Alrighty, here we are. Back again to recap our great cross-country move from Washington State to Maine. Before we dive in, you may be asking yourself “Why would someone move from coast to coast, and MAINE of all places?!” This is a great question, and I was surrounded by people who asked it. The short answer is family – we moved back to the state that my husband grew up in. Long answer – After we had our kiddo, my in-laws decided to move to WA to be closer to us (er, our daughter, mostly). We thought that would be the end of the moves for at least a long time, but we were surprised to learn that my parents would be moving to Montana upon retiring. Soon after, we learned that my in-laws were considering moving back to Maine. This threw our entire lives into a limbo we never expected! We had three choices: Stay in WA (without our daughter being close to grandparents but having her uncle and aunties), move to Montana (and only know my parents), or move to Maine (be around all of my husband’s immediate and extended family). After a lot of deliberating, we decided to move to Maine thinking it would be the best choice for our family.
Moving to a new state can be both thrilling and challenging, especially when you’re covering a vast distance like from Washington State to Maine. Our family embarked on this epic journey in our “land yacht” we named Ladybug (giant, red Chevy Silverado), a 50-hour drive across the country, accompanied by a 26-foot U-Haul truck driven by my in-laws. Along the way, we encountered some unexpected obstacles, including a scary storm in Wyoming and a last-minute decision to push through over 20 hours of driving.
Day 1: The Start of the Journey
With a mix of excitement, anxiety, and utter grief, we left our home in Washington State, loaded up our big red truck and U-Haul with all our possessions, and began the long trek eastward toward our new life in Maine. The first day was filled with anticipation as we drove through the picturesque landscapes of Washington, making brief stops to stretch our legs. The first day was really tough, full of immense sadness for what we were leaving behind and lots of hope for what we were driving towards. Since we left later in the afternoon than intended, we landed in Idaho for the evening.
Day 2: Battling the Elements
We drove through Idaho and Montana for most of the day and as we crossed into Wyoming, we encountered an unexpected challenge – a severe storm. The pouring rain, howling winds, and lightening ahead of us had us on edge. It was dark out and we couldn’t help but worry about the possibility of a tornado touching down. In fact, earlier in the day, someone at a gas station told us about the tornado warnings in the direction we were headed. We found the closest place to stay for the night and were happy to finally not be driving. It turns out that driving can be exhausting!
Day 3: Miles and Memories
By the morning of the third day, the storm had subsided enough to not be so worrisome. We took off and headed east again, driving further through the midwest. The scenery was beautiful but I have to admit… there really isn’t a lot to look at after so many hours in the car and seeing a lot of the same scenery. We were lucky to have our extra tablet that our daughter could watch movies on – This was a life saver for us. It carried us throughout the whole trip.
Day 4: A Desperate Decision
Approaching the halfway point of our journey, we faced a dilemma: we couldn’t find anywhere to stay for the night. All the hotels along our route were fully booked, leaving us with a difficult choice. We decided to push through, driving for more than 20 hours straight. This last stretch was grueling, but we were determined to make it to our destination as quickly as possible.
Day 5: The Final Push
As we entered the last leg of our journey, fatigue set in, and the eagerness of finally making it to Maine served as our primary motivation. The landscape changed as we ventured further east, with lush forests and rolling hills replacing the vast plains of the Midwest. The sight of welcoming highway signs for Maine provided a much-needed morale boost.
Arrival in Maine: Relief and Renewal
Finally, after five days on the road and 50 hours of driving, we crossed over into Maine, welcomed by the “Welcome Home” sign. The exhaustion and stress of the journey made us so relieved to finally be at our destination. Unpacking the trucks and settling into my in-law’s house was surreal. It was an “oh shit” moment of us thinking “Did we really do this?!” oh yes, yes we did.
Since we arrived at the end of June, we have been doing as much as we can to acclimate our daughter and ourselves to this new life. We are temporarily staying with my in-laws while we sell our home in WA and look for one here. We were lucky enough to get our daughter into a summer camp so that took up a lot of her summer time. It’s been three months and we are finally no longer homeowners in WA and are pending on a home in Maine. Big moves are coming (again!)! It’s exciting and scary to think about all the changes we made in a short period of time. Even typing all of this out brings up raw emotions and some panicky feelings. But I know as time goes on, the rawness will fade and my heart will mend. And while this all has been very hard on me, it’s been just as hard (or harder) on my mini me, my sweet girl. She misses her friends, my family, and the familiarity of home. Just like her mama. So we frequently check in with each other and give each other space to cry and talk about home.
So if you made it through this journey of a blog post, thank you! It’s mostly me just recapping this for myself and my daughter. It’s a great reminder for me that we can do hard things… and we did just that!
Laugh Through It 