Thought I will start blogging some of my thoughts since the time we moved to Seattle.
Moved to Seattle two weeks ago. The move has been hectic since we handled all the logistics: selecting a shipper, shipping our HHGs and one car, finding a storage space and making sure that everything gets here in one piece, driving cross-country (well, almost) and settling down in a temporary place.
Both me and my wife love driving. We decided to drive from Cincinnati rather than fly since we always wanted to drive across the whole country. Well, this is not really a cross-country trip since we are starting from Ohio, but it was pretty close to one. Also, what made our decision easy was the fact that we were driving (a long way) to a new and exciting place, AND we didn't have to worry about driving back! Initially had reservations about the drive, since we were traveling with a 3 year old. But, our philosophy was that since our daughter is going to be with us for another 15 odd years, she might as well get used to our way of life;-) One day, while shopping at Target, we stumbled upon a portable DVD player, with a LCD panel that mounts behind the driver's headrest. The moment we saw the player, we were convinced that we could make the trip. Picked up a few SpongeBobSquarePants and Dora DVDs and we were on our adventure.
It took us 3 days to drive from Cincinnati to Seattle. We had originally planned on taking a break at Yellowstone NP, but hit bad weather near Montana, and cancelled the detour. Also, since ours was the last load in his truck, the van driver was way ahead of us and had already reached Seattle and waiting for us to pick our stuff! After reading all the horror stories at movingscam.com I was relieved that my stuff was already in Seattle.
Driving with a toddler can be difficult. Here are a few things that one can do to keep things in control. Drive a mini-van or an SUV, install a DVD player, get a few of her favorite movies (don't worry about getting a lot of DVDs, because toddlers can watch the same program/movie several times in a row without batting an eyelid), print outlines of some of her favorite characters for coloring, bring along her teddy bear, lots of food and last but not the least, a porta-potty. You won't believe how barren some of the mid-west places are. We could not find a gas station or a rest area for hours on end in N.Dakota.
Well, Seattle offers us a lots of things to see and do. We are slowly exploring the natural beauty of this place. The weather has been pleasant so far. Will fill in on our adventure and discoveries as we go along.