So, we decided to pack up our belongings & move across the country & we couldn't be happier! It's something we've thought about doing for awhile, but somehow, it always found a way of getting put off. At the beginning of this year, a good friend of ours got very sick out of nowhere, was hospitalized & nearly died. It was terrifying. It was sobering & enough to really put things into perspective. You can't wait till tomorrow to live the life you want because tomorrow may never come. While that is something we've always believed to be true, it isn't always something we've acted on. We had a sort of now or never moment and here we are! Of course, we miss our loved ones, but we've been in touch daily, plan on going home for a visit at Christmas & we already have a visitor coming to stay with us next month!
We covered over 2,000 miles with a 3 year old in tow via The Empire Builder, an Amtrak train. It was quite the adventure and littlemaneel really seemed to enjoy it & did exceptionally well on our 2 day journey across the country. When we weren't running up and down the cars, looking out the windows in the viewing car or cuddled up reading books, we relied on Mr. Potato Head, puzzles, drawing utensils and iPad apps such as Wee Alphas, Toca Boca & the many Dr. Seuss interactive books to pass the time.
The cracker and cheese tray was definitely our favorite option from the snack car. It complimented the fresh fruit we had brought along with us. That was a big plus with taking Amtrak, we were allowed to bring lots of things we normally wouldn't have had we flown. This was our first long distance trip via train and so while we did have Mediterranean orzo and chicken curry salad [part of a delicious spread brought to us by our lovely friends who met us at Union Station], we didn't bring anything to store it in and it all had to be eaten within the first few hours of our trip. We then relied on the dried snacks, peanut butter sandwiches and the fresh fruit we packed. When we travel back east to visit, we are definitely going to bring a cooler. That way, we can make our own cheese trays, keep our salads longer and avoid the overpriced snack car all together.
Lots of good views from the train. Neither papaeel nor I had been to Montana before and found the big sky there to be rather beautiful.
We arrived exhausted, but ever excited to have finally made it to our destination. We were ready to eat a healthy warm meal and explore on foot. This city is very bike friendly, so before moving we had decided to give up our 4 wheel way of life and embrace a body powered 2 wheeled one. We had okay cruisers back home, but decided to leave them and take our chances on craigslist upon arrival. We were successful in finding good condition commuter bikes at reasonable prices. We've had the good fortune of time to adapt to riding miles on our bicycles everyday. We are truly embracing the city life and are loving it!
[worry not, we've since acquired proper baskets for grocery lugging]
We've been lucky enough to have a whole month to get to know the city side by side as we've hunted for jobs & enrolled in school. We've so enjoyed being able to spend every single day together without any real obligations. We've made a point to take in the sites, go for long strolls in the rain, play at the park for hours, craft, make art with littlemaneel, cook & share delicious meals as we explored & have gotten acclimated to the city. Time well spent, that we are are ever grateful for.
We look forward to sharing our west coast adventures with you. There are still moments where we find we're pinching ourselves because we can't believe we are actually here. We feel that we've made the right decision and the universe must agree, because things just seem to be working out in our favor. All I can say is, if there is something you've always wanted to do in this one chance at life you get, don't put it off! The mundaneness of everyday life will trudge on & you'll find it's harder to get off the wheel. As crazy as it may seem at the time, follow your dream and good things will happen. Or better yet, in the words of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, "Don't dream it. Be it."
Until next time, mamaeel
