Herb and Lolo at Schmidt'sAt last – the New Jersey house was sold and it was time for Herb and me to say goodbye to our home of 30 years and embark on our final cross country trip – at least until we drive back East to visit old friends and favorites East Coast destinations. Let me tell you that pulling out of that driveway for the last time was not very easy.

Now, here we were, free spirits (or homeless, depending on your perspective) hitting the road in search adventure and hopefully a home on the other side.

We spent the next week driving across the U.S. along the I80 route. Although it was mostly just driving in order to beat the moving truck to our storage unit in Santa Rosa, there were a few highlights along the way, such as:

• Spending 2 days with my brother and his family in New Albany, Ohio and eating bratwurst at Schmidt’s Sausage House in Columbus
• Climbing at Climb Iowa in Grimes and meeting Kitty, the 72 year old woman who kicked my butt on the wall
• Stopping in Salt Lake City to climb at Momentum Gym and then taking a tour of Temple Square and the Mormon Tabernacle
• Gazing in awe at the dazzling white sand at the Bonneville Salt Flats along I80 on the Utah-Nevada border

The move went smoothly. We stuffed our entire life possessions in a 10 X 25 storage unit, and rented a monthly campsite at the Petaluma KOA, where we store our motorhome. That would be our base camp during our search for a home in Sonoma County. Fortunately, that would only have to go on for about 8 weeks, because after that we would be subletting an apartment in Sebastopol for 3 months while the owners were in Europe. Hopefully, by then we will have found our dream home.