Hello dear readers! How are things!? I recently rounded off my 2021 travels with a blog post all about my annual Thanksgiving visit to Washington and so onwards to 2022 we go!
Isn’t it great following such an up-to-date blogger? As our third anniversary approaches, I’m finally writing about that trip! I’ve written about some special trips over the years but this was the BIG one. This was a trip that spanned six weeks, four states and featured two weddings including my own!
I put together a draft post a while back that never saw the light of day but without writing an essay, one post was never going to do this trip justice! So I figured I’d throw a series of shorter posts at you!
“They’re still not going to be short are they Jason?”
Alright, you know me too well! I can’t help it! However if there was any trip worthy of a series of rambles then I suppose this is it!
Long time readers will be fairly familiar with much of the “story” at this point so let me give the rest of you a quick summarised version:
Way back in early 2016 I was invited over to Washington State to watch two friends (Maddie & Cassie) get married in the summer of 2018 – two days before my 30th birthday! Naturally I was going and had a big ol’ birthday trip!
Said friends played matchmakers and introduced me to Haleigh in the summer of 2016. We got chatting online and in 2017 I visited Washington State for the first time – one year earlier than planned!
We hit it off so many trips back and forth occurred before I went out to ‘live’ in the USA for 3 months at the start of February 2020!
“Wait.. 2020!?”
Yeah! In hindsight you could say it was bad timing, alternatively you could say it was perfect timing! I’ll let you be the judge of that and I suppose it depends on your perspective but we unexpectedly found ourselves living together in the midst of a pandemic. The intention had been to go over there and spend some proper time together and we certainly achieved that given the circumstances!
Anyway, by the time I’d left Washington I was an engaged man set to get married in September 2021. Alas that didn’t happen because I was stuck in England with the US border seemingly permanently closed and so here we are! Attempt number two!
All being well, this was finally happening! The end (HA!) to long distance was in sight! We’d finally be married and could live our lives (in limbo because of immigration laws) together, happily ever after!
A lot of planning went in to this trip. Of course you had the wedding planning, the burden of which largely fell on Haleigh’s shoulders as she was the one in Washington and she did a great job!
Beyond that we also had the travel planning itself. We not only had our wedding but one of Haleigh’s cousins was getting married down in Utah three weeks later. Additionally we were still living in Covid-cautious travel times, plus the usual travel mishaps that crop up which made for some frustrating scenarios – all of which I’ll mention but I’ll end this post by giving you the rundown of what was to come.
The plan!
On Sunday 27th March I would travel to Walla Walla, via Seattle (2ish weeks before the wedding).
Saturday 9th April – get married
Saturday 23rd April – fly back to England. Arrive in London on Sunday 24th April.
Monday 25th April – back to work for three days
Thursday 28th April – fly to Salt Lake City via Denver – no direct flight to SLC, really!?
Saturday 30th April – attend Utah wedding
Sunday 1st May – fly home via Denver. Arrive in London on Monday (bank holiday!)
Tuesday 3rd May – back to work!
In hindsight it probably didn’t make the most sense but I ideally wanted to be in Washington two weeks before our wedding and I was also a bit conscious about my annual leave for the year. I struggled when I’d taken four weeks off in 2018, I didn’t really want any more than that so if I could save some days by working then I was all for it even if it wasn’t particularly convenient.
Naturally, it’s the big trips where things begin to go wrong. You’ll note that this was actually a six week trip so things went awry along the way. All of that is to come, this was just a quick introduction to an unforgettable trip.
Stay tuned!
Jason
Jason likes to travel 
I love the three days of work in the middle of a huge time away. Just reminding your boss you still work there, I suppose, and to not take you off the payroll. Haha.
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Haha yeah, it wasn’t ideal but those days are precious! I find it bonkers that there are people in places like the USA where people don’t even take all of the days they’re entitled to!
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Me, too. I’m like: give them to me!!
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Ahh I’m looking forward to this series Jason, and 6 weeks away from work is such a long time – I’m planning to take 4 weeks later this year and I am on countdown!!
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Thank you! Those long trips are lovely whilst you’re away but brutal the remainder of the working year! I don’t know how people in other countries survive on such little leave, it’s the one thing I’m dreading most when I eventually move Stateside!
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