Lately, there have been some pretty massive changes in my family's lives. A few months ago, I found myself unhappy and unfulfilled at my job, and Bay Area life in general was becoming a slog to both my wife and me. So I decided to look around at what the job market elsewhere looked like. I threw my hat into a few different rings and ended up landing a really interesting job with an amazing company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
So on May 19th, I dropped my wife and son off at SFO and started driving towards Pittsburgh in my beloved 2005 Mazda 3i. We had looked into shipping the car, but in the end I liked the idea of a solo drive across the country. I had never been on a really long road trip by myself before, and there was no better opportunity to do one than this.
The plan was to go from Oakland, CA to Pittsburgh, PA in four days, but I hit an insane hail storm in the mountains of Nevada that resulted in a minor accident. When the accident happened, I was completely convinced that my car had been totaled and that it was undriveable. To my utter amazement, the damage appeared mostly cosmetic and I was able to drive the car to where I was staying in Wendover, UT. On the way there, I noticed that the steering wheel was about 10 degrees off and the car pulled very hard to the right when merging. Assuming the worst, images of bent shocks and control arms started dancing through my head. However, I got off easy. A mechanic in Wendover confirmed that all I needed was an alignment and after an extra day at the Motel 6 I was back in business.
The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, except for a speeding ticket in Wyoming (I was going 35 in a 30) and tying up the exit line at the Indiana Turnpike for 10 minutes (I swear I didn't get a ticket on my way in!) I had my dash cam running in time lapse mode the whole time, and you can see the entire trip in all its glory in the video embedded below.
As for Pittsburgh, we absolutely love it so far. The people are really nice, there is LOTS to do, the food is great, and it is by far the most unique looking place I have ever been. There is no way you would ever confuse another city for Pittsburgh. It has usually taken us a few weeks to get adjusted to life in a new place, but Pittsburgh already feels like home to us. The Bay Area was good to us, but the decision to leave and come here is one of the best that my wife and I ever made.
That's about all I have to say for now. I expect I'll have more to say as we continue to settle in. Until then, cheers!
