Road Trip Across the U.S. – Moving to California!
This is the story of the time leading up to our move and primarily the tale of our road trip across the United States.
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If you haven’t heard by now, you either are new to this blog and/or don’t know me very well. Well hello there, my name is Linny and this is my blog where I collect posts and Youtube videos about my adventures. I’ve lived in Michigan my entire life and just moved to Southern California with my boyfriend Peter.
As the days on the calendar slipped through my fingers and we frantically worked to finish packing all of our possessions for the moving truck and do and see all of the things we wanted to before leaving, it all started to become real. We were really moving to California. A feeling of nostalgic sadness grew inside me and sat heavily on my heart. This struck me the hardest when the lease on Peter’s apartment ended and we visited one last time to turn in the keys.
Peter and I surveyed the empty apartment before us, and little memories from the past year played out in the space like film. I saw us gathered with friends, making sangria in a pot because we didn’t have a pitcher. I saw Peter and I arguing about the best method to arrange the new hanging lights we had picked up from Ikea. Stumbling into the apartment bubbling with laughter and a night’s worth of champagne after the New Year’s Eve party (the sequins from my dress adorned the carpet for weeks afterward). The gang filling up the massive sectional couch as we yelled at the TV and each other over Mario Party mini games.
It was like the end of a long TV series – that final episode where the characters reminisce, sharing memories from throughout the seasons, and you feel both happy and sad. Happy for the pleasant ending but also overpowering sadness because you’re losing your friends, your comfort place that was that TV series.
As we turned off the lights and locked the door behind us for the final time, I realized that there was one important distinction between this moment and the end of a series. Both friendships and love had grown and blossomed in this place, and unlike a show that ends and those relationships are switched off along with the TV, I would carry those friendships and love with me forever. I still felt sadness for the memories that would forever be connected with this apartment, but there were new memories to be made. It was not only an ending, but also the beginning of a new chapter.
The following weeks leading up to our departure were filled with these sporadic bouts of emotion and overpowering nostalgia, triggered by some small moment or memory. I felt sad to be leaving a city and state full of memories that I had collected over my lifetime. And sad to be leaving behind the family and friends I had grown so close to. But despite all of this, I was also excited. Excited for the new memories to be made and the new adventures to be had. And although my heart hurt to leave the people I love, my head knew that I’d still easily be able to keep in contact with all of my friends and family from home thanks to Skype and modern technology. A new adventure was about to begin. On September 16th, a Saturday, Peter and I left Grand Rapids to begin the week-long road trip out to California and our new home in Costa Mesa. Along the way, we got to see some of the stunning landscapes, cities, and national parks that make America the Beautiful. Without further ado, allow me to tell you about our week-long cross country road trip staying in 7 new cities and crossing 10 states, the first of many new adventures in this next chapter of our lives.
Goodbye Grand Rapids
We left around noon on Saturday, just after sharing a final meal at our favorite brunch place in Grand Rapids, SpeakEZ, with our closest friends and family. The night before, many family and friends had come out for a casual goodbye party that consisted of dinner, drinks, a few shots, and some Fratelli’s pizza to end the night. A success to say the least. During brunch, I had my final SpeakEZ Monte Cristo, one of my favorite meals on this earth. We chatted away the morning and for a moment it was as if we weren’t leaving and it was any other Saturday morning. We lingered longer than we should have, dreading saying our goodbyes. But eventually we knew it was time.
One by one we hugged everyone there and said our goodbyes, some more emotional and others more joke-filled. People slowly began to leave. I had successfully been keeping my emotions under control until Morgan hugged me goodbye – we both started crying. But she reminded me that her and Jon would be visiting soon. We laughed the tears away, probably from some joke Jon or Peter had made. Peter and I got in the car, packed full to the brim with our miscellaneous belongings and luggage for the road trip. Two cars pulled up so that our windows all lined up, one Jon and Morgan, and one Patrick and Abbey. Patrick blasted one of those old school goodbye songs that everyone recognizes but no one knows the name to. It was reminiscent of the ending of The Breakfast Club as the music blasted and then we each left one by one.
St. Louis
It was a 6 hour drive to St. Louis from Grand Rapids. We blared classic rock and sang along to keep the emotions at bay as we passed endless cornfields. Just as the sun began to dip lower into the sky and the light gained a golden-orange hue, we reached St. Louis. The city seemed to sprout out of nowhere after the hours of farmland. We were greeted by the famed arch, massive and impressive beyond my expectations.
One of the consistent themes that we found throughout this trip was that we would only be in each city long enough for dinner and a drink basically. So after checking into our hotel, we went out on our hunt for dinner. With riots going on downtown, we stuck close to our hotel and found The BBQ Saloon. The food was good, but very heavy. We had originally intended to get a drink afterward, but whole heartedly agreed we were both exhausted and, with full bellies, went straight back to the hotel for the night.
Hotel: The Parkway Hotel
Admittedly, I didn’t have the highest expectations for this hotel because it was one of the cheaper picks from this trip. However, it far exceeded them with a comfortable, updated room. I swear one of the blankets on the bed was the softest blanket I have ever felt. I had half a mind to take it and incur the charges but decided against it.
In the morning, we took an Uber to Amsterdam Tavern, a popular soccer bar in St. Louis, to watch the Chelsea game for Peter. Then we strolled around the nearby Tower Grove park, admiring the old structures and statues. We attempted to go to the Missouri Botanical Garden, but for $13 a person to enter we decided it wouldn’t be worth it since we needed to hit the road soon. Maybe next time!
Kansas City
If I had thought the previous day’s drive consisted of endless cornfields, today’s drive was on a mission to beat it. The landscape was filled with golden fields of wheat, green patches of corn, and countless white wind turbines. Despite the stereotype of “cornfields”, the scenery was beautiful. It felt inherently American. And having been raised in a state filled with rolling hills and towering trees, it was surreal to be able to gaze endlessly into the distance over the flat landscape. Today we only had about a 4 hour drive, but since we didn’t leave St. Louis until around midday, by the time we reached Kansas City and checked into our hotel it was around dinner time.
Hotel: Comfort Inn & Suites
Nothing special here. The hotel was within close walking distance of the Power & Light District downtown where we planned to spend our evening, and it was cheap which helped justify some of our later hotels… So after checking in, we set out toward downtown in search of food and anything else that may catch our fancy.
The first place we stopped at for the evening was the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium. It boasted some 200+ global beers and taps. We each ordered a drink and an order of loaded french fries to share. After a second drink, we moved on to Yard House. A little fancier, we ordered fruity cocktails, clam chowder which I was craving, and fried calamari to share. Once our drinks were gone and we were stuffed from all the snacking, we walked back to the hotel. With our longest drive of the trip ahead of us, the next morning we got up early and enjoyed the complimentary breakfast and left right away.
Denver
Today’s drive to Denver was eight and a half hours. Not terrible, but just long enough where it can start to get boring. Especially with the continued theme of farmland and wind turbines. For some reason in my mind I imagined the landscape slowly developing into mountains as we approached Denver, but the mountains only appeared just beyond Denver seemingly out of nowhere and without warning. So to pass the time, Jon & Morgan had shared with us a 100+ long question game they had used on their last road trip. The long hours flew by with its help and Peter and I got to learn more about each other with random questions we would never normally thing of asking. Serious questions like “what is your most embarrassing childhood memory” to silly things such as “what cartoon character would you be and why”. But eventually, Denver appeared on the skyline and the longest drive of the road trip was over.
Like many of the pitstops on this road trip, we unfortunately didn’t have a ton of time to explore the city of Denver. We arrived in time to check into our hotel, call back the leasing office of our new apartment in California about our deposit…, and head out to dinner. While we were searching for the hotel earlier we had noticed a pizza place nearby that called our names, Pizza Republica. We shared a delicious wood fired pizza and a bottle of wine.
Our night in Denver ended up being the “fancy night out” of the trip. Peter looked into a rooftop bar nearby, and so we made the short walk over to Peaks Lounge. There, we indulged in a s’mores dessert and a drink. I stuck with my tried and true red wine. The view from the bar was phenomenal. We got to the bar just in time to watch the sun set over the Rockies in the distance. Slowly the sky grew darker and the lights of the city below came to life.
Our final stop of the night was at a bar on the way back to our hotel with a completely open wall, allowing the cool night’s breeze in. I drank a gin and tonic and by the time the drink was gone, the cold night air had overpowered my denim jacket and I was ready to call it a night.
Hotel: Aloft Denver Downtown
We chose this hotel primary for its location, centrally downtown with easy walking access to all that Denver’s inner city had to offer. Inside the hotel were bright, modern designs and furnishings. The room, while a bit small for the price, was modern and had a decent view of the downtown city below. Being downtown, it did cost us $40 to valet park here overnight though fyi.
Colorado Springs
Today’s drive was very short and allowed us to spend more time in Colorado Springs than any of the previous cities. Upon reaching Colorado Springs, we continued directly to the Garden of the Gods park having heard raving recommendations from both friends and the internet. It was our first taste of the towering red stone that would dominate much of our remaining trip, like nothing either of us had ever seen before. We hiked a couple of the shorter trails, taking pictures with all of the fascinating stone monuments.
The other highlight of our day in Colorado Springs was taking the Cog Railway up to the top of Pike’s Peak. We were severely unprepared for it, however, as the top of the mountain was a brisk 27 degrees and we were dressed in shorts! The breathtaking views from the top made it well worth the cold though. And on the way up we saw a group of bighorn sheep in the distance and a fat, handsome, yellow-bellied marmot right outside the window of our train car!
By the time we descended the mountain it was growing dark. We drove back into the belly of Colorado Springs’ downtown to check into our hotel and then find a hot meal to warm our chilled bones. There was a promising-looking Irish pub within short walking distance, Jack Quinn’s. I got a delicious, soul-warming plate of chicken and curry and a glass of red wine. Looking for an after dinner drink, we stumbled upon an old subway entrance aglow with a pink neon sign reading “The Rabbit Hole“. Down the entrance and into the unique bar, we enjoyed a final drink before bed.
Hotel: The Mining Exchange
Built in the shell of an old bank, this hotel comes with an added charm over your average hotel. I immediately felt like a member of the posh upper-class as a valet opened the door for me and helped us with our bags before taking the keys to the car. The marble floors and lavishly decorated lobby was like a glimpse into the past. I half expected to see a flapper from the pages of The Great Gatsby to be lounging on the sofa near the piano. In the hallway leading to our room, an old bank vault was now used as a supply closet. Our room was just a nice, but we were so exhausted we fell asleep as soon as we hit the bed.
Arches National Park
Today’s drive was one of the most exciting. It was time for us to traverse the Rockies. All of the roads were steep and curving, with multiple run-off tracks for trucks and cars that may lose control of their brakes going down the mountainsides. While Peter was white-knuckling his way through the drive, I got to enjoy the views of the mountains enveloping us.
Having grown up in a state without them, mountains have always fascinated me and held a special place in my heart. Slowly the rocky, grey mountains developed into formidable cliffs and the rock became an exotic red-orange.
Arches National Park was like an alien landscape. As far as the eye could see in any direction, red dirt and stone filled the landscape spotted with dry vegetation from which red cliffs jutted out at random. Throughout the drive we learned that much of Utah was adorned in this striking and beautiful foreign landscape.
But Arches had something special: well, its arches of course. These arches were red stone in a variety of shapes and sizes, cut away by wind or rain over the course of hundreds of years to create noticeable gaps in the rock – thus, forming an arch. Some arches towered over us demanding attention, some wore gapping holes that left their arches looking fragile, one even looked to me like a “thumbs up” to me.
We drove to various arches on the map and made the short hikes to reach them on paths crowded with other tourists. The park was due to close soon as they had construction work being done, so we didn’t have time to do any of the more difficult and less populated hikes. Next time for sure.
Moab
We made the short drive into the nearby, charming town of Moab for dinner. Primarily because of its name, we decided to eat at Eddie McStiff’s. We shared onion rings and a pizza, feeling especially ravenous after all the walking that day. And just like that it was dark out and we decided to leave for the hotel. It was amazing how the sun set much earlier than we were accustomed to thanks to the towering canyons all around us.
Hotel: Moab Under Canvas
This was certainly one of the coolest hotels from our trip, and not exactly your standard hotel experience. The “hotel” is basically a campground of large, furnished canvas tents – where the hotel gets its name. Inside, it felt very much like the tents from Harry Potter that are spacious and furnished with everything that one might need to be completely comfortable. Glamping at its best.
After unpacking and getting comfortable in our very own tent, we set up some chairs outside to enjoy the view of the stars. Moab Under Canvas was located outside of Moab, Utah, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. This made for a stunning display of stars, uninterrupted by any light pollution. Without a doubt, it was the most beautiful night sky that I have experienced in my life. Peter pondered over some cloud aglow in the sky above us before we came to the realization that it was in fact the Milky Way! It wrapped the sky above us in a straight path cutting through the inky black night. This was the first time I had ever seen the Milky Way. My one and only complaint about this unique hotel setup was that every gust of wind caused the canvas to shake noisily, waking both me and Peter up on a number of occasions.
Pitstop at Horseshoe Bend in Arizona
Between Arches National Park and Zion, and slightly downward out of Utah and into Arizona…, America’s famed and beloved natural monument Horseshoe Bend canyon resides. It was well worth adding an hour to our drive that day to reach it. Like many of the things we had already experienced on this trip, the scene before us seemed like a painting rather than real life.
The only downside of visiting this spot was the hoards of other tourists swarming the ledge to also get a view of the breathtaking canyon. When Peter and I finally secured a spot along the edge to snap a couple pictures, we were already being pushed along by the lineup of people behind us before we could properly just look at the landscape and soak in its beauty. But for the brief time we spent along the curve of Horseshoe Bend it was magical. Also slightly surprising there was no railing of any kind – we could have definitely fallen backward into the abyss of the canyon. Anything for that view though!
The entire drive between Arches and Zion was beautiful but barren. There was little evidence of civilization through the long drive. We saw signs warning passerbys that there were no emergency services for the next however-hundred miles. On all sides we were surrounded by endless expanses of the formidable landscape – desert, cliffs, and canyons. Several times we had no choice but to pull over and take pictures of this otherworldly beyond just to prove later that it wasn’t a dream. Like for this iconic view of Monument Valley.
It reminded me of the old Westerns I used to watch with my father, and it was easy to see how cowboys might have died in this lifeless terrain. But as menacing as it may have seemed it was nonetheless magnificent to behold.
Zion National Park
Driving through tunnels cut into the canyons and down the winding path on the side of a mountain to get to Zion National Park was definitely part of the fun. Luckily Peter had gotten his practice at it from driving through the Rockies! The park itself was surreal. Everything was far too beautiful to be real, like a prop backdrop from a film set that at any moment may fall to the ground and reveal a mundane, grey scene of the ordinary. I only wish we had more time in Zion to explore its beauty. We arrived around 3pm and wanted to attempt to leave before sunset in a mere few hours. After consulting a park worker at an information desk, we ended up doing the Emerald Pools hike to a small waterfall before leaving. I can’t wait to return to Zion someday to camp there for multiple days and give it the attention it deserves!
With an hour drive to get to the hotel ahead of us, we had to get going. The drive to the hotel in St. George was beautiful. Red-stone cliffs dominated the landscape, dappled in the golden yellow light of the setting sun. Slowly the sky grew orange, then pink, to pastel purple, and finally a deep blue. By the time we arrived in the small city of St. George the light of the sky had nearly vanished altogether. After some quick research on TripAdvisor, we made a stop at the Black Bear Diner for a warm dinner (we later learned that the Black Bear diner is a chain and it lost some of its initial charm). The chicken pot pie was delicious and helped to momentarily warm me up after the brisk air of Zion.
Hotel: Inn on the Cliff
The other main hotel highlight from our trip, this hotel was literally located on the edge of a cliff in St. George, Utah. The hotel’s pool and hot tub are also on the edge of the cliff with only a glass wall between you and the edge. It made for some beautiful views that night when we arrived at the hotel, with the city down below all aglow against the dark cliffs and purple-blue skies beyond. This was a nice hotel and I only wish we could have arrived earlier to enjoy it more, without sacrificing from our time in Zion. They even had a couple chocolates set out on the bed – win. We unpacked and spent some time in the hot tub (it was quite windy and chilly out), taking in the view before turning in for the night. In the morning, the hotel delivered a complimentary breakfast that we ate out on our balcony while watching the sunrise. It was a magical way to end our road trip, as we would be reaching our final destination of California that day.
Costa Mesa, California!
On Friday, just under a week after leaving our home state of Michigan, we arrived in California with red dirt covered shoes, exhausted but excited. The barren desert suddenly gave way to mountains and those slowly melted into palm trees and sloping hills. California welcomed us with blue skies and a sunny warm day, but I guess that’s the usual around here.
We were much too early for the orientation at our new apartment, so we stopped for lunch at the first food place we came across: Buffalo Wild Wings. Not the fanciest meal from our trip, but we were tired and hungry and it would do the trick. Then we drove for the final time of the road trip, to our new apartment. We were given the full tour and explanation of the apartment grounds and utilities, key fob to enter the building, keys to our mailbox, and finally the keys to our apartment. This was our new home whether we liked it or not for the next 15 months. But with high ceilings and wood floors, luckily liking it hasn’t been an issue.
And now here I sit on our couch in the living room (our furniture was finally delivered while I was in Japan the other week!) finishing up this post. It’s been a busy last few weeks, and when I began writing this blog post we were still in Michigan. Putting the nostalgic sadness I felt into words had brought me to tears at the time. But the scary leap of faith is now over and I already am beginning to feel comfortable in our new home. Many of our friends and family are scheming their winter escapes from Michigan to come visit us. Even Erica, all the way from South Korea, may be coming to visit in a few short months!
Now more than ever this blog provides an opportunity to stay connected with friends and family from home as a way to continue to share our lives and adventures with the people we love despite living on the other side of the country. So if you’re interested in following the adventures around California and beyond, make sure to subscribe to our Youtube channel and follow Adventures with Pinny on Facebook and Instagram for updates. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
