A
female
age
51-59,
anonymous
writes:Two and a half years ago I moved to WA state with my husband to be, who has now turned in to my ex-husband to be since he turned out to be an abusive a-hole. He does not want to get help with his issues since he thinks he does not have any, but was good enough to offer to be my roommate since we still have 4 months left on our lease. He, of course, does not understand why I would find this unacceptable and have chosen to move back to Maryland where I am from. Since he feels that he has given me such a reasonable option and it is my own choice to leave, he does not feel the need to help me in any way, shap or form in returning home even though he is the one who brought me here with the promise that this day would never come. When when we came here, he did all the driving since I am not a very good long distance driver. We went Maryland - Pennsylvania - Ohio - Indiana - Illinois - Wisconsin - Minnesota - South Dakota - Wyoming - Montana - Idaho - Washington. It took us six days with stopping each night to sleep and also a snow delay in Illinois. Anyway, we moved here for his work and his company was putting us up in a hotel until we found a place to live. Amazingly, I bumped into one of my old co-workers from Maryland at the hotel, who was also moving to Washington state with his family due to a work transfer. When I told him that it took us six days to get here, he said that he went a differnt way and it only took them three. Since they were traveling with their two small children, they made several stops too. This was two and a half years ago and I did not stay in touch with him. I now need to drive back on my own and as I said, I am not a good long distance driver. The mountains in Montana and the emptiness in South Dekota scares me. Each time I try mapquest it just gives me the same route that my husband and I took. Does anyone know the other way, that my co-worker my have taken? Please tell me or give me some kind of reference if you do, I have to leave by next week.
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reader, anonymous, writes (5 March 2009): Great Advice given! I would do the same, print out the google map destination route. You type in your address then destination address(highlight the road you are to stay on). Sometimes a librarian(pick a friendly face) is very nice to help walk you through internet sites...and normally they have a printer. I would even tell them your desperate situation so they REALLY want to help.
A
female
reader, Tisha-1 +, writes (5 March 2009):
 You can download Google Earth and plot that way. Seattle, WA to Bethesda, MD showed for me as 2753 miles and one day seventeen hours total time (that's driving continuously, of course).
Another idea is to spend the $55 or so to join AAA, they have offices where you can get free maps, someone there can help you organize the trip. Here's the website for Washington state: http://www.aaawa.com/ They can help with hotel stops and that sort of thing too. The more I think about it, for you, that's where I would start.
Buying a GPS is a good idea too.
The loneliness factor, that can be tough. You can do books on CD rom. Some inspirational and uplifting stories would be great for you.
You are being very brave and strong. I hope the trip goes smoothly for you. Remember that you are driving in the direction of the rising sun, which is a sign of a new day and the symbol of a new life.
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A
female
reader, jessica04 +, writes (5 March 2009):
 I would follow the mapquest instructions. You can use the settings to get directions for the shortest route, the most scenic, the longest, etc.
The other benefit to mapquest is that it is usually updated on road conditions, as are other GPS systems such as TOM TOM. If you can afford it, buying one of those portable units might make you feel a little more secure about driving, since it can give you step by step instructions.
As far as driving alone, you might want to look into having a friend from back home fly one-way and drive back with you. Or, you can hire a moving truck. There are moving lines that pack your things into the truck with other peoples things (in a categorized, sorted manner) and they just drop things off to people as they come to the stops. It's like a timeshare, but for moving. And it would allow you to fly back on your own and get home sooner.
I know this all sounds expensive, but that's just how moving goes. I would look into the GPS unit first. If you know someone that has a TOM TOM or a prius Or any other GPS device), they can set the course so you can verify if there is a shorter route.
Have a safe trip, keep us posted!
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A
male
reader, Fatherly Advice +, writes (5 March 2009):
 Personally I like Goggle maps better. They give you the option of dragging your route around and quickly comparing total miles and driving times. You should go over the route you choose carefully and try to stay on interstates or tollways as much as possible. Also plan your overnight stops. Goggle can help you find hotels as well. You are planning a trip of around 3000 miles. I usually plan on averaging 60 miles per hour to make up for stops etc. To do 3000 in three days you would need to drive over 16 hours a day, or make really good time. 4 days is probably a better bet. You said that you are not a good long distance driver so breaking it up will help. Also if you are traveling alone you will not have someone to read maps for you. if you have a gps navigator and are comfortable with it that will help. This is probably not a good trip to try to get used to one. You need to program the trip in with all the needed way points to travel the route you planned. I have heard some real horror stories about these things sending people down impassible roads. One disclaimer, all of my traveling has been on the west side of the Mississippi river, and I know it gets different on the other side. You can avoid South Dakota and Montana by going thru Boise and Salt lake city it adds about 300 miles. I don't have a problem with mountain passes, so I don't know if getting from salt lake to cheyenne would be too much for you the passes are on the interstate so relatively gentle.
You can private message me for more navigating help if you want.
FA
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