A Cross-Country Road Trip

Photo from our honeymoon

With our move 6 weeks away (!!) and the knowledge that this is likely the last time we'll live in this part of the country, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and take a trip out West. Tomorrow I'm flying to San Francisco to spend the weekend with a dear college friend, and I'm also spending a night with my beloved sister-in-law who happens to be in the area for work. Seeing her is a bonus--it was totally unplanned and perfectly serendipitous!

On Sunday I'm taking a 12-hour train ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, which might sound horrible to some people but I actually can't wait. Apparently this particular Amtrak route is famous for being incredibly scenic and a lot of people say it's one of the best ways to see the California coastline. I reserved a seat on the upper deck and I plan to type on my laptop and read the books I just bought on Amazon and gaze out the window at the cliffs and the ocean. I think I'm going to thoroughly enjoy myself.

In LA, my sweet husband will pick me up! He started out the trip last week and has been visiting friends in Houston, Tucson, and LA. I've been missing him like crazy and I think it'll be really fun to rendezvous in a city neither of us have been to before. He might even twirl me at the train station, who knows. We booked an adorable Airbnb (it used to be a Hollywood hotel and has been converted to apartments) for one night and the next day we drive together to the Grand Canyon, which I'm sure will be spectacular.

From there we'll go to Santa Fe to see some family, then to Dallas to visit my older brother for a night, then to Houston to see my sister-in-law and brother-in-law and some college friends. Then a 10-hour drive back home. Phew!

I'll admit that I was a little bit reluctant at first to commit to this road trip. My husband had the idea and has been enthusiastic about it from the get-go--me and my worried brain had a little more trouble getting on board. I've been so focused on this complicated move that I didn't have room to think about anything else, and this trip is definitely ambitious.

But after we found a house and things finally started falling into place I was able to relax and turn my mind to other things and I realized that my husband is right. This is a once-in-a-lifetime sort of adventure! An opportunity like this may not arise again. And seriously, I must be a little crazy because--when your husband asks you to travel across the country with him, you say yes.

Beautiful American West, here we come.