Hey, this is Boris. Sharing a coast to coast driving adventure with my amazing partner Doris and our… well, I’ll let her tell you about herself Nina.

With the goal of seeing the fall colors in upstate NY, we start our journey in Seattle heading east on I90 which will eventually get us to Vermont and New-Hampshire.

But before we get into our car and drive, there are many preparations and decisions to make. The big one was whether we take some kind of an RV or stick to our minivan. We decided on the latter, with staying at the best hotels we can find on the way. Not sure this was the best decision yet but driving an RV for 5 hours a day is not my idea of a good time.

We removed the two back rows of the minivan and bought a bunch of accessories so that we can be fairly independent and even sleep in the car in a pinch. Fridge, freezer, batteries to run these…

What I did not take into account is that the minivan does not expand to hold our entire house (we did not take the treadmill) so even with a roof top cargo-box, the car is PACKED.

We did a few great dry runs in the Olympic peninsula and these were good in determining what we should take but as always the real thing is always different so we are still adjusting.

So, after shoving the house into the car we rolled down the street and up onto I90 east. 7 hours later we eased into the parking lot of our hotel at Coeur d'Alene Idaho after visiting Moses Lake on the way.

Our goal was to have the minimal amount of suitcases and accessories moved from the car to the hotel and we almost achieved it – alas, I needed two trips between the car to our room with a packed wheeled cart. Now after some practice, I can make it in one go with some bags sticking outside the cart. I consider it as my aerobic exercise of the day.

 

My name is not Nina but you can call me Nina. I have no clue what these two are up to and why I am being brutally taken away from my house. I finally got to know all the names of the squirrels in the yard when I was abruptly thrown into a car and we were driving away.

Boris and Doris built some weird contraption so that I can sit in the middle of the car and see the road ahead but I much prefer Doris’ knees and I showcase my preference by jumping, whining and most effectively hunger striking. The latter being that I am not going to eat my food if we are not in my house. I want the same food as them, that’s just fair.

I am not a complainer but every place we stop in there are so many new smells so I am a bit overwhelmed but I’m still doing my job taking out everyone for walks and making sure that Boris goes out of the room at least 5 times a day – especially at night when he needs to get some fresh air before he goes to sleep.