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.

Being that 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 pitstop 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 me and hubby) and rode 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 Aniversary 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!

Stop 4: Utah & Colorado

As we kept driving we made a couple of pitstops in Utah and Colorado. We stopped at a couple of random rest areas 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 didn’t remember many details of it but just remembered 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!

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 to 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.