Well we're finally settling in and I thought I'd send an update on the trip out West. On Thursday July 9, we loaded up our truck with friends Sam, Simon, & Bob and two day laborers we hired at the Home Depot down the street. We started at 8 am and everything was out of the apartment by 10 am. Sam and Jake did a great job loading the truck and were done by 12:30, just in time for pizza back at Sam's house. Caroline and Veronica watched Sophia and Arlo, so Sam and I could work. Moving was a little crazy because there had been a murder on our block the night before. There were detectives canvassing the neighborhood to try to get more information on the crime. The whole crazy incident made us glad we were leaving DC!
We stayed at Mandy and Ed's house Thursday night and finally got Ethiopian takeout, something I'd been wanting to do since we moved to DC! Jake worked on Friday, I hung out with Caroline and did our apartment walk-thru to hand over the keys. We went to our last Brookland pool playgroup, got sandwiches from Big Bear Cafe, and then spent the night with Tom and Veronica in Rockville. Katie and Brian's son Will was baptized Saturday night and we got to see the Noonans and some friends before we drove to our hotel in Ohio. Sunday mid afternoon we rolled up to 1600 Fayette Ave in Washington, IL (already a far distance from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington DC!). It was fun to spend time with Jake's family (we got some frisbee golf in, some bbqing, and seeing all the house renovations).
Tuesday July 14, we left Sophia with her grandparents in Washington and drove to Des Moines. We spent the afternoon and early evening with Jake's brother Zack and his family. Then we drove on to Lincoln Nebraska and stayed at a hotel. The whole trip, we pricelined really inexpensive rooms or used the walk-in discount coupons from the little hotel magazines they have at rest stops. Our real deal was the three star hotel for $50 in St. George, Utah.
Leaving Lincoln the next morning, we drove to Glenwood Springs Colorado. This was a magical part of the trip. We got a really cheap room at the Ramada. When we checked in, they told us about a free poolside reception with burgers, grilled chicken, wine and beer. We sat with some locals who play pool at the hotel bar. They told us about a concert at a nearby park. We walked to the park, which is right in the middle of town where the Colorado and Roaring Fork Rivers meet. A jazz band from New Orleans was playing and people were already dancing and drinking beer on the grass in front of the stage. Glenwood Springs has a laid-back-hippie-ski instructor/river guide-now-grown-up-with-a-family-but-still-cool-vibe. After the concert, we swam in the famous pool. It's two city blocks long and fed by hot springs. One part is around 104 degrees and the main part is around 96 degrees. It was amazing to float on my back in the warm water, breathing the crisp mountain air, and looking at all the stars! The next day, we got up early and hiked Hanging Lake trail. It's only about 1.25 miles, but in that distance, it increases over 1000 feet in elevation (and you're already in the mountains!). You start at the Colorado River a few miles outside of town and hike along a waterfall. Near the top of the mountain, a larger waterfall cascades into a crystal clear lake with trout. The lake is right on the edge of the mountain.
I have fond memories of the Glenwood Springs area from family trips growing up. I remember going into the pool with my siblings and staying at a historic hotel in the center of town. We also went white water rafting once in that area. Mo and I hiked hanging lake on our “sister road trip” from San Diego to Denver. It was fun to share all this with Jake.
We left Glenwood Springs and headed into the desert heat of Utah. Our house was supposed to close on Wednesday the 15th, but there were some unexpected delays. So now we were driving in areas with little or no cell reception, waiting to hear if we were finally home owners! At about 3 pm, we got word that the house was ours!We arrived in St. George, Utah in the early evening.
The next day was the last day.We drove through more desert heat and arrived at our new house in San Diego at about 4 pm. We stopped briefly in Las Vegas (for breakfast, not gambling!) and again in Temecula (to get In and Out burgers and to stop by the escrow place for our rebate check and paperwork from the closing).
Saturday morning we unloaded the truck with help from San Diego folks: Andy, Rhianna, Tim, Theresa, and my mom. We were really grateful to have so many people help with the move on both ends of the country!
All in all, a fun trip and a good move. We missed our little Tortilla and it was a lot of miles to drive everyday, but we enjoyed traveling together and visiting and sightseeing along the way. Here’s some pictures from the trip:
Beautiful pics! Your trip sounds like so much fun. I've always wanted to drive across the country like that. Glad you are back in SD though!
ReplyDelete