The title sounds exhilarating until we hit the word "pandemic", right? Take into account that the road trip included: (i) selling almost all belongings, (ii) shipping couple boxes to a new place, (iii) cleaning the apartment with the hopes of getting back the deposit, (iv) fitting all the remaining belongings in the car, (v) driving 2000 miles over 5 days, and (vi) settling into new apartment. Did I mention the coronavirus? Yes, it all sounds crazy, but we managed to have fun, and that's the important part.
Our trip started at the Windy City Chicago, which we called home for the past six years, and ended at the Emerald City Seattle. I learned that fitting six years into moving boxes is difficult, especially if you recently graduated from a PhD program with a boat load of textbooks and course notes. My "precious" is not a ring to rule them all, but instead books and notebooks where blood, sweat, and tears have gone into making them. Maybe some of them will never see the light of day, but I can't destroy them in the fires of Mount Doom.
To move all belongings or not to move all belongings, that was the question. The moving companies and their high quotations simplified the question for me. There was no way the total worth of my belongings that I purchased with a student budget exceeded the minimum quotation. It was decided then and there, collect the salvage the value of my furnitures. Quickly, I established a reputable profile on the marketplace with selling quality items at reasonable prices---wow, stop selling it girl. I am no Zuckerberg, yet I managed to liquidate most of my belongings in two weeks.
Promised a road trip, and I'll deliver on that, but be aware that my material in the first half of the trip is extremely limited. Let's be real, you can't expect much in the Midwest except vast cornfields and a little grain of hate against immigrants. I have to be fair to other cities in Midwest, so let me put a red pin on Medora, North Dakota, supposedly, the center of tourism (!) in the state. The guy on the phone dismissed me hastily and hung off the phone when he couldn't quite figure out what pizza I was ordering. For your reference, there was only five items on the menu, but he could not understand me. Anyways, let me list the parts I enjoyed in Midwest portion: (i) Stillwater, Minnesota. That's it. It is a historic little town by the scenic St. Croix River. We stayed at the historical Crosby Hotel, which was also equally beautiful. I left the place wishing I had more time in this little town. I also had the best grilled cheese sandwich of my life there (Revival Coffee), how could I ever forget that?
This is the second half where it gets excited. Bring your popcorns, or whatever you do these days. One word: Montana ❤️ What a unique combination of landscape and vegetation! Heidi--a children's fiction---reincarnated in me and I became a happy kid with red cheeks on top of the mountains. We stayed at Bozeman, a town where I could see myself to retire, and did a hike based on the recommendation of a local. Take notes kids, the name of the trail is Drunken Horse. No idea why it is called that way, but the views were to die for. I was in a wonderland, amazed by almost everything around me, taking a close look at the plants, and most importantly, taking in the fresh mountain air. There is just so much recreational activity to do around this town that one should stay more than two days. I know that I will be back in this town soon when we get back to "normal."
The second to last stop was Idaho, in particular, Coeur D'Alene on the shores of Lake Coeur D'Alene. The town has various good restaurants and bars, which we couldn't go because of coronavirus. The lake is surrounded by forestry except a few hotels and residential homes on the shore and it has spectacular sunsets. The hotel we chose here was the first one to take our temperatures before checking in. While it looked like the town was taking precautionary measures, the life there seemed so uninterrupted by the pandemic. I might also have to visit this town one more time to get the whole experience, of course, if we ever get back to normal.
Drum rolls.... Final destination Seattle, arrived on the evening of the fifth day! The city famous for its rains welcomed us with clear bright skies. Then a spectacular sunset embellished the skies. What a great way to begin a new life in a completely new city to us.
Looking forward to many great outdoor adventures in Washington!
Cheers,
Gokce
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