Having finished loading all of our possessions into my wife’s 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe, we were ready for the start of our trip – albeit, five hours later than I originally wanted to leave. The first leg of the trip was easy – a quick jaunt from Point Lookout, NY, to Virginia Beach, VA.

Leaving Long Island was more difficult than I thought it would be. My wife and I made many friends here, and it was difficult saying goodbye to them all. We were there for less than a year, and yet it felt like we were leaving family.

After saying our goodbyes – and picking up our laundry from various friends’ houses – we hit the road. We had about eight hours of driving in front of us to Virginia Beach. After a quick stopover in Delaware to visit the godparents, we would be 397 miles closer to our destination.

The first leg was uneventful – except for the little part on the Jersey Turnpike where Siri apparently didn’t want me to use the “cars only” lane and directed me off the Turnpike to immediately do a U-turn to get right back on the Turnpike. Good job Siri. I see we will be using Google Maps for our GPS needs from now on.

So, it will be a week in Virginia Beach with the family, in-laws, and a host of friends, then on to California. Coast to coast in a week. That’ll be easy. Me, the wife, our dog, and everything we own (that we didn’t leave with the family) trekking cross country.

-FreakyRO