As a girl who grew up in the eighties, I always love an homage to a poppy London rock duo. My cousins and I watched Pretty Woman so many times that we can recite every line and every lyric. If I was creating a soundtrack for my life, King of Wishful Thinking would be there. Another song I’d include – California Love. A one-hit wonder alongside a Tupac rap hit (featuring Dre)… odd, right? But let’s face it, I know the lyrics to both, and they each elicit fun, fond memories from childhood. And while the former provides for a catchy eighties post title, the latter actually came on the radio the night after we packed up for our journey to, in fact, go West. How poignant.
This summer my husband and I packed up and headed to our new “home” town, San Francisco. The move came with much excitement, anxiety and sadness. We packed up the six years (or 12 if you count the years since I first stepped foot on UVa’s campus grounds as a first year) we spent together in Charlottesville, VA. His eight to my twelve-ish years of lifelong memories and friendships packed up and moved across this fine country.
Before I post about our new digs and some of what we left behind (stay tuned sports fans), I wanted to share the fun that can be had when you pack up a car with personal possessions (can’t trust those movers when it comes to that wedding china!), some orchids, and a standard poodle (or as we call him, a “noodle”).
We started our journey by driving 407 miles to Columbus, Ohio (a drive I have done SO many times since I turned 18). It was a quick pit-stop at my parents’ house for dinner with my siblings and two of my adorable nieces and my nephew. The visit was short and very sweet, but we still managed to get stops at some of our favorite haunts (Jeni’s, Brown Bag, and Pistacia Vera, all three in a matter of 90 minutes btw).
On day two of our trek, we headed west on I-70, crossed Indiana, stopped for dinner in Peoria, Illinois, and bedded down for the night at a “charming” Ramada in Waterloo, Iowa. The next morning we continued the journey north to hop on I-90, stopped for lunch in Sioux Falls, SD (I recommend heading to Chedd’s for a grilled cheese), then hightailed it to Rapid City to sneak in a peak of Mount Rushmore. A packed day, but it really was worth it.
Day four of the journey took us through Wyoming. We were able to swing by Devil’s Tower on our way to Jackson, WY. We opted for the “scenic” (read slow) route and went through Yellowstone for some buffalo sightings. It was a long day in the car but so beautiful. The minute you see the seven teets of Grand Teton National Park, your heart skips a beat.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming is one of my favorite places in the world. I’m so happy we got to see it in the summer. After a quick bite at Rendezvous Bistro and stay at family friend’s house, we said “so long” to Jackson and were off for day five of the long journey west.
Day five was another 700+ mile day that included a lunch in Twin Falls, ID, a Nevada highway traffic jam (a truck had caught fire and spawned little brush fires in a very dry desert…scary yet more surreal) and a late night arrival in California. We posted up in Truckee, CA – a great old western town, aka where the Donner Party laid up before attempting to make the pass. For our first California morning, we checked out the Fire Sign Cafe for a hearty breakfast, then searched for one of the few dog friendly beaches on Northern Lake Tahoe. While it read June 9th on the calendar, I don’t think Lake Tahoe registers temperatures that us Eastcoast folk would deem tepid enough for wading. But of course the noodle unabashedly chased his green fuzzy ball into the frigid blue waters of Lake Tahoe.
After the swim session, we dried off the pooch and continued the journey. Fortunately we didn’t face the same fate as the Donners, and we made the pass quite smoothly. About four hours later we crossed the Bay Bridge and entered the great city of San Francisco.
Over six days we traveled 3,166 miles, crossed 12 states, filled up about 10 times and consumed about the same number of Starbucks venti iced coffees, slightly sweet of course. The trip across this grand land was long, fun, sometimes frustrating, beautiful and well worth it. I’m glad to have done it once… if we end up having to reverse the journey in four years, well, I may have to assess the alternatives. But for now, we are here, we are settled, and fortunately, we know how to party…
the gray standard 