What I learned driving from one Washington to another
On September 24th, I hopped in my 2022 Ford Bronco in Bethesda, MD and began a long drive west as I relocated (back) to Seattle, WA. Here's some of what I learned making that journey.
55+ hours of driving across 3,122 miles over 2 weeks flashed by faster than I thought it would. But it at times got tiring, lonely and stressful - but also enlightening and beautiful.
Last week, I posted several videos from this journey that came from a Garmin Dash Cam 57 which I installed and recorded those 55 hours of footage - and I cut it down to a 34-minute version (with captions).
I also cut a 6-minute version, a 3-minute version inspired by the finale of “Six Feet Under,” another 3-minute version just for TikTok - and a 60-second Shorts-friendly version.
That was a lot - and sort of hard to visually see the best parts, so I wanted to put together a post here with some of the more high-resolution photos I did (which I also shared on Instagram previously) and share some of the things I learned on this journey.
It can get a little lonely.
I am very much an introvert and prefer solo time above all, but save for my interactions with staff at hotel front-desks or drive-thrus, I really didn’t have much human connection. I had offers from two friends to join me on the journey but selfishly didn’t want to worry about anyone else and just do the journey on my own terms and leave room for flexibility. But it did generate some anxiety too as I was entering parts of the country that felt like the middle of nowhere.
It was kind of tiring.
You’d think sitting in a car all day isn’t exhausting, but spending so much mental energy focused on keeping yourself safe can take a toll. I got back into podcasts (specifically Minoritea Report and The Basement Yard kept me enthused) as well as a couple audiobooks and Bongos. I also aimed to drive no more than 6 hours a day to keep myself safe and reduce wear & tear on the car versus try to rush (since I couldn’t move into my apartment until a certain date anyways).
State lines - they try!
With no shade to Pennsylvania, the state line implies the state is a giant fun paradise. Sure, Philadelphia is awesome, but this may be a wee bit too aspirational? Also, I was surprised how basic Wyoming’s was. I was a bit disappointed in the Washington state-line sign on the eastern end as I expected it to be just as Pacific Northwest-like as the one past Portland that greeted me when I first moved to Seattle in 2015.
I was surprised by how dry Eastern Washington was.
Once I entered Montana, I began to feel like I was almost home and in the Pacific Northwest for good. The evergreen trees began to appear and got even more beautiful once I reached Idaho (specifically the area around Coeur D’Alene).
But, once I got past Spokane, it was pretty brown and dry up until about Snoqualmie.
Love’s Travel Stops are…lovely?
I had a little bit of thought before I set out as to where I’d stop to go to the bathroom, get some iced tea and food and generally assumed it’d be at a Target or Panera, but had to get comfortable with truck stops or, “travel stops.” I discovered above all, Love’s are the most lovely. They’re clean, efficient, friendly, and have plenty of snacks and drinks. And I don’t know but their branding seems so playful for ordinarily the kind of branding for gas stations that is more technical in nature.
And while they are not as elegant, I was repeatedly told I had to get a “breakfast pizza” at Casey’s and got this one in Iowa. I could barely eat 2 slices as it was so rich but it was delicious. Sad I had to waste it since, it would not survive in the car until the next hotel.
My car became an insect assault vehicle.
Three car washes were no match for the amount of bugs I accumulated on my car. After the photo above, I went to my first car wash of the journey which got the windshield part clean but the rest of the hood and grill were filled with all the insects I murdered. Specialized windshield fluid for bugs didn’t do anything, and the squeegees at Love’s and other gas stations could only do so much. Once I got settled in Seattle, the car got a proper wash and I spent a good 30+ minutes scraping and pulling even more bugs out of the grill.
The country is surprisingly beautiful and glad I did this drive, just once.
I got to see a lot of the country over this two week period (and I should note, I spent 4 nights in Chicago hence why it took longer than some have done it. But would I do it again? Maybe. This was not my first cross-country move and the past ones I’ve either shipped a car or sold a car (I made a nice profit when I sold my 2019 Jeep Renegade in May 2022 before moving east), but I never drove.
I am glad to be home.
It’s been an interesting journey trying out the DMV and the East Coast again but it took being away to realize how wonderful the Pacific Northwest can be. Not to be sentimental but I also came across Breland’s “Cross Country,” where he talks about being raised in NJ (as was I), and then going to school in the DMV (there’s a slight connection there), and wanting to keep going until he found his home. Felt.