Monday, November 28, 2011

LAND!!! 15,000 miles traveled

(Our Uhal trailer hooked up to the back of my Jeep)

Two hours later than my native Time Zone, I'm sitting the living room of my Out-laws (it's a little inside joke, they are technically my in-laws), updating all of my internet statuses to let friends and family know that I've arrived safe... Technically, I arrived last night sometime after ten after a very long day of driving filled with stress. I'm sore, pretty sure I'm coming down with something, my back is bothering me something awful, and I'm down right exhausted. But, we are alive and nothing too terrible happened along the way.

Our move began four days ago and I feel that I didn't get to say goodbye to my parents the way I wanted. On the upside there wasn't any fighting. so that's good. Anyway, we made pretty good time for the first day and arrived in Denver that night. The only annoyance was that my girlfriend missed the exit to her friend's house and we ended up taking much longer than we had intended. 

(Yoda and Galen in their doggy carrier situated in the back of the Jeep. You can barely see Galen but he's the black shadow in the back.)

Day two was filled with less driving than we wanted but we were all so tired. We at least made it out of Colorado and most of the way through Wyoming. However, my girlfriend forgot to put my gas cap back after fueling up my Jeep. A short time later I heard a 'thunk thunk thunk' and didn't have the foggiest as to what it was. Turns out, that was my gas cap. And for some reason gas stations just don't carry them. Also, we made really crappy time due to meeting a friend and a cousin at Denny's for breakfast and then going to said friend's house to visit for a bit. Did I mention that I abhor driving in Denver? A deer tried to commit suicide that night by running out into the road but I guess thought better of it and ran back into the darkness my headlights couldn't illuminate. 

But Day three was awful. We seemed to be fixed for trouble the moment we awoke. The place we'd pulled over at for a few hours sleep was still closed when we awoke, so I couldn't go to the bathroom and had to hold it until a little later. When we got a hopeful town, I just about had a fit when the place we'd pulled into was closed too. Luckily, they opened just as we were beginning to get back into the cars and head out. The next thing to happen was a bit scary. the wind blew strong and gusted hard, so hard my girlfriend said she felt like the car was about to be picked up. For my part, I was hauling the jeep so I just felt like I was being pushed off the road several times. Not a good thing to feel and fight against on mountain roads. 

Then, after making it into Butte Montana, we stopped to get gas, coffee, and a bite to eat. I took the wrong exit and headed North instead of West, but really the signs were so confusing. North and West was one. South and West was another and I was still frazzled from fighting the wind. After that, my girlfriend took the lead and somewhere along the way she lost me. It was a good thing we had decided where we were going to stop next else I would have been screwed. I told her, "Don't lose me" and then watched her speed away, oblivious to me not being able to keep up for the trailer I was hauling. Honestly, that was really scary and it was dark and I didn't have cell service.

She left me behind again after I caught up with her at St. Regis, Montana. We had a bite to eat and switched vehicles. I wasn't too keep about driving Lookout pass in the dark much less in the rain. But this time I would have company in our friend who came to help us move. So as we watched Amanda and the trailer speed away, we sighed and I focused on getting to, up and over the pass in one piece. It started snowing before we ever made it to the top which was annoying and I really didn't want to worry about 4th of July pass, the next pass before we would arrive at our destination. I was tried, I was hurting, I thought I was seeing shit. Seriously, when you think you see a man in coveralls along the side of the road who isn't there for a split second, it's time to pull over. But we couldn't pull over. So, I was extra careful in getting over 4th of July pass. 

The rest of the trip was smooth sailing. We arrived, visited with the gf's parents for a bit and then crashed. Today, however, we had to unload everything. I think I hurt myself trying to help and the gf's Dad didn't help by making me feel bad for not doing more, but really, I can't do too much without risking my back. So I kind of felt like he needed to back off a bit. I took the light stuff in until I couldn't stand to be up. Then I went shopping with the gf's mom for a bit and now I am paying for it big time. Still, thank goodness for those motorized carts at wal-mart, if not for them, I would never make through there. 

There are some things to be sad about. My cats won't come out of the bathroom. We left a lot of stuff at my parents house. I didn't have the chance to do a general cleaning of my parent's house before we left. I think I am getting sick. And we left our bed behind so we are sleeping in recliners which really doesn't help my back and while my gf's parents offered up their bed, I can't take a bed away from a woman who's just gone through surgery. But we are getting a bed from one of my gf's cousins, used and left out in the rain, but a bed nonetheless. We'll have to dry the thing first and probably lysol it to death, but at least we will have a bed. And the last thing to be sad about is that my antique dresser, the one one my ancestors built, is broken. I asked my gf not to put her records in the drawers but she said it would be fine and low and behold, we arrive and the bottoms of the drawers are broken and the dresser is scratched. I'm going to have to sand it down and re-stain it. 

Good news is, I have a day or so before I have to go mess with school stuff. I'm just going to rest and try to enjoy it. 



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