Wow the last stretch of our long journey has ended. We took a 7 day drive of the 41 hours straight driving time from Georgia coming here in Washington State. We had a good night sleep at Holiday Inn. We checked out and I discovered outside that the crew of Hannah Montana who had just finished their concert show in Salt Lake City, Utah also stayed at Holiday Inn. Their big pink RV (bus) was parked outside. I am not sure if the pop princess was there too. I just saw the pretty dancers and other crews inside the hotel. Hubby asked me what's all the hype with her that she's all over the news :-) Well it's all girly thing.
So we started the last of the long haul. We reached south of WA state I believe in about 2 hours. I saw the sign Welcome to Washington, The Evergreen State. I joked to hubby where's the green? I only saw brownish yellow mountain. Hubby said wait til you see the real thing. Sure enough we passed by beautiful scenic green mountains on both sides of the interstate. The vineyards that we passed by are really breathtaking. It is like a landscaped nature.
We reached our destination in a decent time around 4pm. I am so thankful we got here safe and sound. No untoward incident that happened. The entire trip was awesome. It is tiring to note but we got a lot of rest though. We are checked in at AFB and looking for a place to live. Hopefully we can find one as soon as possible.
Relocation Trip VII - Pendleton, OR to McChord AFB, WA
Relocation Trip VI - Ogden, UT to Pendleton, OR
We woke up around 8am and started to pack. We wanted to start the trip early. We had breakfast at Ihop. I noticed in every resto that we went to the services is great. In Ihop the service crew were all neat and clean and they are very nice. We had a scrumptuos breakfast that I can say is fit for a king :-)
After breakfast we headed to our journey. Along the way we still saw a lot of mountains. I was so amazed how the interstate cuts through the mountains following the slopes and ranges. I even thought that we are going underground because when you see from afar where the road turns you will see the mountain from both sides meet and as if you are going under it. There is a short tunnel that we passed thru though.
When we entered the border of Utah and Oregon, it's Ontario, Oregon, we stopped at the rest stop. There was a truck parked and inside was a lady I presumed a Filipina then her husband came out from the restroom. Hubby went to the restroom first and me and baby stayed in the truck. When the cuople pulled over he stopped by and asked hubby if we came all the way from GA because he saw our license plate. Hubby said yes and the wife asked me if I am Filipina. Hubby called me to come out of the truck and meet them. They're Filipino couple who have been here in the US long time ago. They are from Utah and also relocating her in WA, the same city we will be living hopefully.
After refreshing ourselves from the rest stop we continued our journey. We tried looking for a good place to stay at for the night. We didn't found a place that caught our interest with. We passed by Baker City and saw hotels that we know but hubby missed the exit and the next exit to turn back is far so we continued until we reached Pendleton, Or. We exited and stayed at Holiday Inn Express. It was already 8pm and glad we found a good place to stay.
Relocation Trip V - Sidney, NE to Ogden, UT
Day 5 of our trip started from Sidney, Nebraska. We left the hotel before 11am. Hubby topped up the gas for the long journey. We didn't pass by Omaha it's on the east of Ne and we are going on to the west. Along the way there was really nothing but scenic view of hills, mountain range, barns, ranch and I think some oil rigs. I can't imagine myself living in the middle of nowhere but I salute to those who can.
First time I saw windmills is also in Nebraska. I forgot what town was it. Haven't had the chance to take a picture because it will require us to get out of the car to get a good angle. Hubby took a couple when we stopped by a rest area. I have to transfer our pics when we get to Washington.
The long stretch of our journey for this day was trying to cross Wyoming after Nebraska. After we reached the border we had 392 miles to cross Wyoming. And we have to prepare a long haul.
We reached Cheyenne, Wyoming at a decent time. It's a nice city and a lot to see. I think almost all the city in Wyoming is in between mountain ranges. Whe passed by the sign that says continental divide and hubby took a pic of it. At the next rest stop it was on a summit that says 8000+ above sea level and there you can see the big Lincoln Monument made of stone. In Wyoming also I started to see snowcapped mountain. The snow has a hard time melting even if its very sunny in there because the wind is still cold and it's very elevated. Even the mountains don't have much trees but the rocky mountain is breathtaking to see.
Around 8pm we crossed WY and started to travail Utah, another mountainous state. I can't see much of the scenery because it is already dark. When we arrived at Ogden, UT we checked in the first hotel we saw at the first exit because we're all ready to retire for the day. We stayed at Motel 6. The room is spacious and in fairness their internet connection is high speed. The hotel is situated in a hilly area overlooking the business center of Ogden.
Relocation Trip IV - St. Joseph, MO to Sidney, NE
Our 4th day of travel started at St. Joseph, Missouri. I really feel we are vagabond hopping from one hotel to another. It's exciting to say the least even if it sounds tiring. I am glad that it didn't rain again when we started our trip. We should be crossing Nebraska but hubby said we will stop after we traveled more than 300 miles. We still stick to our plan of not driving at night time.
We passed by mostly farms in Nebraska. We stopped by some service stations to get gas and stretched out. I can't believe I will be able to cross the US from the east coast. I wanted to get out and take some pictures but I figured we will be so late in arriving in Washington State if I have to do it. I can't take a good shot also if I take it inside the car since I am sitting at the backseat with our DD. I just store the scenic views in memory.
We stopped by at Sidney, Nebraska for the night. It's a quite place. We stayed at Comfort Inn. I think the hotel is new or maybe newly renovated because our room is pretty nice and the furniture and appliances are new. I was able to get a good sleep because Shiloh sleep through the night again.
Relocation Trip III - Scott AFB, IL to St. Joseph, MO
We left Scott AFB, Il around 12noon. We woke up a little bit late, kind of taking our time. When we left the base it was windy but not raining so it was a good thing. I have the chance to sightsee. Scott AFB is near Missouri already. Just 30minutes of driving we were already entering at the border.
We passed by St. Louis, MO. When I saw the arch in St. Louis I was asking hubby to take a picture but then decided to continue driving because we are already behind with our predicted time. It was a very nice landmark. I am wondering how they constructed the arch.
With this trip, from St. Louis we headed to Kansas City, KS and then go north passing through Iowa and then entering again MO. We stopped by St. Joseph, MO for the night and stayed at Ramada Inn.
I really wanted to stop by every Welcome Center but it is daunting with a baby in tow. We stopped almost every rest area and to get gas and food. At the beginning of our daily trip we get supplies of drinks and some finger foods to munch along the way.
Relocation Trip II - Nashville, TN to Scott AFB, IL
I slept late last night because I finished some tasks that needs to be done. I woke up around 8am and have to prepare because we have to keep going with our trip. We left Nashville at 11:15am. The rain was still pouring. I was telling hubby that California needs the rain not the Southeast.
We bought to-go at Mcdo because we don't have time to stay longer and I don't want to come out of the car because it was raining. Hubby drove slowly since the road is slippery. The truck even skidded a little bit. It was so tempting to take pictures of the scenic view but it was raining. I can see the foliage fall color that is really a great sight to see. We at last saw the sun shining when we were about 27 miles away from Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.
We arrived around 5:48pm and staying here at Scott's Inn for the night. Tomorrow we will continue the journey. We plan not to drive at night so whichever city we will be at 5pm then we have to check in a hotel for the night. My hope is that it is not raining tomorrow so I can do sightseeing and maybe taking pics.
Relocation Trip I - Columbus, GA to Nashville, TN
We are now in a moving mood. Our relocation started yesterday at exactly 2:10pm. The entire trip is more than 3,000 miles. Roughly about 41 hours. We can't afford to continue on that long, tiring drive so we are planning to only drive at least 8 hours a day. With that we will be in WA in 5-7 days depending with some impromptu side trips here and there.
Before we hit the road we stopped by my old workplace and bid goodbye to my co-workers. My manager had planned for a send off dinner but we were all so busy to push it through. She told me whenever I find a job I can put her as reference. I really hate saying goodbye but have to. Afterwards we passed by Walmart to get some food and drinks. We brought a cooler so we will have something to grab along the way.
We arrived Nashville at 7:45PM. It wasn't that long drive only 5-6 hours. The time changes because TN follows central time zone. When we left Columbus itwas raining and we arrived Nashville it is still raining. For the third time hubby brought me and now with Shiloh in Opry Mill Mall. We had our dinner there. The mall closes at 9:30pm so we looped around and check what's new. Then stopped by at Gap and bought DD winter outfit. We are in the hotel now and tomorrow we will continue our trip again.
