Chutzpah?

Tomorrow is a Seattle day! We haven't been there yet since we moved to Washington, and I'm really excited. I love Seattle, and it will be nice to go over there again. I've printed twenty resumes, and I'm going to do my best to get all of them into the hands of people who can actually do something with them. We'll see what happens.
What I'd really love is to live either in Downtown Seattle or close to the ferry dock on Bainbridge Island. That way I could leave my car at home and either walk or bike to work every day. The weather's not always perfect for that, but I think it would be more than worth the chance to stop driving. For either of those situations to work out, though, I'll have to work in just the right place. Fortunately, my first choice of location (Downtown) also has the highest concentration of employers, so I'm going to chase down anything I can.
We've found an apartment on Bainbridge Island that is right across the street from the ferry terminal, and we both really like it, so tomorrow's job search will be within a mile or two in any direction (but mostly east and north) from the ferry dock in Seattle. I'm going to go to the tallest office buildings (Washington Mutual Tower, Two Union Square, and Columbia Center) and visit every floor. And I'm also going to visit the hiring managers for a few Craigslist posts. I just figure that the temerity to show up uninvited and initiate an interview myself may just end up working in my favor. That whole go-getter attitude or whatever. In any case, a day spent in Seattle is always cool, and we're going to make it a lot of fun. I'll be sure to let you know what comes of it, and when I have a job and we have place to live and I'm getting exercise and enjoying my commute every morning reading a book while someone else does the driving, I'll let you say you always knew it was going to work out. Stay tuned.

Kent

Settling In

So we made it all the way up here to Washington, and it was almost disappointing how simply it all went. I was bracing myself for an epic, possibly miserable, trek of gigantic proportions. You know, some kind of Kerouacian journey of self-discovery and lasting transformation, etc. But it was a really easy trip. Every night, we finished driving, and it was like, "Eh, that wasn't so bad..." and then the next day was the same thing. I'm grateful, but in a way, it's almost like I wanted to feel a little greater sense of accomplishment. I guess the writers of the great road stories and the sojourners that finish their trip more enlightened are very different from the married couple moving on the cheap and getting there as quickly as possible. We could have made the road itself our destination if we had really tried, but the truth is, Silverdale, Washington was the target, and we weren't kidding anybody. Maybe next time I'll stretch it out to a month and see what happens.
Some highlights of the trip:
A sign in rural Virginia, down by Tennessee, that advertised "Tuesday Nights, Unlimited Meats, Soft Serve Vegetables." (Someone didn't read that book about commas and stuff...)
A town called Bucksnort. There was some conjecture regarding how the name may have come to be. There were also towns called Troutville and Bovina. These names were a little more straightforward and consequently excited less conjecture.
Gas was a little less expansive in price range than we expected. $2.56 right before 81 South in Virginia to $3.09 in Aurora, CO.
Animal sightings included buffalo, a herd of sheep being babysat by a single llama, clouds shaped like a whale and a backstroking bear, little four-legged creatures that looked like impalas but probably weren't since impalas apparently aren't indigenous to the US, and finally, a pirate captain-sized parrot perched on the shoulder of a man driving a pickup truck through Oregon.
I also have some pictures for you. Here you go. First is a really interesting rock formation in Wyoming. It looked like pebble piles that had been blown up by Wayne Szalinski.
There was a variety of rocks and topography in Wyoming. It was actually kind of impressive how many different types of scenery were in one corner of one state. Here's another view from the car.And then in one part of the trip, we actually got to go through a tunnel that went right through a mountain like in Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons. Coooooool! I was so excited that I had to point, even though it's not polite.
And then one more picture, and I wish it could do its subject justice. I realize you can't see it much, but if you click, you can see it a tiny bit better. It's the best we could do with a simple camera from a car. On the way up here to Silverdale, we saw Mt. Rainier. Contrary to what you may have heard, northwest Washington doesn't actually get all that much rain, but it is overcast pretty often, so a sighting of an unobstructed Mt. Rainier is something to appreciate.
There you are. Washington. It's really great to be here. I know this is a good step for us, and I'm excited to make new friends and do all sorts of new things. It will be great. At the same time, it's not the easiest thing in the world just yet. Making new friends will be great, but missing my old ones is tough. I haven't found a job yet. I don't know my way around. You know, all of the normal difficulties with moving to a new place. Plus my family is all back east, so that's tough as well. I do know that all of the adjustment and the settling will be an adventure, and I really do intend to keep you posted on here. I'm not that regular with my posts usually, but I would really like to be, so keep checking in, and hopefully I'll have new pictures and news and stuff for you a little more often, or at least consistently, than I have in the past. I'll do my best. Just leave a comment every now and then so I know anyone is actually reading. In the mean time, pray for us as we get started, and let us know how you're all doing as well. Bye bye.

Kent

Up To the Evergreen State

I have a lot of thoughts about this trip. It was fun, not nearly as grueling as I braced myself for, and overall, worth the driving to see some of the things we did. Just about all of my thoughts beyond that, though, will have to wait. We never got too drowsy on the road or too antsy, but now that this drive is actually behind us and I'm allowing myself to get sleepy, it's all catching up to me. We're at Kirsten's mom's house in Lacey, WA, and our trip is pretty much over. We'll head up to Silverdale tomorrow evening, and that's where we're stopping, but it's only about 90 minutes, so it doesn't really count. We kept some statistics in a little notebook, and I have a lot of pictures to post as well, so this isn't the last I'll write, but I have to get some sleep. I'll give you the quick summary: Western Idaho was not really gorgeous, the first part of western Oregon wasn't any more interesting, west-central Oregon was unique and big and grand, central Oregon was flat and barren, and then once we got to the Columbia River, which is the border between Oregon and Washington, it was incredible, breathtaking scenery all the way to Portland (about three hours) and then cozy, pretty evergreens up here to Lacey. It was not a bad day, and not exhausting all by itself, but at the end of the week, it was all I needed to finish me off: I'm thoroughly exhausted. I do want to tell you about some other things and show some pictures, though, so stay tuned, and I'll do my best to put some more on here tomorrow night from Silverdale. Thanks again to everyone who helped us make this move, whether you packed, painted, prayed, whatever. Your kindness really means a lot to us, and we're so honored to call you our friends and family. Watch for more very, very soon.

Kent

Denver to Boise

Today's trip was the longest by a lot. We got here a little under thirteen hours after we pulled out of Denver. That was with a stop at Taco Time (slogan: "It really is."), a couple of gas stops, and a little delay just north of Denver. So we actually made decent time -mark another one for Google Maps- but it was still a long day. Yet again, though, it was pretty cool how far I was able to drive without getting sleepy or antsy. I really haven't felt burned out yet at all, which is miraculous and really convenient.
We only went through the northeast part of Colorado, which isn't too mountainous and majestic, but a little while after we hit Cheyenne, Wyoming and started heading west, the landscape started to get a little more interesting. There were a handful of really dramatic moments, a lot of mountainy desert looking places that there is probably a specific geological or geographic term for, and bits of flatness. The flattish parts in Wyoming were cool, though, because there were still occasional ridges, so when the interstate coincided with those, we could see a long, long way, and I really liked it. The best roadside mountains were in Utah, but they are very few in the far northern part of the state, so the real breathtaking grandeur of the Rocky Mountains is still connected in my mind with motivational posters and such. I'll see some 14ers in person at some point in my life, I'm sure. We got some pictures of some of the better parts of Utah and Wyoming, but honestly, I'm so tired that I just don't feel like grabbing them from my camera, resizing them, and uploading them. Maybe I'll get a couple on here later. I'll try, how about that?
The drive itself went well again. No complications, all good directions... No complaints. Drowsiness only started to sneak up on me at the very, very end, and then we got here to Uncle Scot and Aunt Rhonda's house, and it was all over. Their daughters Sydney and Angela are here too, so all six of us had a late dinner (yummy burritos), and now we're about to turn in for the night. This time tomorrow, we'll be falling asleep in Washington! Very exciting. I'll give you the grandly conclusive recap when we get to the Evergreen State. Until then... 

Wichita to Denver

Today was, I believe, the longest single stretch of one road that we'll encounter on this whole trip. 416 miles of I-70 West from Salina, Kansas to Aurora, Colorado, which is just east of Denver. My Uncle Tim and Aunt Marci live here with my cousin Matthew, who is home from college for about another week before he will head back to Oklahoma. He plays the drums and is a big music guy, so we talked bands and things tonight, which was nice. We also had the best meal of the whole trip so far, and on the very same day as the hands-down worst. See, this afternoon, Kirsten and I were both getting a little peckish in the middle of nowhere in Kansas, so she pulled out the atlas to find out what the next town was along the interstate. Wilson, Kansas was right off I-70, and it was named in the atlas, so we figured it was probably a pretty decently sized town and would have something worth eating. Wrong on both counts. Wilson promotes itself as "The Czech Capitol of Kansas," which sounds all cool and exotic until you think about it for a minute and realize that that makes about as much sense as "The Heaviest Concentration of Peruvians in All of Nome, Alaska": it doesn't take much. I imagine there was something like, "Wait, you're telling me there are no other Czechs in the entire state of Kansas? That's ridiculous. Fine, well, then we're the Czech capitol of the state! Ha!" We had driven through Wilson looking for Wilson before we realized what had just happened. The only place to eat was a small local place called Made From Scratch. And, I mean, it was made from scratch after all, and that means quality, right? What it really meant was this: a convenience store emptied of its merchandise racks, filled with portable tables and chairs, and supplied with a small assortment of chaffing dishes, each with a different sketchy food. It all looked like it had been prepared the day before, left out, reheated, and left out again. And yet the adventurer in us (it should actually be noted here that Kirsten had the good sense to turn the place down on first appraisal and that I insisted on the grounds that it would be an Experience) went ahead and stayed. I have been to a dozen countries, met a variety of people in my life, and been in lots of interesting and unusual circumstances, but I can confidently say that I have never felt more out of place than I did today at Made From Scratch. It was an Experience, for sure. After we were done being polite and being watched intently by (all?) the citizens of Wilson, we got back on I-70 and then stopped about twenty miles later for some McDonald's. But we have a good story now, so I guess it's all good. The rest of Kansas and the first half of Colorado were kind of surprising, Kansas because it was actually kind of scenic and nice, and Colorado because it's intensely boring until right when you get to Denver, when the Continental Divide springs up unexpectedly and pelts you with all sorts of majesty and everything. It was too cloudy today to really see legitimate mountains (remember, we stopped a few miles short of Denver), but I'm hoping for some good mountain scenery tomorrow. On the way in, we saw a herd of buffalo (seriously), and we were going to exit to see "the largest prairie dog in the world" until we realized that it weighed 8,000 pounds and so was, clearly, not a real prairie dog. And if it was, we wouldn't want to get anywhere near it anyway. The evening here at the Walters' place has been very pleasant, and dinner was delicious. It's a shame we can't stick around to see Denver, but tomorrow is a LONG day of driving, so we have to head out nice and early if we want to make it to Boise with our sanity intact. Kirsten says "Helllooooo!" to you all, and while this little trip journal has been all about us, we have been thinking of our friends back east as well, and we both hope that you're doing well and having as nice a week as we are. Do let us know how you're doing. We'll look forward to talking to you soon. Stay tuned for the Denver-Boise leg of the journey. Good night.
Kent

Memphis-ish to Wichita

I have heard, and I believe it, that Pennsylvania has the worst roads of any state in the country. Oklahoma and Arkansas, though, could give PA a run for its money. Imagine the rib cages of 90-mile-long dinosaurs laid sporadically along lengths of American highway. Then imagine driving over them. That was sort of like what large portions of yesterday's roads were like. Other than the lack of upkeep on the highways, though, the trip here to Wichita was pretty easy. It's actually feeling like these days of driving are passing really quickly. The drive here certainly didn't feel as tedious as nine hours should have, for which we were both very grateful. Kirsten said on the way in that what she would most like to eat was a big bowl of pasta, and as it happened, we went the wrong way on the exit for our hotel, found a mall immediately, and found an Old Chicago restaurant outside the mall. Kirsten had Chicken Alfredo, I had Chicken Parmesan, and then we came back here to the hotel. I finally got to sleep about 4 hours later. Kirsten was pretty much asleep when we walked in the door. And then the sun woke me up bright and early this morning (I didn't have a windowless bathroom to sleep in like at Christopher and Bethany's house), and I'm feeling good and ready to get to Denver. Kansas and Oklahoma have actually not been as ugly and boring as I've heard, actually more sweeping and grand, really, but some big mountains will be a good change of pace all the same. Thanks for keeping up with the travels. I'll write from Denver.

Kent