Author Archives: JJD
Urban camping
Well, I’m here. Seattle! My new home. Scratch that. Seattle is where I now live, but it’s not quite home yet. For one thing, while I have an apartment, I don’t have anything to put in that apartment. I’m literally sleeping on the floor and eating with paper plates. If all goes well, the movers […]
The Ride: Going to the Sun Road
Even if you’ve never heard of Kalispell, Montana, you’ve probably heard of Glacier National Park. It’s one of those places that has a way of turning up on calendars and post cards — all snowy peaks and sapphire lakes and lush green valleys — but it’s so remote that you’ll never get there unless you […]
Another day in Kalispell
I had originally planned to spend only one night in Kalispell. The movers were scheduled to deliver my furniture and things early on Friday, so I needed to get to Seattle on Thursday night. BUT THEN a vast right-wing conspiracy forced the movers to change the delivery date to next Tuesday, leaving me with no […]
Kalispell
At long last, a break from traveling! Today I got to Kalispell, Montana, and all I want to do is channel my inner Elsa and sing say, “Here I’ll stand, and here I’ll stay“. Because NATURE! Flathead Lake as seen coming over the pass from Polson.A truly breathtaking view, I did a u-turn so that […]
Rapid City to Missoula
This third leg of the journey — from Rapid City, South Dakota, to Missoula, Montana — was the longest yet. That was largely my own fault. After a 16-hour slog the day before, the predicted 10-hour drive seemed like nothing. Hey, I thought, why not relax a bit and soak up some of the local […]
Chicago to Rapid City
For some reason I thought that spring had arrived and this trip across America would not involve white-knuckle driving through blizzards. Maybe that’s because I’ve been spending time in DC and Seattle, where we’ve already hit the second round of flowering shrubs and bulbs and most trees are basically leafed out. Not so in these […]
DC to Chicago
Day 1 of the westward migration was a success! I made it from DC to Chicago in approximately 11.5 hours, and I didn’t once end up in a ditch. I passed through six states, ate pancakes at IHOP and raw lamb at a Michelin-starred gastropub, listened to more Christian pop music than I even knew […]
JJD goes west
“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “to speak of other things . . . “ In roughly five minutes Comcast will terminate my Internet access and I will spend the rest of the day getting my haircut, packing the car and celebrating one last farewell with friends. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I will […]
Success! (or at least I won’t be homeless)
When I moved from New York to DC, I gave myself two days to find a place to live. This time around, I took a luxurious two and a half — practically an eternity — and I’m happy to say that, assuming all goes well with my application (fingers crossed!), I’ll be moving into this […]
Live blogging the "pack and load" – done!
Well, after only five and a half hours, I’m happy to report that Tony, Carlos and the other guy are done with their work, my apartment is empty, I haven’t died from starvation yet. It’s an Easter Miracle! All that’s left is the stuff that’s going with me in the car or will be dropped […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 