Cross Country Trip (with kids), Northern Route, Virginia to Oregon
In 2020, bachelor's degree in hand--or rather, packed in a shipping container--my family prepared to move from Southwest Virginia, back to Oregon. We had started making plans before the pandemic lockdowns. Yet, we still decided to take the opportunity for another cross-country drive, rather than a glance or two from an airplane window. Restrictions were easing by the summer, but there was the chance of getting stranded somewhere along the way, should they tighten again. We weren't returning exactly to the place from whence we came--we wanted to be closer to the bigger cities, my family in Washington, and MFA programs. I shopped online for our new home, choosing a place where the cost of living and crime were low. The usual scramble to pack was exasperated by the last-minute realization that we had accumulated more than would comfortably fit in our Dodge Caravan. On our last day in town, my mother rented a U-pack container and she and I played a rapid, sweaty version of real...
