We got a late start. It was going to be a long day on the road and we had hoped to set out early, but after a huge good-bye bash the night before and an early breakfast with the family, both Naomi and I were a little bushy-eyed and bright-tailed and moving slower than normal. Zoe, our 5 yr old yellow lab perched in the backseat, was the only one that was jumping with anticipation. That didn't help either.

This was it. Our farewell to the Bay Area – for the next three years away. We took it all in as we made our way down the old Maple-lined avenues of North Berkeley toward the freeway; the bright cool morning breeze, the smell of fresh roasted coffee drifting in the air. I was really going to miss this place, and the people in it.

We pulled onto I-580 heading away from the Pacific, our destination: Savannah, Georgia, 3000 miles east along the Atlantic coast. We sat back, set the IPOD to 'song shuffle,' and prepared ourselves for the long journey ahead. The clouds in our head were beginning to lift as we hit I-5 and turned south toward Bakersfield and we started to perk up, even get a little excited, but not nearly as excited as Zoe, who was jumping from window to window in the back seat, she still thought we were taking her to the local beach.