Moto Goes West

Our journey from Virginia to Seattle, WA and all of the adventures in between.

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The Great Outdoors!!

Since moving to Seattle in May we have some ups and downs, but through it all we have made a point to enjoy being outside in the amazing Pacific Northwest summer.

We have so much to choose from in regards to outdoor activities that we have only just experienced the tip of the iceberg. So far we have:

- hiked the Twin Falls trail - explored Discovery Park - gone kayaking in Elliot Bay at sunset - walked through the SAM Sculpture Garden - walked the piers on the water

And there is still so much to do!

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Three Week Check-in It's been a whirlwind since arriving in Seattle. We have been busy starting our new jobs and learning the neighborhoods. Sticking to our goals of being more active, Adam and I have been walking the 1.5/2 miles to and from work. We have also been visiting the many neighborhoods around Seattle, getting to know all the different niche communities that this city offers. We were excited to see some good friends over Memorial Day weekend who just bought an adorable home. It was nice to meet their friends as well who were all lovely. The cats are settling into apartment living very well - we can tell that they are very happy to be back living with us. I'm looking forward to the upcoming weekend where some friends from VA are headed here for a conference. It will be exciting to show them around our new city home.

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The cats are officially here and have already taken over!! A huge thank you goes out to Adam's parents who have been taking care of our two boys, Mac (gray) and Indie (white/brindle), for the past few months. It was a bit of a task to figure out how to get two rather large cats cross country. Eventually I discovered that United has a program called "PetSafe" where your pets can fly in secured and safe conditions domestic and international. So, our cats flew direct from Dulles to Seatac with no issues. Our parents are really the ones to thank as they are who ensured that the cats were crated properly and made it to the airport on time. Then it was simply the case of tracking their flight and picking them up at cargo hold. Needless to say the cats were a bit disoriented after being in crates for an extended amount of time, but they have bounced back really quickly. It's like they were never separated from us now, which makes me very happy. Our family is finally whole again. Now to see if we can all survive in a 1 bedroom apartment!

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And we have Blog artwork!!! I have to give the BIGGEST SHOUT-OUT EVER to my friend and amazingly talented illustrator and designer Jamie Spencer who created this amazing artwork. I could not have dreamed up anything more spectacular.

Thanks so much Jamie, your talent astounds me.

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THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to my amazing parents who went on this crazy cross-country adventure with Adam and me. Thank you for all of your support and help. I know that it won't be easy being so far apart, but now you have another place to visit! Love you both!!!

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Moving In Well, all of our stuff arrived successfully in Seattle... Phew! Moving it all into our small apartment proved to be a bit of a challenge and about halfway into unloading the truck we decided that we were going to need to put a lot of our stuff in storage. I cannot say enough good things about our movers - Lee and Tammy from Mayflower. They literally saved us by coming back out on Sunday Nd helping us take boxes back out of our apartment and take them to the storage unit. They also were like storage unit magicians - packing it in aisles so that we have access to everything if we were to need it. The apartment is coming together and I am excited to finish unpacking clothes and the kitchen this week. There will be a tour once it is all together.

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We Made It!!! After six days on the road, we finally made it. We spent our first day in Seattle by doing some essential touristy things and some necessary house stuff. We started the day with breakfast in Pike Place Market with crumpets and coffee from the ORIGINAL Starbucks. We then took a nice stroll through the market. After that we headed to our new apartment to sign all the paperwork and get our keys. We got the chance to show my parents our apartment and the rooftop views. It was such a beautiful day. Then we walked five blocks to the Seattle Center, home to the Space Needle. We went up the needle and had an amazing lunch at the rotating restaurant on the top that offered beautiful views of the entire city and the sound. After that, we took my parents over to Luna Park in West Seattle, where there are fantastic views of the entire city. With a lot of "touristy" stuff done for the day, we did what any good transplant to a new city would do - go to Bed, Bath and Beyond. It was an adventure, but we got everything we needed. We finished out the day by going to dinner at a local find called The Masonry where they have brick oven pizza and a great beer selection. We will definitely be going there again.

[megrock]

On the Road - Day Six

This was the longest drive day of the trip, roughly 10 hours in the car from Bozeman, Montana to Seattle. All of it was highway driving as well, so not too much to report from the sight-seeing side, but we did see some beautiful country.

We passed through Idaho on our way from Montana to Washington State. We had lunch in a place called Coeur d’Alene which is a lake resort area that is really nice. It’s only about 4.5 hours from Seattle.

Driving trough eastern Washington State was a lot of farmland. Once we passed over the Columbia River we saw tons of wind farms with huge power-generating windmills.

As we got closer to Seattle, we drove through Snoqualmie which was so beautiful - mountains, trees, and waterfalls. We arrived in Seattle around 6:30pm absolutely exhausted.

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On the Road - Day Five We started off the day leisurely having a great breakfast at the Bunnery in Jackson. We then did a little shopping and went to see the Jackson Jole Mountain Resort, and the amazing Four Seasons Hotel at the foot of the mountain. True ski-in/ski-out. We definitely need to come back during ski season. Next we drove through Idaho and into Montana towards the town of West Yellowstone. We had a quick lunch and headed towards the park. YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK This place is a true wonder of nature. From the get-go we saw amazing vistas, but then the Wild West got real and we were greeted by a small group of Buffalo and elk grazing by the side of the road. Thinking that we were so lucky to see any wildlife, especially Buffalo, we were so surprised to happen upon another three buffalo walking down the middle of the road. We were so close to them, it was fantastic. We headed towards Old Faithful and saw it erupt in all it's glory. We then went to see some of the mineral hot springs/geysers which were steaming and the most beautiful Aqua color. As we were leaving the park, we saw a heard of buffalo 30+ strong crossing the river - it was a very "Dances with Wolves" type if experience. I would love to go back and spend much more time in Yellowstone. We then drove through Big Sky and arrived in Bozeman, Montana around 9pm... Exhausted.

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On the Road - Day Four We left Gillette, Wyoming early so that we could take our time driving to our next ultimate destination - Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We drove through Grand Teton national park which was beautiful. We stopped at the Wyoming Dinosaur Experience. We got gas at the home of the World's Largest Jackalope, and rode it! And we drove through some of the most insane wind I have ever experienced. We got into Jackson Hole around 5:00pm, which allowed us to walk around a bit. We went to dinner at a local place called Cafe Genevieve, which serves something called "Pig Candy" which is just as amazing as it sounds. After dinner, we moseyed up to The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, a Jackson Hole must where the bar stools are western saddles. It was a spectacular day on the road and a wonderful evening in Jackson Hole.

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On the Road - day three This was a big day! We made an early morning stop in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We were there early and the park was beautiful. Then we got back on the I-90 and headed west. Throughout the day along the I-90 there were a lot of “Americana” stops, namely The Corn Palace and Wall Drug (think South of the Boarder, but nicer and in South Dakota). By around 4:30pm we arrived to The Black Hills national park, home to The Crazy Horse memorial (still under construction) and Mount Rushmore. Both were spectacular. I hope I get to see the Crazy Horse memorial finished in my lifetime. Mount Rushmore was spectacular. It is really a memorial, I didn’t know that there was a full amphitheater there as well. It was overcast, but the weather was good enough to capture some amazing photos. After our sight seeing, we got back in the car and took the “scenic route” back to the I-90 and onto Gillette, Wyoming where we had a great steak dinner - as you do in Wyoming and collapsed into bed after a very long day. Lots of driving, lots of sights, and some unique places.

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On the Road - Day Two Yesterday was long. We left Huntingburg, IN around 8:30am and headed to Hoffman, IL to visit with my mom's side of the family. We arrived at my grandparent's house around 10:30am and enjoyed a few hours with family - thank you to everyone who came for lunch, it was so great to see you all. After we left Hoffman, it was time to put the rubber to the road and drive to Sioux City, Iowa. It took roughly 9 hours and we were exhausted once we arrived. But the sunset that we saw on our drive was beautiful and we drove through St. Louis, Kansas City and Omaha. All-in-all a driving heavy day with some great time spent with family. Now starts the "sight seeing" part of our trip and we are excited!

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Just in case you are wondering what mode of transportation we are using to go across country... We opted for the flying unicorn. Obviously.

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Hoffman, Illinois! So wonderful to be able to stop and see my grandparents on our adventure. It has been far too long since we have seen them and the rest of the family in the St. Louis area. We had a nice lunch and caught up with everyone. Now it’s back on the road for 9 hours to Sioux City, Iowa.

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Extra, Extra!!! Travel app recommendation - ROAD NINJA What a great app to have on a cross country trip. RoadNinja gives you a preview of amenities at upcoming exits - from gas stations to pharmacies by geotargeting your location. It also shows the current prices for hotels a gas, which is a HUGE help. Plus - it's free! We are going to be using it throughout our trip. I love a good app find :-)

[vatowa]

On the Road - day one

Today was the first of our six day tour of the USA. It was a driving heavy day, going from Fairfax, VA to Huntingburg, IN - roughly 675 miles. We took 66w to 81s to 64w.

Along the way we saw the gold dome in Charleston, WV and the amazing horse farms along 64 between Lexington and Louisville. And the beautiful rolling Blue Ridge Mountains. There was barely any traffic, thank god, and we maintained a pretty good pace. The parents even kept up!

We ended up in Huntinburg, IN about 8 mikes off of 64. It’s a historic little town that has some cute places, but they all close early! Thus we had dinner at the hotel restaurant, which was actually really good. Who thought that you could find great margaritas and tacos in the middle of Indiana?!

All in all a good day on the road.

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Pack it up, move it out When trying to figure out the logistical conundrum that is moving across the country, we realized that hiring a professional was the best option. Since all of our earthly possessions included an enormous tool box that weighs in excess of 2,300lbs, we knew that a uhaul would not cut it. Thanks to our amazing realtor Becca Trainor ([email protected]) we were put in contact with United Van Lines. They have been fantastic. On Monday the semi was packed, of which we only took up 1/3 of the space. Those guys would kill at Tetris, they were packing magicians. All in all it took roughly 5 hours to pack and go through all of the paperwork. Then we said “see ya soon” to everything and bid adieu to our drivers Tammy and Lee (and their 3 dogs). So, check stuff moving off the list ;-)