final day : kent!

We both woke up excited because we knew by the end of the day, we'd be with Marcus's family in Kent. The day was supposed to be about ten hours long, so it was daunting, but the excitement outweighed the anxiety.

It ended up being that we skipped the hotel's advertised free breakfast--I think the main office gave Marcus the creeps, plus there wasn't actually any food on the table. We ate in the car; luckily, I make pretty good peanut butter sandwiches while balancing a cooler on my lap, so we were fine. That thing was a lifesaver this entire trip, by the way. We had plenty of fruit to eat and the bread and peanut butter stayed good. Seriously, when we got to Kent and calculated the cost from all our receipts, we came in way under budget because of how many meals we just made ourselves from the cooler.

Anyway, California is huge and takes forever to actually leave. We kept looking out the window trying to see if the last little bits of desert landscape had completely faded away yet. Eventually, we crossed into Oregon and it was evident that there were no more spiny plants to be found. It was sort of a culture shock, because immediately upon entering Oregon, we stopped for gas and learned that you're not supposed to pump it yourself there. The young man who was our attendant was extremely cheerful and friendly--and, of course, Marcus just had to ask why attendants got your gas for you there. I'm not sure if it's true or not, but the guy explained that at some point in the 1920's, some person was pumping gas, decided to light a cigar, and the entire place exploded.

Also, the inside of the gas station was like part restaurant and part hotel. There was a washing machine next to the bathroom. I've never seen anything like it.

We stopped for Subway and switched spots because Marcus needed a nap. Unfortunately, although I'm a fairly competent driver, I was off that day or something. I'm thinking that it was partially due to not being familiar with the area and general anxiety around traffic and large trucks. Anyway, I was able to go for a while, but Marcus did the majority of the driving this trip by far. (I felt bad, but I also think it also kind of worked for him. When he's in the passenger seat, he likes to stomp on an imaginary break or move to correct the steering wheel. I imagine it's hard to let another person drive your car--I get that way when someone's in my kitchen, let alone my vehicle...)

The scenery was vastly different from Arizona's, and we both couldn't get enough of it. The northwest is so green. We drove past Portland and immediately wanted to stop and see what it was all about, but we were getting close enough to being done driving that we kept going. From the car, it looked like one of the most interesting cities I've ever seen. Everything looked really clean and crisp, if that makes sense. Anyway, we spent several hours talking and pointing out how not like the desert our new surroundings were. We've been here about a week and I still don't think either of us has gotten tired of that.

Around six or seven, we got to Kent! His parents were eagerly waiting for us at their apartment with dinner, and we couldn't have been happier. Now, here we are.

Altogether, I was immensely happy we took this trip. Before I left, lot of people said things to the effect of "you two are going to hate each other by the end", and I found that to be some strange (and untrue) advice. The only remotely negative thing that happened at all was that Marcus wasn't intensely enjoying Disneyland for the first hour, and even then, nobody was really that upset. All it took was a round on Space Mountain and he was fine. Besides that, we enjoyed all the stops we got to make and the food we tried out together. For something that was supposed to be wildly stressful and the ultimate test of our relationship, it mostly just felt like a fun vacation and some good bonding time. We even learned to change windshield wipers together in the parking lot of a Walmart, so...I'd recommend cross-country road trips to anyone! Granted, we were both extremely tired by the end, and I think being crunched in a car full of our worldly possessions for extended periods of time can do a number on your back, but I still say it was worth it! :)

If you read this far, thanks for tuning in to my little recount of our move from Arizona to Washington. I can't wait to see what happens next here!