This post was originally published in https://ateneamar.com/ on 7/6/2023, in Spanish. A few opinions may have evolved since then—because growth, aging, and changing your mind are all part of the fun.
Today we’re leaving San Diego and heading to the northern United States, where we’ll be spending a couple of months. We’re flying to Minneapolis, where el güero is from, and from there we’ll drive to New Hampshire—with the fur babies I haven’t met yet.
The plan is to be back in San Diego around the end of July. Some of the highlights of this trip: I’ll finally meet my sister-in-law, and we’ll be staying at her cabin—which, according to the blondie, is right in the middle of the forest. We also have nine days to pack up the house because there’s already a date set for the moving company. And on the way back, we’ll be driving across the entire country. We’re not totally sure which route we’ll take yet—we want to visit a few interesting places even if it means going a little out of our way. So far, we’re considering a northern route that might take us through Vail, and a southern option where we’d stop in New Orleans.
While we’re up north, we’ll do a bit of sightseeing. From what I can tell, the landscapes are beautiful, the cheeses are good, and they take lobster and mussels very seriously. To officially kick off the vacation, we have a full shopping day planned at the Mall of America—one of the largest malls in the world. It’s so big it has its own ZIP code and an internal Google Maps layout.
I’m going to see where el güero was born, where he grew up, and where he later lived for ten years as an adult. I’m excited and a little in shock—it doesn’t feel real that departure day is finally here. We knew it would come, and while I’m excited for everything ahead for both of us, I also feel a little nostalgic about leaving this place. This is where we met, where we got married, where everything new began.
I’ll be sharing our northern adventure here—the farthest north I’ve ever been.