Seattle to Shepherdstown

In January of 2019, I decided that I was done with expensive Seattle and that it was time to move somewhere cheaper. I didn’t know where. I had some friends who were already out in West Virginia, and they offered that area as cheaper but near enough to Washington D.C. if a big city was needed. I flew out to the area to look for a place and get familiar, and on the 24th, I flew back and left from the airport confident that my days in Seattle were through. I would ultimately be wrong about that, but that’s another story. After a year and a half, I ended up back in Seattle anyway and did all that during the pandemic.

It was hard to leave Seattle. I had to leave a bunch of stuff behind. I sent as much as I could to my friends, packed what was left in my car, and set out across the country. It was a hard decision, but I felt that it had to be done to improve my life. Until recently, this has been a theme in my life: make huge sacrifices to somehow get to my own measure of success with what I do. So far, these bargains have never really worked out.

In the 5 years I had lived in the Seattle/Tacoma area, I had met some great friends and had some good times. It was nice to be out of Denver, a place that I thought I would live for the rest of my life, and to experience new people and a new way of being. Seattle is one of those places you have to want to be. No one wanders up here. Seattle is way up in the western corner of the country and is the last major city before Canada. It’s Seattle, Bellingham, and then the border. It was odd, my first winter, not to have any snow to shovel or cold temperatures to navigate. It rained far more than the desert of Colorado, and with a short drive, I could be at the Puget Sound or the ocean in 2 hours. As someone who grew up in a landlocked state at five thousand feet with crazy weather to match, this was a new experience, and this time, it wasn’t just to visit; I lived here now. 

I enjoyed Seattle but I needed somewhere cheaper and many opportunities for writing residencies and conferences are all on the East Coast because that’s where the publishing industry exists. So I thought that a move to the East coast was just what my career needed. Things did not turn out as expected.

I was driving my beloved 2001 Audi A6. This trip was not quite a direct route. I had managed to land a writing residency through the University of Lethbridge in Canada, and so I had a month-long stay in a cozy cottage along the way. I’ve posted some pictures of that trip to the email list. Canada was cold but lovely. I arrived, and it had snowed the night before. 8 inches of snow were on the ground, and I remember breaking my computer monitor because I fell into it while unloading the car. At least the guy who came to shovel the snow was attractive. I tried to invite him in for coffee or a whiskey, but he did not take me up on my offer (sadly). I survived -29 degree temps and started my car every 4-5 hours to keep it somewhat warm. I have to say that I encourage anyone to do the residency because the town is very welcoming and while it is small there’s everything you need and the exchange rate is usually in our favor.

The Gushul Writing Residency through the University of Lethbridge was an amazing experience. I got to just sit in the little cottage, cook everyday, read and write. It was too damn cold to go outside beyond start the car every few days so the engine wouldn’t seize on me. I did manage to leave the lights on the car one night and I had to call AAA which I had to flag down in the road because he couldn’t find me. He admired the genuine german workmanship of the car. At the time, Audi didn’t make cars in America, they would build the car in Germany and then pack it up with the engine, suspension and body panels separate and then put it all back together in the states; mine was a genuine German car.

I had a terrible time getting into Canada. The border wanted to make sure I didn’t need a work permit. I informed them that I was not working for pay I was in fact paying to do this and I had all the paperwork. They made sure I had money so I wouldn’t be destitute in their country. I flashed my credit cards and offered my banking apps. They let me in. I had even more trouble getting back into the US. The border guard looked at my address in Seattle and wanted to know why I was coming back on I-15 and not I-5 in Vancouver. I told him that I was in the middle of moving and was going to my parents in Denver. He gave me a disgusted look and sent me through. Grandad Cowan died while I was on this trip. I chose not to return to attend the funeral but kept my family in my thoughts in my little cabin.

After Canada, I returned to Colorado, collected the rest of my stuff at my parents and then made my way east. I don’t want to ruin the movie for you, so I’m going to leave out some of more fun details of the trip including the cheap motel rooms, going through various states and much more that I vlog about in the film.

With that, I invite you to watch my little video. It’s about an hour long. It has plenty of driving sequences, stunning footage from Canada and a play-by-play of all my adventures on this interesting trip.