Straight Across I-80

So Brad and I arrived safely to our new home in SLC.  We were too busy to update the blog on our trips, so subsequently I'll be updating our blog over the next few days. 
Brad and I drove my Subaru (filled with all of our belongings) straight out to SLC.  My car is getting up there in mileage, but she was a trooper!  Here's a quick recap...

Packing up in Providence:
Brad and I had to pack up both of our apartments and condense our stuff into one storage unit.  Our house in SLC is furnished, so we had to get rid of a lot of furniture and we also had  duplicates of a lot of typical household items, but it all worked out and we filled/stuffed our storage unit to the max.

Brad "expertly" packed this storage unit to maximize our space and make everything fit!

Trip # 1:
Day 1:

Harvey’s Lake to Des Moines, IA.  A long day of driving - 1000+ miles.  It was very flat in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.  We pricelined a hotel in Des Moines and had dinner at the Perkins next door.  The waiter was kind enough to spill Sprite all over Brad.  It was very funny (and sticky), but we were rewarded with free muffins for the next day’s breakfast.

Despite the many miles we had to drive, we still remained happy campers!

Day 2: Des Moines to SLC.  We were determined to get into SLC that night and just finish the trip.  We passed the Sierra Trading Post Outlet in Cheyenne, WY and made a quick stop.  It was very cool to see the outlet and I was very excited to find a pair of Chaco sandals for $15 from the “thirds” room.  We stopped for dinner in Evanston, WY at a small brewery.  We then made our way into SLC to another Pricelined hotel that worked out perfectly.  We got in late, but we were happy to see the city alive with people out and about. 

Brad was driving my Subaru in Wyoming when she hit 100,000 miles.

Day 3: We went for a walk around downtown SLC and got some breakfast at a cute bakery.  We also found an Italian Market and a German Bakery which we hope to check out once we settle into SLC.  We then went to the Orthopedic Center so Brad could get ahead with the paperwork for his fellowship.  We then met our landlords and got a tour of our rental house.  It’s a very cool, modern home that is conveniently furnished for us.  We are so fortunate to have found this home for the year.  We ate lunch at Sugarhouse Park and then made our way to the storage unit to drop my car off and get a cab ride to the airport.  I was so relieved that my trusty Subaru made it out to SLC with all of our stuff for the year.  Many thanks to my parents for allowing us to borrow their Thule box and for driving to the PHL airport to pick us up at 1 am and then drive us back to Harvey’s Lake!

We then spent a few days at our parents' houses in Harvey's Lake and State College.  It was really nice to have a few days of down time before our next big trip in the car and it was especially nice to spend time with our families before we reside in a different time zone.

It was very hard to say goodbye to our parents (and pets), but we are VERY excited to spend a year in a different city and explore all that it offers.  Here are some pictures of our goodbyes...

Zeke was very sad to see me go - he wouldn't even cooperate when I tried to take his picture.

Trout also looked very sad and his sister, Perch wouldn't even come outside to say goodbye.

But, I know Bode will take good care of my pets while I'm gone.

After a few shots, we finally got Zeke to cooperate and take a family picture. :)

This picture was taken right before we left for our 2nd trip.  Brad's Jeep was all packed up with more of our stuff and all of our camping equipment.  Of course, we couldn't forget about our bikes.

Stay tuned for more pictures and updates from our 2nd trip.