Goodbye California!

We are hitting the road on Saturday...farewell Santa Barbara! We are so grateful for 5 wonderful years out here. It's fun to sit back and think of how it all unfolded....coming out here with just 2 suitcases, no job, nowhere to live.....we have come so far!! This "5 year vacation" as Matt likes to call it has been full of amazing experiences. So now we're off to experience more. This Saturday, we will be starting our road trip across the US. We'll visit some friends and National Parks along the way, and end up on the east coast where we'll bounce between Philly and Boston for 1.5 months. Then in October it's off to Berlin for 2 years!!

Another fun update is that Matt defended his PhD yesterday! He's now Dr. Harrington. I'm soo proud of all of his hard work...it all paid off! Here's a pic of us at a celebratory dinner last night with Matt's dad, brother, and adviser Herb.


Here's our road trip itinerary (for the moment anyway...). Check back for more upadates from the road!!



Saturday, August 9th – Depart SB in the AM. Drive to Redding, CA and camp in Whiskeytown at the Oak Bottom Campground.


Sunday, August 10th – Drive to Portland, OR (6hrs). Stay at the McMenamin Kennedy School (an old elementary school converted into a hotel!) http://www.kennedyschool.com/index.php?loc=57


Monday, August 11th – Drive to Seattle, WA (3hrs). Stay with Ben & Debbie and explore the city.

Tuesday, August 12th – Drive to Nine Mile Campground near Spokane, WA (4.5 hrs). Camp by the water!


Wednesday, August 13th – Drive to Bozeman, MT and stay with the Broomells!

Thursday, August 14th – Day trip to Yellowstone Nat'l Park with the Broomells. Stay with the Broomells another night in Bozeman.


Friday, August 15th – Drive to Black Hills, SD (7 hrs). See Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument. Camp at the Horsethief Lake Campground (only 12 miles from Mt. Rushmore!)


Saturday, August 16th – Head towards Chicago (~14 hrs. away). Stop somewhere in MN or WI to sleep.

Sunday, August 17th – Drive to Chicago. Sleep in a hotel in the city!


Monday, August 18th – Drive to Toledo, OH (4hrs). Spend the night at Liz & Kevin Eberly's!


Tuesday, August 19th – Drive to Bryn Mawr, PA (8.5hrs) WE DID IT!!!!!!!!