Road Trip to the East Coast (#RT2EC): Part 2
Olivia Wilkins
I’ve been in my new apartment for 7 months now, so I think it’s about time I write the second part of my road trip to the east coast adventure. The last time I wrote about the road trip, I was just across the Oklahoma-Texas border, about halfway to Pennsylvania from southern California, reflecting on what I was leaving behind (and what I was hoping to find in PA).
With the pandemic, our road trip to the east coast didn’t come with many opportunities to explore nor many opportunities for pictures. But I managed to grab a few on our way across the U.S. as we put 2,754.8 miles on our car between our old apartment in Pasadena and our new one in Carlisle.
Day 1 (November 26, 2020): Pasadena to Big Bear Lake, CA
We left on Thanksgiving Day. We wanted to leave by 1:00 p.m., but of course, the last-minute packing and trash tossing got us out the door at around 10:30 p.m. instead. One thing I’ve learned after moving more than a half-dozen times in less than six years is that no matter how hard you try, you will never be fully prepared to move.
My research groupmates surprised me to say goodbye. They brought a gift with cards and small gifts wrapped in the coolest piece of National Park paper. Günther carefully unwrapped the present as Alex, G, and I sat on the horrible blue Caltech apartment carpet for one of the last times. I now have the paper framed on our family room wall.
Günther unwrapping the parting gift from our SoCal friends.
Don’t let the smile fool you. I was panicking at this point, unaware that we still had ~6 hours to go.
Day 2 (November 27): Big Bear Lake, CA, to Flagstaff, AZ
The first day was short with only ~88 miles (thank goodness). After we had breakfast at Copper Q one last time, we hit the road for Arizona. Day 2 was much better than Day 1. Day 1 was emotional, I cried just about the whole way to Big Bear. Our car was weighted down by all of our crap. I left my beloved bicycle behind to try to lessen the weight a bit. A stream of what-ifs flooded my brain. It sucked. But on Day 2, Güni was excited about entering Arizona, and Alex and I were in much better spirits. Day 2’s 410-mile drive was much more enjoyable than the previous night’s 88 miles.
In much better spirits. Can you spot the top of G’s head in the back?
Day 3 (November 28): Flagstaff, AZ, to Albuquerque, NM
We had less than 400 miles on Day 3, which we planned so we could go to Petrified Forest National Park. We had been once before when Günther was a few months shy of turning two, and we wanted to make it back. Since Petrified Forest is off Route 40 in Arizona on the way to New Mexico, and the park isn’t typically crowded, we figured we could afford one fun stop on the way east.
Views of the Painted Desert in Petrified Forest National Park.
We picked up a stack of postcards to send to family and friends. I also had papers to grade for Scientific Writing. That night, I scribbled out postcards and read a few papers while Alex and Güni had some fun playing World of Warcraft and taking about 50 pictures of our hotel room, respectively.
Day 4 (November 29): Albuquerque, NM, to Erick, OK
Driving on Interstate 40 through the Texas panhandle takes up only 177 miles of your journey cross-country, but it is perhaps the most excruciating part of the journey (besides maybe driving across any portion of Indiana). You haven’t seen flat until you’ve seen the panhandle of Texas. The land goes on forever in whichever direction, and except for a few ranch buildings, windmills, and a gas station now and again, there is nothing to see outside Amarillo. If we hadn’t grabbed coffee on our way out of Albuquerque, I don’t think I could have made it to Oklahoma.
View from the parking lot of Starbucks near the airport in Albuquerque.
Day 5 (November 30): Erick, OK, to Cuba, MO
Day 5 was one of our longest days at almost 600 miles. We drove across Oklahoma and most of Missouri. We also took a quick detour to go to a new state for us: Kansas. There, we drove through Baxter Springs to see Rainbow Bridge, the last single-span concrete Marsh arch bridge along historic Route 66. We got there as the Sun was setting, and this corner of Kansas looks like it is the setting of a horror film in the dim light. I am not ashamed to admit I was terrified we were going to break down and never be heard from again. Even after spending the last few days on Route 40, I was so happy to be back on the freeway before it became too dark.
Rainbow Bridge along Route 66 in Kansas.
Day 6 (December 1): Cuba, MO, to St. Clairsville, OH
We were hoping to go to the arch in St. Louis, but with COVID and the chilly weather, it didn’t seem like a worthwhile detour. We were satisfied with seeing the arch from the car as we crossed the Mississippi, and Günther was excited because he recognized the structure from the wall art in our room at the Super 8 in Cuba.
Later, it was my turn to be excited by a structure I recognized: SHEETZ!(!!!!!!) If you don’t live in the mid-Atlantic, you might not understand why this was such an important moment for me. Getting excited about a gas station? Really? Well, gas stations in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. are AMAZING, and Sheetz is the best (sorry, Wawa fans). After living on the West Coast, I was deprived of a truly good gas station experience. Sheetz did not fail to disappoint when it welcomed me to Ohio.
Me in the slushy parking lot outside my first Sheetz on the way back to PA.
The picture I sent my research group because I won’t shut up about my love for a gas station.
Day 7 (December 2): St. Clairsville, OH, to Carlisle, PA
Fortunately, I remembered enough about driving in snow because Ohio was full of it. Our hotel was up a precarious snow-covered hill, but we made it to the top and into our room. The last morning of our road trip, we went to Sheetz for breakfast (duh) in Wheeling, WV, before crossing into PA.
Our car outside the Days Inn in St. Clairsville
Our last day was an easy one, with less than 250 miles. We rolled into Carlisle in the afternoon, giving us enough time to get our keys and tour our new place before setting up the air mattress. We unpacked as much as we could from the car before our arms grew too tired, and we picked up some Japanese noodles from Issei Noodle, a Carlisle favorite.
We all passed out on the air mattress that night, too exhausted to care that we barely fit on the queen-sized bed all together anymore.
We were finally home.