Our 8 State Journey
1. Utah
2. Wyoming
Not much to say here... lots of sage brush, rock formations, and a couple of antelope. My aunt Steph gave me a children's road trip journal book that had games and writing prompts that really did help keep me entertained, ha. We also listened to Harry Potter audio books that helped pass the time. Definitely recommend listening to books on road trips.
3. Nebraska
The recurring Nebraska joke was someone would say “Oh my gosh look!” and another one of us would say “What?!” and the response would always be:“Corn!”
The most memorable part of Nebraska was the crappy hotel we stayed in. When it was just Jaden and I planning the trip we were just looking for a cheap bed for one night’s sleep. I figured I’d be able to sleep just about anywhere after driving for 13 hours. That did prove to be true, however, the pictures of the hotel online did not depict a lobby under construction, smokey rooms, or dogs barking across from my mom’s room. When 5:00 a.m. rolled around we packed up and headed for the elevator (on the 9th floor mind you) and pushed the button once, twice, three times and then a wall phone started to ring outside of a door marked “Office.” I was still groggy and remember asking Jaden if I should answer it and he answered just as groggily that he didn’t know. It rang about 5 more times and I finally answered it to hear the lady at the front desk tell me that the elevators were down so we needed to take the stairs. So we clambered down 9 flights and got our steps in before the next leg of our drive.
4. Iowa
Iowa proved to be our favorite state to drive through. There were lots of corn fields to be sure but the landscape began to get more hilly and green. We stopped at the cutest little gas station in the middle of a little town full of ranch houses, windmills and you guessed it: corn fields. We loved watching the landscape turn greener and greener the further east we drove.
5. Illinois
I could write an entire blog post on our adventures in Illinois and maybe I will at some point but originally we had debated about whether or not to add on an extra day to our itinerary in order to spend a full day in Chicago but ultimately decided to just do a half day and get to Pittsburgh sooner. I firmly believe we still packed a day and a half’s worth of events into one day and I know we definitely walked a day and a half’s worth of steps! One of my dad’s long time buddies lives in Chicago and offered to have us stay with him and his family and they would take us into the city. It was quite an adventure as we took two trains, (attempted) five bikes, three cabs and one boat to see the city. We may or may not have missed our boat tour because we got turned around and were headed in the opposite direction than we should have been going. But luckily the girl at the ticket booth was very kind and accommodating and we were able to switch to a different time. That architecture boat tour ended up being our favorite part of our excursion. Our guide was great and it was so interesting to learn about the various buildings that makeup the Chicago skyline. As an added bonus after we were able to meet up with one of Jaden’s cousins that lives there with her husband. I had never met them and we were able to catch up with them over a classic deep dish pizza dinner. I’m so glad I convinced Jaden to make a detour up to Chicago on our route, it was full of memories we’ll laugh about with my mom forever.
6. Indiana
We thought of Bridger as we passed through Indiana where he served his first area serving his mission in the Louisville Kentucky Mission. We also stopped at Notre Dame and got bagels and a t-shirt at the bookstore. It was such a pretty campus we wished we could’ve stayed longer to explore more but unfortunately parking was tricky with our U Haul and we didn’t want to risk hitting more traffic and missing the window to pick up our apartment keys.
7. Ohio
Ohio was also pretty and green and full of you guessed it CORN!!!
8. Pennsylvania
Entering into Pennsylvania was strangely familiar in the fact that the hills and trees reminded me a lot of Tennessee. It was nice to have some nostalgia and comforted me that I had made a home in Tennessee for a year and half and would be able to make a home in Pennsylvania for two years as well. The drive into the city really was picturesque. The road rose above towns nestled in hills and beautiful large churches with stained glass windows and tall spiked spires. Then the city and all it’s bridges came into view and we all instantly fell in love and were excited to explore more. We picked up our apartment keys and pulled up to our new place on Wightman St. It’s a cute little apartment on the top floor of a 1917 Victorian style home. With my mom’s help we were able to unload our entire car and trailer within an hour and a half and immediately got to work unpacking, pulling up old contact paper, cleaning and organizing. A trip to the local Target proved that Pittsburgh really is a college town because so many aisles of home goods and decor were completely wiped out. Air mattresses were also nowhere to be found but after a few more visits to a few more stores we were able to find some and take them home and after a dinner at a cute little local taqueria we fell into bed exhausted. We made the most out of the next few days with my mom and our Uhaul trying to get as much furniture as we could while we had our trailer before we had to return it. IKEA, Ross, a different Target location, Bed Bath & Beyond, Home Depot and Big Lots were frequented as we furnished, organized and decorated our new place. It came together really well and truly feels like a new temporary home for us. We really are loving it so far. Sunday rolled around again and we dropped my mom off at the airport with the promise that she’d be back soon, hopefully as a birthday gift to herself in October. I don’t know if it would've been harder to drive away from her in Utah or put her on that plane in PA but either way it was rough… However, I am so grateful to have Jaden by my side. He is my rock and we are so excited to embark on this new adventure side by side supporting one another through the ups and downs, the peaches and pits, of the next two years.
And speaking of peaches and pits here’s a quick list from our trip out:
Peaches:
- Feeling the love and support of so many people wishing us well and cheering us on as we left on this new adventure
- Experiencing new places
- Having lots of people like our friends the VanVleets helping us along our way
- Meeting our cousins Jacquelyn and Dane
- Having mom there to laugh with and help get us settled in
- Saying a prayer to help us find furniture and found a couch right before closing the night before we had to turn in our Uhaul
- Pennsylvania reminding me of Tennessee
- Decorating our new place
- Falling in love with the neighborhoods of Squirrel Hill
- Our apartment is a 3 minute drive to campus
- We've got my favorite: FIREFLIES!!!!
Pits:
- Saying tearful “see you laters” to friends and family
- Missing the people we love so much
- Crappy hotel rooms
- Gross gas station bathrooms
- Blisters from walking in Chicago
- Experiencing lots of shortages in home goods and furniture
- Trying to cut smaller curtains from large panels (I hate sewing projects even when there’s no sewing involved, ha)
- Driving away from my mom as she went into the airport
Funny Quotes from the Trip (most are probably “had to be there”):
Jaden: *Takes wrong turn on 89 right after we left
Dad: *Calls asking where we are
Mom: “Oh just passing Cherry Hill”
Dad: “Why are you headed south!??!!”
Mom: “Hey this manger Christmas decoration is a good snack holder.” Which then became the “snack trough”
Mom” “Oh my gosh look at all those dirt devils out there!!!... Oh never mind it’s just smoke”
Kenzie: *sees AVOID BROKEN WINDSHIELD SIGN*
Kenzie: “Why don’t they just clean it up? Why do they put out a sign that a windshield is broken?”
Jaden: OH MY GOSH MCKENZIE WIPE THAT BLONDE OUT OF YOUR HAIR! That’s not what that means!!!!
Mom: (every 10 minutes) “I just can’t believe I’m here!”
Gas station cleanliness ratings: Red=Bad Yellow=Decent Green=Good
Kenzie: *walks into bathroom stall next to mom “Ew mom this one is definitely a red”
Mom: “I know I’ve got my mask on and my shirt up over my face”
Mom: “Don’t you wanna go to Wham bam thank you ma’am in a pan?”
Jaden: (in the middle of Wyoming) “NANCY LOOK AT THAT!!!”
Mom: “What?!”
Jaden: “Nothing.”
Mom: (in the middle of Nebraska) “Oh my gosh look!”
Jaden: “What?”
Nancy: “Corn.”
Jaden’s Road Trip Fun Facts:
- Interstates were first designed to transport nuclear weapons
- Many sprinklers are controlled by satellites
- Stats of highest obesity rates states & lowest education states
- Truck driving is the most common profession in the U.S.
All and all it was a great trip, we are loving being here and can’t wait for the adventures ahead as we continue to explore, make memories, find the peaches and make most of the pits in our new home: Pittsburgh.
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