This post could also be entitled:
Can’t Bake Now… I’m on the I-5.
Joy the Driver and Lauren the Snack Coordinator
Joy the Baker eats 6 pounds of Chex Mix between San Francisco and Portland
or simply… Joy the Baker moves her sister from Los Angeles to Seattle in a Budget moving truck creatively nicknamed Budgie.
It’s early Tuesday morning. My Mom makes Lauren pose with her moving truck. That’s not weird, right? Not weird at all.
The I-5 between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Green, trees, produce and trucks.
This is a picture of my sister driving. Let me tell you why this picture is a small miracle.
See, my sister just learned how to drive last week. She got her license… last week. She’s 26. She was afraid to drive until… last week. And now… here she is driving a moving truck at 80 miles an hour down the highway.
I told her to slow down. I told her to calm down. I told her that there was no room to screw up. I don’t think that helped.
I snapped the picture during the whole 20 minutes that I let my sister drive between Los Angeles and Seattle. It’s not that she’s a bad driver. It’s more that I’m kinda a control freak when it comes to things like… my life and living.
I may not have let my sister drive, but I sure did let (make) her pump all of the gas. Not her favorite part. Fact.
We stopped at Shasta Lake in Northern California to stand still and look at water and mountains.
A self portrait seemed like a good idea. All we got was bush and blurry eyebrows.
We parked Budgie illegally. We kinda just stopped her on the side of the road. That’s cool, right?
A cool 10 minutes beyond the sunshine of Shasta Lake we hit the snow. We hit it hard. Driving through the snow stressed out my Southern California self. This was deeply disturbing to me.
Lauren made me pull over so that she could jump around in the snow. I was still stressed out until I saw her leaping, jumping and eventually falling into the snow. Cute. Super cute.
We finally made it to Seattle. I’d gone through a Costco size bag of Chex Mix, ungodly amounts of dried apricots… and there’s half of a strawberry cheesecake in the truck that I don’t want to talk about.
Somewhere just outside of Portland I put my cranky pants on. I was tired of driving. I was tired of having to eat Chex Mix to stay awake, and I just wanted to be in the Seattle to drink the cup of coffee that I’d been waiting days and days for.
We made it. Thank heavens. This is the view from my sister’s apartment.
And then I took my cranky pants off, because I turned around and saw this face. The darling face of my darling little sister standing in her very first apartment on the very first day in her new city. I’m lucky to have been able to share this journey with her. Sisters are friends forever… that’s what we tell each other… because it’s true.
Then… we unpacked the truck. It had its obscene moments.
To make up for those obscene moments, my sister bought me a latte and a doughnut from Top Pot. Holy heck! This set my world right.
Sure I drove days and days to help my sister with her big move. But maybe… a tiny itsy bitsy part of me was in it for the Seattle coffee… I ain’t gonna lie.
Dixie
Awww, top pot doughnuts are the best! Came across them by accident the last time we were in Seattle. Love your road pictures and so special to spend time with your sister. I live right by the 5 in No. California, so you drove right by my house! Glad you made it safe.
PastryPrincess
Sisters are the best thing in the world, arent they?! ;) theres nobody and nothing i love more than my sister, she truely is the love of my life! nothing compares to that. this is such a lovely post, joy! :) made me kinda sad too though… because ill be moving to a different country this month and my sis wont be living with me anymore… she wont be there for my move either (wish i had a truck but all i get is a lousy 20kg on a plane!) and ill be missing out on her big milestone birthday. im living my dream though, its very bittersweet! :)
beezwax
So I’ve got crazy curly hair kind of like your little sis. I wonder what product she uses in it? It looks great! :) Sry this ain’t a baking question. I’m always looking for something new to make my crazy hair look better!
Elisabeth from Dear Weekend
I have made that drive before in the snow! What a looooong drive. Glad to hear you had each other to keep you sane!
Andrea
ahh, i heart seattle … but then again, i live here.
and top pot?! hello! heaven in the form of dough. so, so good. welcome to seattle joy! hope your sister loves it here as much as the rest of us do!
Joe @ Eden Kitchen
Seattle is one of my favourite cities in the world. I hope to live there one day! Glad you both made it safely :)
Amanda Elizabeth
This made me smile so big, my mom lives in Shasta Lake :) It looks like you guys had an awesome drive!!!! New things are exciting!
Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen
This post is really sweet. I’m not gonna lie. I teared up at the end. The shots of Shasta Lake are so beautiful. And that latte at the end looks divine! Glad you had an awesome sisterly road trip.
stacy
Sounds like an awesome road trip — thanks as always for sharing your lives with us. Your sister is going to love Seattle! Here are some good coffeeshops to check out:
Zeitgeist
Zoka
Vivace
Also, there are tons of great food trucks in Seattle. Like this one that’s shaped like a pig: https://www.maximus-minimus.com/
Courtney
I SO would have let you stay the night at my house in Eugene and bake me breakfast.
Yolanda
Ah Seattle. I miss it so very much. But not as much as you’re going to miss your sister. Sweet post, Joy.
Galit
Yay! Joy thank you so much for posting that. I was at the edge of my seat the entire time of your journey hoping you get here safely. I love the pictures! Thank you for bringing my girl to me :)
Aimee
This post brought tears to my eyes as I thought about my relationship with my sister and how we would have laughed and argued the entire drive up the I-5. In fact.. we have. We’re originally from Northern CA and live in Southern CA.
Thanks for being so genuine and authentic. You’re legit.
Danae (The Busty Baker)
Love the post! So cute! Makes me wish I had a sister.. And pass this along to Lauren for me: I didn’t get my license until I was 25– two weeks before moving out on my own into my first apartment as well, so I’m right there with you! Although you’re doing much better than me. 3 years later and I still won’t drive on the highway. Glad you guys made it safe and best of luck in Seattle!
Memoria
This. post. is. too. sweet. My eyes welled up at the photos and your sweet words about your sister. I wish I could have had that experience. I’ll never know how it is to have a true, full sibling. Someone you’ve grown up with and can count on as a friend. *sigh* Both of you are BEAUTIFUL inside and out. I love the photo of your sister in the snow and in the apartment. You can tell that the photographer truly loves the subject in the photo. *HUGS* I’m glad you two made it there safely.