Day 4 – West Des Moines, Iowa to Grand Rapids, MI – The End of the Cross-Country Journey

Day 4 found us waking up in West Des Moines, Iowa, looking forward to a final 8.5 hours in the car. Our first stop was Caribou Coffee. I had never had Caribou Coffee, so the change up from Starbucks was a welcomed difference.

After the caffeine fix, we realized there was a Whole Foods not too far away, so we hurried over to get ourselves some provisions for the day so we could work on the Fast Food Overload from the three days we had already spent in the car.

We are pretty sure the Whole Foods was a new addition to the city, but to us, a much welcomed one. We made our way to the deli counter and ordered our sandwich. During the course of our conversation, I had told the guys behind the counter that we had 8 hours to drive, but it seemed like nothing compared to the 26 we had already driven. And then, much to my surprise, when they handed me the sandwich, they told us it would be free of charge. They said they figured we must be super tired after being in the car that long, that the least they could do for us was give us a sandwich to brighten our day. It was a such a great surprise to start off our last day. I know it might not have been much to them, but for two people who were slowly going loopy due to transfat overdose, the gesture went a long way.

So after some good coffee and Midwestern generosity, it was back onto I-80 and full speed towards Michigan!

We had about three hours of driving to do from where we stopped until the Illinois border, so I kept myself busy by driving Jason crazy with my singing. Again. He now really hates the Rihanna song. Along with Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake”. I can’t say I disagree with him on that one. I am sick of hearing that song too, although every time it comes on the radio, I find myself singing right along with it! It’s pretty safe to say the same goes for Call Me Maybe.

Being in the car for that many hours, through that many states, I started to realize how absolutely lucky I am in growing up in California. You might think I would say the weather, the scenery or maybe being an hour for wine country – but honestly, it’s because we, as Californians, are so lucky to be sheltered from political ads both on the radio and on tv. Through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa and Michigan, we have been audibly and visably assaulted by political ads – one after another. I guess I just never realized the full of extent of it until you realize that is all you hear between Rihanna, Katy Perry, One Direction, Bieber, Romney, Obama, Windstar GPS, Maroon 5. I am just glad there is less than a week until elections.

Iowa was pretty. It was cool to see all the farmland from the freeway, as well as the numerous types of tractors there are in the fields.

After Iowa came Illinois – our new home state!

Illinois looked a lot like Iowa. Flat and full of fields. The clouds were gorgeous – although after three days, we were getting used to open sky with impressive cloud work.

Today was the first day that we weren’t driving in blue skied sunshine. We were extremely fortunate with the weather we had over our 2,290 mile drive. On Monday, October 22, the day we were supposed to leave, San Francisco had massive rainstorms which means massive snowstorms in the Sierra Mountains. Additionally, this meant that we would be either chasing or be chased by the storm as we moved eastward. As luck had it, leaving just one week later, on October 29, allowed us to have a pretty and weather free drive across the United States. We were worried about the effect that Hurricane Sandy would have on the weather as we got closer to the east coast, but luckily for us the weather from that storm didn’t come west of Ohio.

We stopped an hour or so into Illinois to get some gas and eat lunch.

We were so happy to not be eating a cheeseburger or fried chicken! Truth be told, we ate our sandwich in a Walmart parking lot. All I will say is that we had a great people watching spot from the car, and we had some great lunch time entertainment.

After lunch it was Jason’s turn to drive – which meant it was my turn to sing-a-long to the radio without worrying about my car dancing sending us out of control and off the side of the freeway. We were REALLY sick of the radio by this point, as well as listening to the three albums on my ipod we could both agree on – so I used an app called Songza on my phone and put on the best radio station. EVER. And by best I mean this station was called “Top 100 Worst Songs Ever”. It was just a musical journey through awful from there – Cottoneye Joe, Welcome to Miami and the song that finally made Jason threaten mutiny – My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas. Although I am pretty sure I entertained him for the minute and a half he allowed the song to play.

After getting oh so close, yet still oh so far from Chicago, we continued on into Indiana.

The way that I-80 took us, we sadly weren’t in Indiana for that long, but what we saw looked a lot like Illinois and Iowa.

And then, it was the home stretch!

We had made it to America’s High Five! Michigan!

After 2, 290 miles, we had less than two hours to go. The feeling was amazing but at the same time, we were still in the car listening to Rihanna. We were ready for a break.

At 7:00 PM on Thursday, November 1, 2012, we pulled into the driveway in Grand Rapids, Michigan, officially ending our cross-country venture. What an adventure. There were boring times, there were fun times. I thought our three-week trip to Europe helped me learn even more about Jason, but I really think a long car trip with someone helps you get to know them even better than that.

I think if you can survive four days of driving with someone for 8 plus hours a day, after living in your parents’ house with them AND a three week trip to Europe including 2.5 weeks in a country where no one speaks English – you can pretty much be confident in your decision to spend your life with them.  

I am not quite sure when I can officially call myself a Midwesterner. I’ve been told I have to at least make it through a winter here first. I’ve also been told it has to be more than a year. I am looking forward to the new challenges in life I have to face, settling in a new place, finding a new job, making new friends, meeting the old.

Our journey across the United States may have ended, but our life in Chicago is just starting. I am so excited to share this all with you.

I am Landon Modena-Kurpinsky, and I endorse this message. 

Day 3 - Cheyenne, Wyoming to West Des Moines, Iowa

Night two we stayed at the super fancy Little America Hotel. Seriously fancy. I mean you have to be if you have a penguin in your lobby!

In all seriousness though, Little America was pretty awesome. If you ever find yourself in Cheyenne, Wyoming, be sure to check it out. It's a one stop shop for gas, snacks and a place to stay. 

Cheyenne was exactly what I expected. On our quest to find Starbucks on the way out of town, we drove around the area near the state capital it was small town America. The little motels around there had the neon signs exactly like you would expect them to – totally non-PC Indian signs and mom and pop liquor stores that have long closed.

After grabbing coffee from bunny ear wearing baristas (Happy Halloween!) we got back onto I-80 and kept forging our way east through Wyoming. Just like on Day 2, we were only 45 minutes away from the border when we stopped, so it was a quick jaunt to Nebraska. 

Nebraska is flat. It goes on and on and on. Flat. For miles. And Miles. Basically multiply this photo by six hours. And there you have Nebraska.

Time changes in Nebraska – from Mountain Time to Central Time. My phone changed, Jason’s didn’t. This wasn’t a big deal until we tried to get lunch in Cozad at the Green Apple Diner. Unfortunately, they are only open until 2 PM, which is when we got there. Jason’s phone said 1. We were just mainly looking forward to the pie that had reviews on Yelp. Maybe next time.

Unfortunately for us, Green Apple Diner was a non-fast food place that we were both looking forward to. After two full days of driving, we are sick of burgers and fries and fried chicken and fast food. We are on FAST FOOD OVERLOAD. I seriously feel ill from eating it for three days. I am not quite sure how truckers can handle driving with limited food options like there are. I miss vegetables. And salad. And vegetables. And drinking water. Which I haven’t done. Rest stops are few and far between in much of the west on I-80, therefore I have been avoiding my normal water consumption. I know, that is probably TMI. Sorry!

Another thing about being in the car for the past 2 days is we’ve realized how much radio stations play the same songs OVER AND OVER. Today was the day of Rihanna’s new song Diamond or something like that. Jason has declared it is “not one of his favorites”. We must have heard it at least five or six different times between Nebraska and Iowa. The other thing we have realized is that there is an abundance of religious radio station out here in God’s Country. We listed to a woman today who has prisms in her house to ward away evil spirits. The solution? Prayer of course! And ridding her house of Ouija boards.. Go figure.

While we were spending our day in the car, many of my friends were attending today’s Championship Parade in honor of the San Francisco Giants’! I am sad I couldn’t be there today, but I appreciate all the pictures you all shared on Facebook and instagram. I was with you in spirit – reppin’ the Giants’ all the way here in Nebraska! And obviously avoiding the crowds. I think there were more people at the parade yesterday than live in the entire state of Nebraska. 

After too many hours, we finally made it through Omaha, Nebraska and into Iowa!

I mean it when I say this – Iowa has smelled like cooking bacon since we entered the state. BACON. Also, there were strange pockets of fog in the fields as we drove down the freeway. Maybe it was from the cooking bacon!

The sun unfortunately set not too long after we got into Iowa, so we didn’t get to see too much of the lad, but I have a feeling that we will have plenty of time to see the country side today.

We got into West Des Moines, Iowa around seven and enjoyed a quick dinner at Macaroni Grill. Can’t say it was our favorite, but we really just wanted to avoid another meal of burgers and fries.

We will hopefully be in Grand Rapids, Michigan by tonight. Where I plan on eating lots and lots of vegetables. And exercising.

Until then!  And for those of you who want to see a few more photos that might not make the cut here – follow me on instagram! My  username is Thatgirllandon 

Day 2 - Elko, Nevada to Cheyenne, Wyoming

Before I start with our adventures, I need to say the following:

I am very grateful that Jason and I fall into the “normal” relationship category. I cannot imagine driving through Utah and more so Wyoming if we were considered different. I cannot think of Wyoming without immediately thinking of Matthew Sheppard and Laramie. I know there are many more things Wyoming has going for it, but he will always be the one it didn’t. I learned today that Wyoming is still one of the last states that still does not have a hate-crime law.

Jason and I are very, very lucky that we can walk into any gas station, restaurant, hotel, etc and not even be looked at twice. We talked in the car today about our friends and family who have had to make this drive and not felt safe. And to you all, I am so sorry that it had to be that way. I sincerely hope that the world continues to change so you no longer have to avoid places like Wyoming because you fear for your safety.

And now onto the lighter topics!

After a night of somewhat refreshing sleep, we were ready to face day 2 of driving. Because of our decision to stick to shorter than 12 hour drives, we made the decision to aim for Cheyenne, WY – a 10 hour, 10 minute drive from Elko. So, after booking a hotel on hotwire trying to avoid having to search for places once we arrived, we were ready to go.

I checked the weather outside. TWENTY EIGHT DEGREES. My heart (and the rest of my body) is not ready for the cold temps yet.

Because I have been an overweight girl for most of my adult life, and living in San Francisco, I never really knew what being cold felt like. I mean sure, we have our mornings where it was foggy and the rare moments of scraping ice off windshields once in a blue moon, but for the most part you could get away with the trusty Northface Fleece. However, after dropping 75lbs, being cold is a whole new ball game to me. What used to feel cool and nice is now freezing to me. I was the flip-flop queen. Now half the time I am wearing my Ugg boots because my feet are too cold. So, this all being said, 28 degrees now feels like it might as well be -28 degrees.

I was tasked with warming up the car while Jason checked out of the Quality Inn. Warming up the car? Another new thing I guess I have to learn. After finding the ONLY starbucks we saw today, we headed out in the direction of Wyoming.

Luckily, Elko was not too far from the Nevada/Utah border, so we made it to Utah in about an hour. 

Immediately after crossing into Utah, we came across the Bonneville Salt Flats. When Jason first drove out to San Francisco, he hit Utah at night, and therefore wasn’t able to see the full effect of the flats. So, of course we stopped and checked them out.

I can’t say the Utah scenery was that much different from that of Nevada. Both are pretty much void of life. The difference is in Utah there weren’t any plants for a while because of the salt in the soil.

Our plan was to stop for lunch in Salt Lake City. I had the bright idea of  stopping for lunch at a local brewery called Squatters Pub and Brewery. We had tried one of their beers last winter in Vegas, and were pleased that they had a location in SLC. So, we stopped, ate lunch, grabbed a beer each for later and drove past Temple Square and the state capital. We didn’t take too many photos here, as we were more in a hurry to get back on the road because Cheyenne was another 6.5 hours to go…

Utah had some more up the hill, down the hills then into Wyoming!

Basically – Nevada, Utah and Wyoming are all pretty similar when it comes to the views from the freeway. Vast areas of nothing, then up a hill, down the hill, then more nothing. It’s very straight and the sky seems endless.

Here’s where I have to do a PSA for Wyoming. The skies are seriously remarkable. As the sun set during the course of the day, the light was absolutely gorgeous.

We had another entertaining day of sing-a-longs (and by we, I mean me). I wonder if Jason knew the extent of my lyrical knowledge when he asked me to marry him. If he didn’t before yesterday, he sure does now.

The Lumineers and Mumford and Sons were the fitting soundtrack for today’s drive, along with a failed attempt at a Halloween Party playlist on Pandora. All I wanted was Thriller and Monster Mash and all I got was Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack songs. Maybe tomorrow will fare better.

Until next time! 

Day 1 - Albany to Elko, Nevada

We wanted to make sure that the day would start off as normal as possible. The goal was to wake up when we woke up, finish packing up the car then head on out. 

Doing this meant that we would most likely be getting a later start and we would have to start looking at realistic drive times for the day - mostly so we weren't driving in the pitch black desert trying to find a place to stay. So, we decided that Elko, Nevada would be a good distance away (8 hours) and a safe first place to spend the night.

The problem we found was that some of the hotels were completely booked, while others were listing their rooms at San Francisco prices. We figured that it being a smaller town, we would take our chances with what we could find when we in arrived in Elko.

I will be the first person to admit that I suck at goodbyes. I am the person that tries to sneak out of parties, bars, get togethers, etc without saying goodbye to people. Unfortunately, when moving across the country, there is no sneaking out the back door. The reality of the move had set in. Everything was packed, it was time to go. After holding it (mostly) together for the past few days of goodbyes, knowing it was the last time I'd walk out of the front door of home set in and I of course became the hot-mess, ugly crier I was trying to avoid. 

Once I was able to regain composure (and I won't mention how long it took), the excitement finally began to set in! We were on our way to the midwest! Mid-Sandy! 

The drive took us through the Sierras and Truckee, where the changing of the leaves was gorgeous against the early snow that they got a week ago - when we were originally supposed to leave . The contrast of the yellow of the leaves against the white of the snow was magnificent. I tried to capture it, but Jason was being a speed-demon and this was the best shot I could get...

After we made it through the Sierras, we were in Nevada. We stopped for lunch at in-n-out in Sparks, which is right outside of Reno. We wanted one last burger before we left the land of the golden arrow. 

Nevada was pretty much like this......

For four hours. And most likely another four tomorrow. You seriously aren't missing much by not making this drive. Unless you like dirt. 

We made it through the drive torturing Jason with my knowledge of Spice Girl songs thanks to Pandora. We've also now learned that he is not a Britney Spears fan. 

We arrived in Elko at about 6:00 pm. After being told that the Best Western was $150 a night (WHAT??) we found out the secret to the completely booked hotels and ridiculously priced hotel rooms - Elko is a gold mining town. Monday through Friday, the hotels are mostly full with miners searching for riches. Not only is it a gold mining town, but apparently Elko is close to THE MAJOR gold mines in Nevada. Which means there are lots of miner men wandering the streets and hotels of Elko. We were also told the prices of hotel rooms in Elko are dirt cheap on the weekends, so if you want to fulfill your lifelong dream of visiting this amazing town, come on the weekend.

Tomorrow we aim for Cheyenne, Wyoming. It's about a 10 hour drive and allows us some time to explore the salt flats in Utah.

Hopefully I will get some better pictures tomorrow. 

Moving Day

Where have the last three years gone?

It's moving day. I've been up since six. I woke up with that excited feeling like the morning you are taking the trip to Disneyland, of even Christmas. Then I remembered.

This is the day I start my 2,290 mile drive away from my family and friends. That is the hardest part about this move. I know that part of change is having to leave things behind, but it's hard when the things you are leaving behind are people you love so dearly. 

There is almost a surreal feeling to today. I think a big part of it is because we have been talking about and putting off this move for so long, that part of me doesn't really believe it's happening today. The moving truck is all packed up and locked up, waiting for the driver to come pick it up and start hauling our stuff towards the Midwest. I figure at this point I have to move, because all my stuff will be sitting there in a truck waiting for me... and I've paid for it already...

Our last day in California was full of errands and packing. I started the day with a long walk with my mom yesterday. It was nice to get one last long walk in with her. The weather here has been ridiculously beautiful, so I got to have one last 70 degree day before plunging myself straight into winter. Then came the packing, the errand running and then the rosary for my grandpa. I feel bad leaving at the same time my dad is saying goodbye to his dad, but it's time. 

The San Francisco Giants' won the 2012 World Series last night. I can not think of a more perfect way to have my time in San Francisco end. Actually - an Oakland A's/ San Francisco Giants' World Series would have been more perfect, but hey, I will take what I can get. And now, I get to leave the city before the victory parade happens on Wednesday. 

Our goal today is to make it to either Salt Lake City or Elko, Nevada. It all just depends on what time we finally hit the road.

Wish us luck! 

The Beginning

Once upon a time there was a little girl born in the big city of San Francisco. A place so magical that people come from every place in the world to catch a glimpse of its Golden Gate and, as Tony Bennett says, “ride a cable car halfway to the stars”.

But one day, like in all stories, that little girl grew into a big girl and fell in love. And suddenly, the happy ever after story began to change. The ride off into the sunset scene no longer included the Sunset (District), the Ferry Building at the foot of Market Street in 65 degree weather, even in the month of February. No, the little girl from San Francisco fell in love and agreed to marry a man who hailed from another part of the world, this far away state called Michigan. And after three years of discussions, agreed to move to Chicago, Illinois.

And this is where our story begins…

Five years ago, while working at the Container Store, I met Jason. This blog isn’t so much about our love story (though I would be more than happy to share it with anyone who would care to listen….) as it is about this City Girl’s decision to pack her life into boxes, onto a truck and eastward to the great unknown… THE MIDWEST.

I have lived in San Francisco my entire life. I grew up here. My friends are here. My family is here. My job (though I can’t say I’ve loved every day of it) is here. Moving over 2,000 miles away from what has been, until now, my entire life scares the S-H-I-T out of me. But here we are. The Friday before the big day (which is Monday). The truck has arrived, ready for us to load up everything we have deemed important enough to carry with us, and move me away from everything I know.

Don’t get me wrong. I am beyond myself excited to move to Chicago. This is something that I have been talking about doing, wanting to do, dreaming about doing since the first time we talked about it. Just now that the day has come, the bittersweet feelings have started to sink in.

This California girl has never lived through a Midwestern winter. This will be a brand new, eye
opening experience for someone that is used to 60 degrees year round, summer to winter and back, minus the two weeks of Indian Summer we usually get here every September. Let’s just say I have begun to stock up on sweaters, jackets, scarves and face masks.

I am going to miss my friends. I am going to sorely miss my family. Leaving is the hard part, but I have to  just keep reminding myself of our journey and the life ahead of us waiting there in Chicago.