wisconsin + minnesota

Here we are about to leave my parents' house, and all things familiar, to officially begin the long drive to California:

After a lovely, and very early, breakfast at the Original Pancake House (one of my favorite Madison spots), we were off! 

Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos during the drive through Wisconsin or Minnesota. We were so busy plotting out our whole new life (and ok, getting lost) that I completely forgot about my camera until we pulled into our hotel in South Dakota. Oops! Blogger fail :(

But I can assure you, Wisconsin is a magnificently beautiful state. In fact -- and I am not biased in any way -- it is my favorite state :)

To be fair, this favoritism is a somewhat recent development. Only in the last five years or so have I come to appreciate all Wisconsin has to offer. The charm was definitely lost on me as a kid. Cows and farms, yeah, whatever. All I wanted was the city; skyscrapers and subways for this girl.

My momma, on the other hand, grew up in west Philadelphia and moved to Wisconsin in her thirties. After all these years, the quaint red barns, rolling hills, and spotted cows of the Wisconsin countryside still astound her. Whenever my mom and I would drive down a scenic country road (which, in Wisco, is rather often), she'd frantically tap my arm, point, and exclaim with such a childlike enthusiasm, 'Look, a COW!!!' Every. Single. Time.

As Dave and I drove north (or 'up nord' as the locals say) toward Minnesota, I found myself doing the exact same thing. 'Ooh, Davey, look at that cute little farm! I see a little baby cow! Aw, and there's a whole family of cows! Weeee, a hill!!'

Ultimately, I'm really glad we opted for the Wisconsin detour. It was wonderful to be home, if ever briefly. My only regret is that we did not stop for a cheese curd break or pick up a case of New Glarus Beer to enjoy upon arrival in California. Oh well, it's not like we'll never be back...

Oh yeah, and Minnesota was nice too. Crossing the Mississippi River was definitely a highlight -- the rock formations that jut out of the earth were really awesome, and such a stark contrast against the otherwise forested landscape. We were just a few weeks too early, but in the fall, I could see this little nook of the country being absolutely breathtaking.

P.S. I think it goes without saying that leaving my parents was really emotional too. I cried. A lot.
P.P.S. Thanks for lending us the GPS, guys. We probably would have ended up in Mexico without it!

departure

The first leg of our journey began with the (relatively) short drive from Oak Park/Chicago to Madison. Don't worry -- we realize that Wisconsin is not actually on the way to San Francisco from Chicago; however, we decided to take a small detour to see my parents on our way out. This northern route also gave us the opportunity to avoid Nebraska (sorry, Great Plains) and drive through Yellowstone, which was definitely a highlight of our trip. More on that later...

Leaving my sister, niece, and nephew in Oak Park was harder than I even imagined (and trust me, I am a hardcore worst-case-scenario kind of worrier). As we sat down to a nice farewell dinner, I glanced at the the piles of packed bags by the door and the tremendous weight of regret began to take hold. I am not going to lie -- in that moment, this whole grand moving scheme felt like a huge mistake. It was unnerving and I cried. A lot. 

After I stalled our departure for several hours (during which my sister basically had to talk me off a ledge), we finally loaded up our suitcases, and Dave dragged me to the car. We said our goodbyes. It was heartbreaking and I cried. A lot. 

But then as we pulled away, everything felt right. And everything was right. As difficult as the departure was, it marked the beginning of our new adventure, our new life - just me, Dave, and our silly little brown dog. The best part? As if just for us, 'Lake Michigan' by Rogue Wave played on the radio while the city skyline (and Lake Michigan) faded in the rearview mirror:

We dried our tears, smiled, laughed, screamed, and set out on the long drive to California...

so long, chicago

picasso // daley plaza

Today is our last day in Illinois. And wow, what a perfect, beautiful, sunny, magical day.

As I was strolling around downtown this afternoon (avoiding the trip back to Oak Park on the dreaded blue line), it finally hit me. We are actually leaving. Like, for real. TONIGHT.

The thing is, we will always be in touch with the friends and family we're leaving behind. We can always come back to visit our favorite spots in the city. But from now on, we will be mere tourists in a place we once called home. How strange it will be.

Of course, we will make new friends in San Francisco (and reconnect with old ones, too!). We will find new favorites - restaurants, bars, parks, sights. We will even, eventually, call San Francisco home.

But until then, I sure will miss my beloved city by the lake.

the hardest part

We had a few, small goodbye gatherings over the last two weeks. Boy, it's tough to think that we won't be seeing our friends for a while. But we will skype/facetime often, right guys? RIGHT?!

  

But really, this is not goodbye. 

It's see you later. 

packing

Packing sucks. But you know what helps?

Champagne! 

A tremendous thank you to my NU guys for the thoughtful farewell gift :)

Not only did this make packing much more fun, it gave us a chance to use the champagne glasses from our wedding. Hard to believe it's been almost a year already!

As you can see, Mrs. couldn't wait to have a sip.