We were only a few hours outside of Elizabeth City, and already it felt as if we were a world away. The movers had come, and our household goods had started their trek across the country. Now it was our turn. So, we packed the mini van and sent my father and his friend off on their cross country adventure while getting one of our vehicles across the country.

We packed a variety of necessities, valuables and sentimental items into a utility trailer. We packed our chocolate lab, two children and ourselves into the pickup, and began our own trip to the West coast.

Just a few hours into our journey the landscape quickly changed. We left behind the sand, soybean fields, swampland and meandering rivers. In its place we saw rolling hills, forests, boulders and fast-moving mountain streams.

The weather also changed quickly. We left behind the heat and humidity and experienced cooler temperatures and even hail storms along the way.

The first day of our travels took us nearly 400 miles west across the state of North Carolina. We stayed in the small town of Brevard, N.C., just outside of Asheville, and spent some time exploring the sites there.

We took in the beauty of the Pisgah Forest, braved the icy waters of Looking Glass Creek, and even took a turn on the Sliding Rock. The naturally occurring 60-foot waterslide with a seven-foot deep pool in the creek has been developed by the U.S. Forest Service into a recreation area.

We also drove to Chimney Rock Park and hiked the winding trails up and down the hills leading to enormous waterfalls and exquisite rock formations.

Our second full day of driving took us more than 600 miles from North Carolina, through Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana.

And, despite a few minor setbacks, including scrapes, fire ant bites, and dents from hail storms, we had survived our first few days of many travel days to come with both happy and sad times.

It was emotional for all of us to leave Elizabeth City, and the life we had known for the past four years. We looked forward to my husband's new assignment with the Coast Guard in Washington State, and to time with a large number of extended family members who live there. However, it was still hard to leave. We shed a lot of tears during our goodbyes, and left hoping that someday we'd be able to come back.

Kristi Langenbacher is a past-president of the local Coast Guard Spouses' Club and can be reached at news4kristi@hotmail.com