We’re Off: Moving Out and Driving Up
Grace and Brian hereby commence their journey across these great United States!
Us in front of Mt. Rainier!
We moved out of our apartment on May 19th with the help of many friends (we love you!). We are so grateful for their amazing sendoff. After a few days of moving things into storage and recuperating at Grace’s parents’ house in Santa Cruz, we officially went nomadic on May 22nd.
Week 1 - 788 Miles
Our Porch View of Mount Shasta
Our first stop was beautiful Mt. Shasta in northern California. We stayed at our friend Hollynd’s parents’ house, which had an incredible mountain view. We were blown away! Only one night was spent there, and then, after a day of work, we headed further north to Portland, Oregon. We had dinner at the best In N Out Burger either of us have ever been to. Sorry California, southern Oregon may have us beat there.
Eating Pastries in One of Portland’s Rose Gardens
We arrived at our friends Julia and Noah’s house the night of May 24th. We spent an amazing week with Julia, Noah Adam, Noah Ross, Adele, and a cameo from Bridget and her mom Deb. We loved Portland and thought the food scene was fantastic! Highlights included: breakfast sandwiches, pie, Thai food, and a cookie skillet. We went to a Timbers soccer game one night, which was a fun way to experience the Portland pride.
Week 2 - 402 Miles
From Portland, we drove to Olympic National Park in northwest Washington. We walked through a gorgeous rainforest with a lot of rain. We spent the night camping at the stunning Kalaloch Beach (no rain!), and carried on to jaw-dropping views at Lake Crescent. During this portion of the roadtrip, we drove through Forks, WA, where the Twilight Series is based. It was hilarious to see all the Twilight memorabilia and silly t-shirts. We got Grace’s sister, Lily, a special t-shirt just for her ;)
Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park
From Olympic NP, we drove to Vashon Island outside of Seattle. Our friend Bridget and her mom Deb hosted us there for a week, which was so generous, and we had an absolutely amazing and relaxing time on the island. We both felt like the island reminded us of Brian’s home on Cape Cod with quiet beach living. Our friend Hannah also visited Vashon the same time we were there, which was a fabulous addition to our trip. We spent one day in Seattle and saw friends Hollynd and Jeanne, who took us out sailing - badass! Overall, we loved ferry life and can’t wait to be back on island-time soon.
Week 3 - 93 Miles
On June 10th, we drove from Vashon Island, WA to just outside Mount Rainier National Park in Packwood, WA. Packwood is a small town with one grocery store, one gas station, one coffee shop, one brewery, and a saloon. We took advantage of the long days and adventured into the park multiple days. Having the sun set at 9:00 PM gave us plenty of time to explore after work! We saw multiple incredible waterfalls, hiked on snow up the mountain, and were overall blown away. Our friends Justin and Rob visited us in Packwood for three days, which was really special to explore the National Park together. As much as we loved Mount Rainer, one of our favorite spots has been the river just five minutes away from our Airbnb.
We leave Packwood on Wednesday, June 19th, and will drive to Sandpoint, Idaho, in the northern part of the state. We are staying with Grace’s family friend, Lee, on their beautiful land and continuing our journey east.
Stay tuned for more updates, and thank you for reading along and caring about us!!
Here’s a map of our 1,283 mile journey (so far):
