Moving Cross-Country

I have been in Seattle for a couple of days now, but just got internet last night. My Dad helped me with all the programing and whatever to get me hooked to his network (thanks Dad!). It was quite frustrating for him, and it took longer than I would have had patience for. Then again, I don't know computers like he does.

Getting here was a great adventure. There were almost no mishaps, and the one time I got us (an awesome friend helped me move) going the wrong direction on a road, it turned out to be a good mistake. Ended up seeing great landscaping that would have otherwise been missed. There is definitely something to be said about taking the long way and avoiding the interstate.

We were on the road for four nights, but didn't stay in motels the whole time. One night we camped, and there was this great flower outside of the tent when I woke up the next morning:

We were camped at Craters of the Moon National Park. Seeing huge black hills was really neat. I never knew volcanic activity had existed in that part of the country. Or that it could look like that thousands of years after the activity had stopped.

Along the way we went through a town called Boring. Thinking it was incredibly funny, we had to turn around to get a couple of shots.



Boring is close to Portland, OR, which isn't far from Seattle, but it was super rainy so we went for the coast where the internet said the weather was clearer. It only added about 6 hours of driving, but was totally worth it. We even made the random stop for some mini-golf.

I have now learned that there is more fun to be found when you don't have a set schedule, and are willing to take the time to slow down. Hard to do in today's society where everything is go, go, go. Had I been alone I would have taken the shortest, fastest route here and missed out on all the fun I had instead. I didn't even do any of the driving.

It would be nice not to move again, but at the same time I don't think I'll be happy in one place for the rest of my life. Sometimes I just need a change of scenery. But I think next time I will work harder at getting rid of things. I might have brought too much.