My 2nd Cross-Country Move: California to North Carolina

As our family is looking to move hopefully within the next year or two, I’m so excited to map out the moving trek and find some fun places to stop along the way. This has also got me reminiscing about my last big move, my 2nd cross-country move from California to North Carolina.

As I have mentioned before, I moved solo to California from Virginia (this was my 1st cross-country move). I absolutely loved California and never planned to leave…but God had other plans. I met and married my husband while living in San Diego, and at the time he was in the military. When he reenlisted, they stationed him in North Carolina, which meant we had to move out there.

My 2nd cross-country move was different from my first in the fact that I was moving with my husband vs. moving solo. We also had the military moving us, which was a huge help in the packing and actual moving of our belongings. I knew I wanted to handle this move differently and actually take time during the drive to stop at places along the way, something I didn’t do the first time around.

Since this move was due to work (aka the military), we had a few months of notice, which was perfect for me to be able to take the time to figure out our route. My husband only had a couple of minor requests, so I was able to plan it all and pick places on my bucket list to cross off.

Coming up in June marks 5 years since we made this 2nd cross-country move from California to North Carolina. This move was always planned to just be temporary. And now, as we look into moving again (possibly a 3rd cross-country move), I definitely want to try and hit some more bucket list places along the way.

I’m having so much fun reminiscing on all the adventures and good times we had on this last move that I wanted to share some of the details and photos with you. There are so many beautiful places to see and adventures waiting to be had across the US.

Stop 1: San Diego

Technically, this wasn’t an official stop on our move, but it is what kickstarted our big moving adventures. I honestly love Southern California, and I had a hard time moving away. I had been living in San Diego for about three years when we had to move. We tried to visit all of our favorite spots and places within San Diego before we officially started our driving trek.

For me, a big one was Coronado Island, my absolute favorite place in all of San Diego. I spent a lot of my free time there; we would go to the beach there often, and we also got married there on the beach. Our last San Diego pit stop before moving was another really special place to us, SeaWorld. I absolutely love dolphins, and we even got engaged by the dolphin exhibit at SeaWorld. So we had to stop there one final time before leaving.

Stop 2: Anaheim & Los Angeles

When I say I was so sad to leave Southern California, it is the honest truth. I tried to make my final days last as long as I could. After leaving San Diego, we drove up to Anaheim for some more fun. We initially planned to spend one last day at Disneyland and then head to Los Angeles. However, we discovered that the Dodgers had a home game that night, so we decided to hop on a train (a first time for both hubby and me) and ride it into Los Angeles for the baseball game. I was so excited to do this. I had been to Dodger Stadium before but hadn’t seen a home game even though I had lived in LA for three years. It was always on my bucket list, and I couldn’t leave California without going to one. After the game, we took the train back to our hotel in Anaheim.

The next day we spent the whole day at Disneyland. When they call it “the happiest place on earth,” they aren’t lying. I absolutely LOVE Disney! We had a blast and even got our own caricature done. It was also Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary when we went, which was such a cool experience to visit during the Diamond Anniversary celebrations.

After Disney, we drove up to Los Angeles. We drove around LA, walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and also took a studio tour of Warner Bros. Studios. As an actress and extra, I had spent a lot of time on studio lots, but I had never taken an official tour. A studio tour was on my bucket list, so we decided to tour my personal favorite studio, Warner Bros. Studios. It was a blast, and I already plan to tour more studios on other future visits.

Stop 3: Nevada

As we left California, we drove over to Nevada. We stopped in Las Vegas and saw Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. Such beautiful sights!

Lake Mead

Stop 4: Utah & Colorado

As we kept driving, we made a couple of pit stops in Utah and Colorado. We stopped at a couple of random rest areas and wanted to stretch our legs, take a little potty break, and see some of the beautiful sights.

Stop 5: Colorado Springs

When we started planning our road trip, one of the first places I knew I wanted to stop at was the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. Back in the day, when I was like 13 years old, my family went to Denver for a wedding, and we visited the Olympic Training Center. I don’t remember many details of it, but I just remember that I loved it.

My husband and I had also visited the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA, while living in San Diego, so I definitely wanted to stop by the one in Colorado during our road trip too. It did not disappoint! The training center is so awesome to see. You can take a tour of the facilities, courtyard, Olympic Hall of Fame, and get a little keepsake at the gift shop. There are many cute statues and picture-worthy spots throughout the training center.

Stop 6: Kansas

After leaving Colorado, we continued our drive to Kansas. My husband grew up in a small town in central Kansas, and his family all still live there, so we took about a week to just relax, visit, and spend time with family there.

Stop 7: San Diego

This stop is going to seem way out of place, and like I’m backtracking, but bear with me. While my husband stayed in Kansas with his family, I flew back to San Diego for a couple of days. Before we moved, I had actually booked a speaking role in a movie, and it was supposed to shoot before we left. However, due to production issues, my scenes got rescheduled to be filmed after we had already planned to be driving across the country.

This was a big deal for me, and I didn’t want to turn it down, so we just planned our trip to be in Kansas during the time I would have to film. While my husband stayed in Kansas, I flew back to San Diego to film and spent a couple of days with my bestie.

Stop 8: Kansas & Missouri

After flying back to Kansas to meet up with my husband, we began our road trip trek again. We drove through to Missouri and met up with some more family to have dinner. Then we continued on to my other biggest bucket list stop I wanted to see: Laura Ingalls Wilder’s house and farm. I am a HUGE fan of the Little House on the Prairie books and show. I’ve loved Laura Ingalls since I was a little girl, and knowing we’d be driving through Missouri, I knew we HAD to stop and see her house.

It was so amazing! There were actually two houses on the farm that we were able to tour; they have such a cute little gift shop and museum. We bought little teacups of her china pattern in the gift shop, and we also drove to the town cemetery and got to visit the graves of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Alfonso Wilder, and their daughter Rose.

Stop 9: Nashville

Our next stop was Nashville, Tennessee. I had visited it as a kid but didn’t remember it, and my husband hadn’t ever been. We got a hotel and ended up staying in Nashville for a couple of days. We visited downtown, walked by the river, visited the Highway 65 “Nashville” TV show set (the show was still being filmed at the time we visited), and went to the Grand Ole Opry. It was a blast, and we definitely want to go again!

Highway 65 set location for "Nashville" TV show

Stop 10: North Carolina

After Nashville, we drove and drove and drove, all the way through to North Carolina and our new home on the coast. Even though Tennessee and North Carolina are neighboring states, going from Nashville to the NC coast is a LONG drive. After an amazing road trip, we finally arrived in our new town in North Carolina.

While it was really bittersweet leaving California, our road trip was an amazing experience, and we made a lot of wonderful memories. Finally, making it to our final destination and our new home in North Carolina was so exciting. The biggest thing I’ve learned so far between my two cross-country moves is to make the most of it by having bucket-list destinations to stop at along the way.

5 Things I’ve Learned in 5 Years of Marriage

I just celebrated my 5th wedding anniversary last week, and I still have a hard time believing it's already been five years since we said, “I do”. In some ways, it has dragged, but in most ways, it has flown by! In honor of this special anniversary, I wanted to share with you five of the biggest things I’ve learned in the last five years of being married. I hope that these tips will help you in your own relationship journey.

1. Communication is Key

Through good times and bad, communication is so important. In the heat of the moment, communication is quick to go out the window. But when the dust settles, and the anger clears, being able to talk and work through your issues is huge.

Miscommunication and assumptions can put a huge damper on your relationship. Learning how to communicate and how your partner understands your words is essential to helping you speak to each other and not just at each other.

2. Compromising is Essential

In all good relationships, compromising is a must. You aren’t going to get along 24/7, and that is completely normal. When big disagreements come up, finding common ground and a compromise is key to a happy relationship. No one can get their way all the time. Both you and your partner will have to compromise to make the other happy.

Whether it’s picking a baby name, what to eat for dinner, or friends to have in your life — you will have to compromise, and so will your spouse. The big disagreements can be harder to find a compromise you’re both happy with, so you may have to give more sometimes and vice versa.

3. Growth is Inevitable

You will grow. Sometimes together, sometimes separately. The important thing is to keep your connection alive. You will have different interests and dreams, and that is ok. Your differences are probably a big reason why you fell for each other in the first place. But you don’t want to grow too far apart to where you can’t find your way back together or, worse, that you don’t want to come back from. So while you embrace the growth in your life, make sure to still bring your spouse along for the ride with you.

4. Forgiveness is a Must

Holding onto grudges and disagreements will not serve you or your relationship. Life is too short to pick fights and stay mad. Staying mad takes too much energy. Choosing to forgive even when you don’t want to will bring you unexplainable peace. Being the bigger person isn’t always easy, but it is always worth it.

Whether you have a big fight or a little one, choosing to forgive one another is a must. Take responsibility for your actions too by asking for your spouse’s forgiveness for your actions. Don’t let grudges grow and don’t let bitterness sweep in. Choose forgiveness.

5. Choosing Each Other is Crucial

One of the biggest reasons marriages fail is that one or both parties just give up. Love is a choice. Like all good things, it takes work. During the good and the bad, you choose each other. In sickness and in health, you choose each other. For better or for worse, you choose each other. When you stop choosing each other and stop putting in the work, that’s when things fall off the rails.

The reality is that you’re not always going to like your spouse. They’re going to get on your nerves and drive you crazy at times. And the fact is, you can’t change them. The only person you can change is yourself. Instead of focusing on the things you can’t change and the things that annoy you, focus on what you can be doing better and the things that you love about your partner. Marriage is a serious commitment, and it requires you to keep choosing your partner over and over again, not just once on your wedding day.

Let’s face it, marriage is not always roses and chocolates. There are tough days, but anything worth having takes hard work. Communication, compromising, growing together, and choosing forgiveness are all tools that have helped me in my five years of marriage. But the key to love and making marriage work is really all about choosing each other over and over again, even during the moments that you don’t want to.