178811 – It begins

Hi everyone. I’m going to try to post frequently over the course of the next month with updates regarding my move to California. For those who don’t know, I plan to be out there for at least two years while Francella, my pretty (but not model-pretty) girlfriend, attends graduate school at USC. If you find yourself out there during that time period, please call me, as I’ll have no friends in the area for the foreseeable future.

Because I need to move a good amount of stuff and because I’m always looking for an excuse to go on a road trip, I’ve decided to drive out to California with a couple brief detours along the way. I’m fortunate enough to have Kyle Joyce along for the trip; I’ll be meeting him at his house in Stony Point, NY around July 1st.

Look forward to future posts from Kyle which will hopefully be better than whatever this is. As an added bonus, my friends Dave Cantu and Georgie Thomas have decided to fly out to Arizona to tag along for a portion of the trip. Whether they’ll fit into what is proving to be a very tightly packed car remains to be seen. Over the next week, before the trip begins in earnest, I’ll be up in Boston spending time with my mom, my high school friends, and the two French exchange students who are currently staying at my house. From when I leave my apartment in Arlington, VA later today to when I pull up to my new abode in Tustin, CA, I will have traveled roughly 7700 miles over the course of about 5 weeks. With fingers crossed, I’ll be traversing the country in the Gray Ghost, my 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee – complete with 178811 miles.

I thought about posting the trip itinerary in this first post, but I guess that would sort of be the equivalent to providing Cliff's notes prior to a reading assignment, leaving no incentive to actually come back to read our posts. So instead, I’ll just say that, if all goes to plan, we should go to some neat places and do some swell things. If that sort of cliffhanger doesn’t keep you coming back for more, I don’t know what will.

I should warn anyone who is actually reading this: I’ve never written a blog before, so I apologize in advance if my writing is stupid, boring, or inappropriate for the medium. Also, we'll have sporadic internet access and will be uploading posts in bunches when we have the chance.

So here are some pictures from today…

Here I am saying goodbye to the Wellington Apartments. I’ll really miss the many peculiar, vaguely ethnic odors wafting down its hallways - a sad day indeed.


Some poor packing strategies left me drinking out of a vase for the last 72 hours I was in the apartment.

It is yet to be determined whether 400 pounds worth of Mexican and Indian friends can be stuffed into this back seat.


It’s a tight squeeze even for CK.


Time to leave.


See you guys in Boston.

- Sean