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Wednesday, February 4, 2015

The Drive: My cross country trip - Moving from Connecticut to Utah!

Driving across the country can be an awesome experience and cheaper alternative to flying (Gas prices are $1.79 current in Utah).
If you are prepared and thankfully I was.  

Post on what I brought and how I prepared 
Basic essentials for any trip

I can't believe it has been almost six months since I packed my belongings, my cat, and my dog in a small U Haul and made the long drive across the country. 
 I-80 West for dayssss. 
 Literally. 

It was a gutsy decision to leave everything behind, horses family and friends, to make the trek out here and start this new adventure:  Grad School and west coast (ish) living.  It has it's ups and downs, but as the days go by, I am beginning to love this gorgeous and weird state more and more.  

That being said, moving across the country is NOT cheap.  
Those convenient moving pods are about $3,000 and the cheapest quote I received for a mover was $2,000.   Then I would still need to drive west, or fly myself and the animals- more $$$ and stress for the animals.  U Haul trucks and trailers were also very expensive because they were only one way (everything is cheaper if you return it to the same place). 



 I didn't have a ton of stuff but its the distance, roughly 2,200 miles that makes it so expensive.  I also had to find a safe way to get the animals out there, and preferred my car out there as well.  After a ton of research I decided the best way was the old fashioned way. 
Pack up my stuff and drive.  

The drive was targeted at about 2,200 miles, and 36 hours of driving.  I needed to get out there quickly to get settled in before classes and make it less stressful on the animals so I did the drive in 3 days of 12+ hours of driving each way.

One night was spent in Indiana and the other Nebraska.
And here is what it cost:

Uhaul:  $667.73
Gas:  $662.39*
Hotels (2):  $110.00
Tolls: $40.85
TOTAL:  $1,480.97
*this was when gas prices were high $3s,
Would cost much less in gas now!


By far the cheapest option to get me, my car, my things, 
and my animals out to Utah. 







Abby goes to Cracker Barrel
I highly suggest having your cat on a harness (and leash!) because I have heard many horror stories about cats escaping at a rest stop.  Abby was not escaping in this set up. 


The animals did really well on the drive surprisingly!  
The cat was happiest outside of her crate. 



Sometimes Olive liked to hop in the front seat and give the cat the entire back seat to herself. 



Car entertainment and snacks 


I highly recommend Audio books for any long drive! 



Nebraska and Iowa corn fields! 


First night we stayed in Indiana,
This is the second night in Nebraska. 


Large chain of convenience stores with an interesting name. 


Road trip dinner of champions in Kearney Nebraska. 






Wyoming! 


Crazy weather followed by gorgeous sunsets. 


Utah! 




Many many many gorgeous Wind Farms throughout the midwest. 




The drive went by quicker than I thought and we had a lot of fun.  
Good ole fashioned road trips (with you dog and cat) need to get trendy again ;) 

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