After our grueling three-day packout ended late last month, I spent the following day preparing to drive across the United States by myself. Ideally I would have left first thing in the morning. But as the final day of our packout had stretched into the evening, I realized some tasks — like going to the bank and post office, returning newly purchased aerosols the movers wouldn’t pack, and making one last run to my private storage unit — would have to wait until the following morning. This would delay my departure until later in the day.
V spent the day cleaning the rental house where we had lived since early 2022, while I repacked all my suitcases at our temporary apartment. Once I finished, I loaded the car and ran a few last-minute errands before stopping by the house one final time to say goodbye. It was only a temporary goodbye to him, but a fond farewell to the only home we’ve known since we left Ciudad Juárez three and a half years ago.
Between spring 2022 and fall 2023, I drove five times from Virginia to the west coast and back in my old VW, totaling a whopping 10 cross-country trips over 18 months. Some people never even cross the country once by car, so people are often surprised nine of my 10 road trips were entirely solo. As I’ve said before, one of the best benefits of a domestic tour for FSOs is more time stateside to reconnect with friends and family, and in my case, the actual land, too.
I really enjoy long road trips and solo distance driving in particular. So when I decided not to bring my new car to Burma, the logical thing to do was drive it to the west coast and leave it in my family’s care.
Shipping the car to post wasn’t a good option, given the high cost of insuring a new vehicle in a country facing significant security challenges. On top of that, with shipping times stretching to around four months during a one-year tour, the risk just didn’t seem worth it.
Similarly, after the damage debacle I experienced the last time I stored a car under the auspices of the U.S. government, I swore I would never go through that again.
So, I arranged for my dad to look after the car and, in practical terms, began the first leg of my PCS to Burma by land. (If there had been a way to drive the entire way, I probably would have signed up for it—but alas, long flights would eventually be involved.)
Leaving Virginia after 3 p.m. on the first day of driving meant I only made it 336 miles—through Maryland and Pennsylvania—before stopping in Ohio for the night. Traditionally, I’ve always begun and ended my road trips via the George Washington Parkway, coasting beneath the thick trees lining both sides of the road that hugs the Potomac River. For over three years, that beautiful route was also my go-to for commuting, running errands, and meeting friends.
However, this time, I drove a few miles north only to be stopped by road crews removing a downed tree. Circumstances forced me to take an alternate, less beautiful route. As I left the parkway, I said goodbye to an era.
The second day I made it 715 miles, departing Ohio before 8am and crossing stormy Illinois and Indiana before arriving in Iowa.
Day three was my biggest driving day: I went 900 miles as I drove the vast flat section of I-80 West connecting Iowa and Nebraska with Wyoming. Not 899 miles, not 901 miles: precisely nine hundred miles on the dot.
That morning, I briefly flirted with the idea of trying to break my 1,000 mile-in-one-day record. However, I ultimately decided to minimize any extra risks, recognizing the road trip was the continuation of a very busy time and that I still had stressful times ahead. As arriving safely was the top priority, I was satisfied to do a 13-hour drive on day three in order to make my destination the following day in only 11 hours.
I was also amazed on day three when a group of motorcyclists who had stayed at the same hotel as me in Iowa pulled up at a neighboring motel across the street from where I ended the night in Wyoming. Driving in a car for 900 miles I can imagine: riding on a motorcycle for 900 miles in the elements I cannot.
Funnily enough, when looking at my Oura ring statistics from July, the amount of days the fitness tracker pegged as “stressful” included my EOT day, each packout day, and each day at FACT. However, despite the level of vigilance and attention a driver must maintain on such a trip, Oura classed all my road trip days as “normal.” The physiology drove home the point that these trips relax me (pun intended).
The final morning of the trip, I left Wyoming for the deserts of Utah and Nevada. Ultimately I made it the last 780 miles to Northern California and my mom’s home.
Total road trip mileage: 2,731 miles. The road to Burma was truly underway.
Collecting Postcards 