Day 2: We crossed the Mississippi!

Blogger: Paula

We achieved several milestones today...we hit 1,000 miles; we crossed through six states; and we have recorded 36 different license plates since our journey began! After 15 hours of travel today and over 730 miles, we were glad to see Rochester, MN. We saw a big piece of Americana today. Picturesque red barns surrounded by corn and wheat fields as far as the eye could see. Some were being cultivated with large modern equipment and some were being tended to by an Amish man who had his plow attached to two horses. We even saw a pumpkin patch that occupied about four acres of land! We travelled through tiny burgs and major cities. We stopped at the University of Notre Dame, got a glimpse of Touchdown Jesus and the gorgeous campus, and a few hours later we made a visit to Loyola University Chicago. This was appropriate at we kept ourselves entertained today with games like "Name all 28 Jesuit colleges" and "Name all the presidents in order." Chicago, one of my favorite cities, could not have been any more beautiful and we enjoyed the ride along Lake Michigan. The terrain changed a bit as we entered western Wisconsin and eastern Montana where were also treated to the most beautiful sunset. As the sun dipped below the horizon, it left behind amazing hues of orange, yellow, red, and blue that stayed around for almost an hour. We will reach the half-way point tomorrow! Something to look forward to...

Day 1: The Lifetime Memory Begins!

Blogger: Mike

It's finally here! We've been waiting for the answer to the question - "Where are we moving?" for the last four months! Even after we had secured the location (Seattle!), we had 26 days finding a house, starting school and beginning work before we could begin this cross country adventure. But after a flight back to Baltimore, a day of packing, and a day of loading the moving truck, we were ready! Today, the cross country adventure begins!

Remember the theme of the blog - unexpected! We had an "unexpected" delay in our start when a piece of molding on the underside of the van became loose. We raced to the Towson Honda, who quickly installed a $1.53 clip, and we were back on track!

Moments later, we closed the door on our house on Forge Acre Drive for the last time, closing the Baltimore chapter in our lives. We circled Baltimore on the outer loop and started our trip west on the east terminus of I-70, knowing that our trip would end on the west terminus of I-90, five days and 2,759 miles later!

Today's trip was filled with memories as we motored through Maryland, passing familiar landmarks and remembering terrific experiences. It was a fun-filled four years, but everyone in this vehicle is ready for the next adventure!

Maryland lived up to its reputation as Little America, treating us today to city, country and the mountains as we left. The views of the Appalachians outside Hagerstown are some of my favorite vistas on this trip, but just an appetizer for what lies ahead as we cross the Rockies later in the week.

We traveled about six hours on this first day, arriving in Randolph, Ohio, giving us the chance to catch up with my family before we really become the dark black sheep. Not only will I be the only Hermann sibling of the eight to live outside of Ohio, but we will be three time zones to the west!

We were welcomed with an early Thanksgiving dinner (I think we even beat the Canadian Thanksgiving!). It was much appreciated and meaningful. During the dark days of the summer, we had kept the faith and comforted each other by expressing that God will show us the way and we will be in our new home and enjoying our new opportunity by Thanksgiving! It was nice that it arrived a little early this year!

My extended family arrived and we were sent off with a great celebration of Ohio. We were presented with snacks from the Buckeye state, including Smucker's jam, homemade buckeyes, local wine and cheese, plus the state drink - tomato juice! We even had a great plate of iced cookies, all cut out in the shape of the state. A large map on the wall showed everyone our planned trip west. I don't mind saying, it's far! The evening was a wonderful and memorable celebration. We have a wonderful blessing in our family!

Now, it off to the local hotel for a short, but needed night's sleep as we prepare for tomorrow - the longest drive of the trip! Sleep well!

Mike

Seattle - This One Was Really Unexpected

While the majority of our unexpected trips this summer were day trips, we did mix in a few overnighters. However, nothing compared with the most recent trip - a 26-day stay in the Gateway to Alaska - the Emerald City - Seattle, Washington!

By now you may know that I've accepted a position at Seattle University. Yeah! But the timing of the process and the start of high school made it necessary to begin almost immediately. In late August, Paula and I flew to Seattle from San Diego after dropping son Alex off to begin is freshman year at USD. Andrew flew to Seattle from his vacation spot of Buffalo to join us. We spent the week visiting high schools and looking for an appropriate home to rent. We started our project on Tuesday and by Friday, both were secured!

On Saturday, Paula returned to Baltimore, setting the stage for an extended unexpected exploration for Andrew and me. Even though he was starting high school a few days behind his classmates and I was starting a new job, we had a great opportunity to get to know Seattle. We started, of course, with the sports scene. We enjoyed a Seattle Storm WNBA playoff game (great atmosphere at Key Arena), a Seattle Mariners game (Andrew's 16th major league park) and a Washington Husky football Saturday. We also visited a few restaurants, got to know some of the communities and enjoyed an afternoon at the Woodland Park Zoo. Most of all, we enjoy the great sights - water, mountains and evergreen-covered landscape.

By the time we ended the 19-day odyssey, we were becoming familiar with our new city and ready to take up residence in our Madison Valley home in October. It was the longest of our unexpected explorations - among the most unexpected (who would have guessed Seattle!) and one of the most enjoyable.

One more exploration to go - the cross country drive from Baltimore to Seattle! It should be a trip that becomes a lifetime memory!

Mike