My husband had to run to Home Depot for who-knows-what so I’m taking a break, enjoying my coffee and posting this blog. Thank you for the opportunity to sit down.
Here we are. The countdown is done. Today is the day. 3-2-1-Blast Off. If only moving was as simple as the countdown. Today is cleaning day. The final push to get everything that wasn’t shipped yesterday loaded onto the trailer and get the house cleaned. The carpet cleaner arrives at 1 PM, the landlord will do his final inspection at 2 PM, then we’re hitting the road just in time for LA traffic.
C’mon we’re smarter (just) than that! Instead of sitting in traffic we’ve organized one last final hurrah, a BYO-Picnic a the park for some playtime and fun before we hit the road. I’m going to lie down and take a nap.
Did I mention I was feeling 90 years old yesterday? Today I’m 110. I ache, I’m bruised and I think I have inhaled too much 409 while cleaning. Can you get a contact high off of 409? What about lung cancer? I have never looked so forward to sitting in a car, or anywhere, for 20 hours. We haven’t moved yet and you have all been replaced, Advil is my new best friend.
All jokes and exaggerations aside, no real complaints (not out loud, just publicly broadcasted through my blog, Twitter and Facebook accounts, just like a secret). Our move is going smoothly. Shipping our boxes with Amtrak was truly a genius find by my husband. The story of how he discovered this option was the result of taking the train from Fullerton, CA to downtown LA for his project at LA Trade Tech. He spoke with the shipping managers at the Fullerton CA station and LA Union Station. He really connected with the LA Union Station manager (remember, my husband isn’t socially motivated). When I met her yesterday I understood why. Marissia is personable, thorough, efficient and interacted well with her peers and staff. Turns out that Marissia recently celebrated her 30 year anniversary with Amtrak and is a 4th generation railroad employee. What started as a summer job thanks to her dad, she found her niche career. You know I love a good human interest story. I hope Amtrak appreciates her as much as her customers! Though we did a test run and sent 3 boxes from Fullerton to Spokane in May (giving me the opportunity to connect with the Spokane shipping manager), we felt good leaving our boxes with Marissia yesterday. Our boxes are on their way. Plus we saved $1500 from the U-Haul quote received, not including gas and having to tow or ship our second vehicle. I highly recommend using Amtrak for shipping if there are any long distance moves in your future. I’ll follow-up with this once our boxes arrive.
After the BYO-Picnic party at the park this afternoon we will drive 4 hours north on I-5 to get us out of LA. We’ll end up somewhere between Fresno and Stockton. Tomorrow we’ll continue northward leaving California and the I-5 for the 97 toward sunny skies in Bend, Oregon. On Friday we’ll arrive in the rain to our new home in Spokane.
Goodbyes have never been easy for me. This afternoon will be tearful but I can not wait to get on the road.
multi-hyphenated-me 