The Big Move
(Well, we have been at our destination for almost two weeks months and things have settled down enough for me to have a few complete thoughts.)
This post has been in the making for a while now and it is high time I wrap it up and send it on it's way.
My initial intention was to journal every night on our journey west but unfortunately I that did not happen. Regardless, here are my ramblings.....
Day 1 ~ After a grueling day of loading 2+ households, we collapsed into a hotel room in Hendersonville, NC, our former home town. We set out the next morning, not quite as early as planned, with sore muscles and aching backs. It was bitter sweet to leave Western North Carolina, but we were determined to start our new life in the Pacific Northwest.
Winding our way through the Smoky Mountains in WNC and Eastern Tennessee was quite beautiful even though the road construction made it a white knuckle drive for DH in the large UHaul truck (towing Mom's car). Driving through Nashville was pretty cool, seeing the skyscrapers and just knowing the history there. (I saw the Country Music TV building from the highway!)
We had intended to make it to Illinios by that night but with our late start and shear exhaustion from loading the truck, we decided to stop in Paducah, Kentucky.
(Poor DH had the pleasure of riding along with his mother and her little dog. They do not do so well in tight quarters and it was stressful to put it mildly. I think they are too much alike...)
Day 2~ Drove over 9 hours today and made it to the SW corner of Iowa, just outside of the Nebraska state line. All through Missouri and Illinois there were many, many signs for XXX nightclubs and adult "toy stores". (Hubby called it "corn porn". Obviously after the long drive we are a bit loopy!) Perhaps the truckers need a distraction after driving through corn fields hour after hour. Or maybe the locals need something to do, other than cow tipping, on a Friday night. There is corn as far as the eye can see!
Our animals (dog and cat, in crates) are doing surprisingly well. Before this trip started I was very worried about the cat being in a crate for so many hours a day, but he is handling it like a champ and loving the hotel rooms! Always something new to explore!
It is hotter than the hubs of Hell here and I am so thankful that I do not live in the Mid-West. We hope to make it to Cheyenne, Wyoming tomorrow.
Day 3~ Nebraska = Corn, corn and more corn! We did drive under a really cool archway dedicated to Lewis and Clark. It seemed fitting since we are basically following their path to the Pacific.
There has been a giant mosquito lurking around the floor boards of the car, chowing down on my calves since Paducah! Apparently, I taste delicious!
My feet and ankles are swelling beyond recognition from sitting so long each day. Even though I am a big girl, I have never had "cankles" until this trip.
We made it to Cheyenne and the only hotel we could get is not very nice but we are too tired to care. The situation with DH and MIL has gotten to critical mass. Hopefully we can complete our quest without any casualties.
Day 4~ We drove over 600 miles today and we made it to Burley, Idaho. It is hot, hot, hot here but we are finally back in the land of big mountains! It is so nice to see really big mountains again and just that feeling of being back in the West is calming to me......
(I started this journey with the intent of journaling every night. I made it just barely past night three before the stress got the better of me.)
Day 5~ Pendelton, OR
Day 6~ Our final destination - Astoria, OR: the views of the mighty Columbia River all over this little town are amazing!
We stayed in a little motel in Seaside Oregon and due to Labor day weekend tourism we had to share a room with "Mom". Not ideal at this point since I am ready for a complete melt down. We held out for four nights until the weekenders left and then decided to bite the bullet and pay for another room so we could have some solitude.
By now it may sound like we are terrible people or Mom is a monster but we have discovered that there are some people that should NEVER live together. We usually get along fine as long as we have our own spaces.
Thanks for bearing with me through all of this and the long wait for this post about our move.
Life has been moving along since we have been here and now I can get on with posting about our new "home" and our new adventures.
Take care,
Dawn
