swanky boutique hotel, and headed down to the waterfront to watch the sun set.
Seattle seemed like a city of 20-somethings. We felt old. Hopefully it was just the area we were in. We ate breakfast at the Public Market, and then hit the road to head back into the wilderness at Mt. Rainier.
08/17/10
