The Cross Country Trip to Stay At Home
Hey hello, welcome to this very strange time! How’ve you been? This whole lockdown thing has been fun but I’m running out of things to do and my pants are starting to get tight (in the not cute skinny jeans way). Basically baking different recipes weekly could be the cause...Tell me have you had a banana bread phase? Quarantine has been a wild ride, mentally & physically. Testing relationships and yourself; arguments of too much tv, starting projects you’re not ready for, and honestly bored eating. But enough of that, most of us are over talking/thinking/breathing quarantine, so lets talk about the BIG MOVE.
The decision of moving across the country was an easy one. When it came down to it, Blake & I are are young, we want to live life. And there was a very good opportunity for Blake and there’s no way he’s taking the dogs without me. Just before the lease was up on the apartment is when we officially decided to take the leap.We had been keeping an eye on the virus around December, its kind of like that meme where we all thought it was fake till it spread-spread. I just want to say the amount of stress and anxiety of planning a wedding, getting married, packing, and moving all within a week is something I cannot describe, and then doing it all around a pandemic, no words. Around this time it was March and we were already to far, we had the chance to stay longer with family in Reno, but our new house was waiting in Pittsburgh! I’ll spare the whole buying a house bit because we literally started looking 1-2 months prior and they all kept failing and I was sweating/crying stress because this move had made us homeless. It wasn’t till a week before we had to get out of the apartment, settled AND closing on a house worked...maybe there is a higher power? Also within that mess I lost interest on houses, we had looked at so many, it didn’t work out, and I just backed away. We never looked at any of the houses, besides what the site had, we had no time to fly to check listings, so just think of this as extreme online shopping. Do I recommend it? No. Will I do it again? Possibly!
Road tripping with pets always sounds like a magical experience but in reality Miss USA’s truck stops are seriously lacking in dog friendly potty areas. A True parent doesn’t pull over on a busy highway (safety & privacy ya know). Honestly I didn’t realize how draining it would be traveling with animals but we wouldn’t have done it any other way. We took breaks when we needed, and by the night we’d find a nearby pet friendly hotel for all of us to rest. I do need to admit I didn’t drive, because of my epilepsy, I did help with my preparedness. I’m like the mom friend in the group, I always have to be prepared. I packed snacks, I made sure to have the dogs medication with me, I had hand sanitizer in my bag (most likely the last one on the planet, we went to multiple stores and didn’t find any). Blake gets the credit of mapping out the destination and getting us here safely. We did almost die in Missouri, that gave me a horrible panic attack, but that’s not his fault.
At the begging of the trip there was no ripping chaos yet about the virus (well from Reno when we left). I know California was getting chaotic, the toilet paper situation was showing signs. We started our trip March 9th, arrived in Pittsburgh March 16th (official day when stay in place took affect, our perfect timing). The trip consisted of a few main pit stops (Twin Falls, Yellowstone, Denver - where we took an extended break to be with family, Indianapolis, then finally Pittsburgh). Besides those definite spots we did see a lot of the country (most of is boring and flat). On the drive without wifi it was difficult to keep track of news and the status of the country, it was a wild thing to watch unfold before us. When we passed thru Wyoming we saw people walking the streets, businesses open, and dine in was still available (such a wild thing to think about). Denver is where we got a taste of empty grocery store aisles. Roads became less and less crowded. As we passed through Ohio, it appeared like a second wave had hit. The grocery store had outrageous lines all with carts piled high of items, and fast food restaurants were closed for dine in. Who knew this would shortly become the new normal. From Ohio we were just a few hours from making it to our new home, we could make it and finally prep ourselves.
Once we finally made it, there was major relief and joy (panic shortly kicked in). We made it safely and HEALTHY, who know the amount of germs we came in contact in, and that was certainly assuring. Seeing the house for the first time, just gives you little-kid energy, that big excitement running up to the door, fighting over the best room. As I said before we made it to Pittsburgh once the stay in place took action. While we were full of glee, but our panic of grocery shopping for the first time set in. Pandemic panic essential shopping is something no one prepares for, and we are doing it for the first time in a new city, in new stores. I’m not entirely sure what an Aldi’s is but we went there! It’s been 3 months and we haven’t gone back, I think Aldi’s gave us panic trauma. As places begin to slowly reopen, I believe our transition here will go much more smoothly and we’ll get to know the city a lot better. For now we’ve gotten to know a few of our neighbors, and I think that’s one of the best parts. No matter how chaotic this virus is, it’s bringing all of us together.
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It’s been months now, and haven’t left the house besides groceries and dog walks. Blake & I have started fighting about the silliest things, at this point it’s become a game. I’m hoping the dogs don’t get used to this schedule. My sleeping patterns are all over the place. At first I believed it was PA and how I cannot rise with the sun but maybe it’s because I go to sleep at 3am....
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