We did it (lo hicimos)...!
Well... The movers came Tuesday morning at about 8:30. It took them until almost 3:00 to get our 17,000 (almost) pounds loaded. They did an excellent job dismantling things and wrapping everything in blankets. They only thing I'm concerned is whether I packed things tight enough in the boxes because they stacked them from floor to ceiling on the truck.
We spent the night in the Super 8 Motel in Sacramento on El Centro. Surprisingly, it wasn't a bad mini-suite. It was clean an spacious...although, I was thinking we should have checked out the Fairfield Inn (by Marriott) across the parking lot...
On Wednesday, we got out of the hotel by 7:45am. We stopped at Jack in the Box for a quick breakfast, picked up the dogs at the old house, dropped off the keys, and hit the road at around 8:45am. The weather was terrible so I kept it at a safe, leisurely pace. To our delight, the best weather during the entire trip was encountered as we drove through the Oregon Pass - from Weed to Grant's Pass. There was some light rain but mostly clear or overcast. It was after Grant's Pass that we hit the hardest rain of the trip. It was really coming down. That, combined with the hills and turns, had Lisa freaking out. At one point, we almost pulled over to wait for it to pass or find some alternate lodging to spend the night.
We pulled into Eugene, OR at around 6:00pm. We pulled into the motel and found that they didn't have the room that we reserved. They offered an alternate room that was tiny and (according to Lisa) disgusting. So, we drove down the street to the Executive Inn. It was an OK room that was clean and had decent accomodations for the dogs.
We hit the road at 8:00am on Thursday. We decided that we'd drive awhile before stopping for breakfast because the kids were sick and didn't have much of an appetite - almost a big mistake. The kids were going crazy by the time we hit Salem. We were so tired of junk food that we decided to take the extra time and order a decent breakfast at Shari's. After breakfast, it was a smooth 4-hour (or so) drive to Renton - we arrived around 2:30. By the time we got there and unloaded the van, the kids were starving again and VERY irritable - darn! should have stopped before going to the house. I was glad to see that my belongings that I left there were still in the same place.... We went to Taco Time for lunch/dinner and to Safeway for a few things.
Trip Notes:
- I think the one-day, 12-hour trip is much easier than the 2-day. I don't think the kids can handle it though...
- With the stops for bio-breaks for us and the dogs, it didn't make any sense to try to make up time by speeding. So, I didn't and that made it a nice drive for both Lisa and I (and, therefore, for the kids too...).
- To the cleaning people at the old house and at the hotels: You're welcome for the beer and wine...we didn't want to pack it in the car...
- Best investment category: car DVD player. $700 for the whole setup but well worth it. The kids watched videos for 2/3 of the trip and we kept our sanity (well...somewhat...I could do without the Dora the Explorer or Bob the Builder themes for awhile.....)
Pics will be posted later...
Well...Here we go...
The movers are coming tomorrow morning. Everything's packed. Lisa and I are exhausted. The kids know we're going but I don't think they realize what that means. The dogs are confused...
I don't know if it's stress or nerves or what, but I've been sick to my stomach a couple of times this past week...could be all the junk I've been eating since we've packed up all the dishes and food. Let's see...Jack in the Box for breakfast, no lunch, pizza for dinner... Wait! I think I know what it is... Now, for Lisa, I'm sure it's a combination of nerves and stress...and exhaustion...she's been way busier than me....
Stay tuned....
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Almost done...
Well...we were packing until about 9:00 last night. All that's really left is to pack up my office, pack the bedding, pack the DVD and VHS players and disconnect the cable. Oh, yeah...and to drain the gas from the lawnmower and weed eater and dispose of it...
We went to Teresa and Walt's for Christmas dinner today (Lisa's family celebrates on Christmas Eve to allow everyone to go to their spouse's family dinner on Christmas). Man! The family's getting big! New additions over the past few years are Alyssa, Mitchell, Adrienna, Matias, and Adam, Jr. The house was packed and we demolished two turkeys... Instead of the organized one person at a time, oldest to youngest presents opening that we used to have, it was a free for all. Just too many people to keep things organized.
Even though Lisa and I didn't participate in the white elephant gift exchange, it was fun watching. AJ, I saw that you left the coveted candle holder underneath the table...
It was a good time. By the time we left though, there were about 5 kids who were way past due for a nap....
Tomorrow, we're going to my brother's house for Christmas dinner.
My aching back...
We've really put a dent in it. Lisa doesn't think so, but we're doing pretty good on the packing. Lisa's done almost all of the house already. I'm almost finished with the garage and have a couple of things in the office. Gotta pick up some tire chains and a rack for the van (for the Yakima) and it's all about waiting for Wednesday...
Going out for a little bit tomorrow night with Tony...
Packing, packing, ...
We're about a week away from the big move day... With Christmas and Christmas Eve coming up, we really don't have that much time left. So...it's pack, pack, pack... Lisa is doing most of it. While I'm working from home, Lisa is packing away. At first, I thought she was moving a little slowly. Now, I realize she was just being careful. She's got a bunch done now.
I'm getting started with work at 6:00am so I can help out in the late afternoon. I'm not exempt from packing. My job is my office and the garage. I packed a lot of the office awhile ago and packed some more on Saturday (I can't believe how much stuff I fit into a 10x11 room...). I'm about 90% done. I tore down my home gym on Sunday afternoon. It was a lot easier than I thought. It only took about an hour and 1/2 to tear down. It'll probably take all day to put back together though... The garage is a challenge. I've been working in there from 4:00-7:30 Sunday and Monday. I'd guess that I'm 70% done - hopefully, I'll finish it tomorrow except for the stuff we're sending to the dump.
Quote of the Day
There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot. ~Steven Wright
Back from Sea-Town
I spent last week in Seattle. I stayed in the rental house all week. Man, it was cold!
The Drive…
I couldn’t have picked a better winter day to drive up. There were patches of fog all along the way but nothing too dense. The Oregon Pass was dry and sunny. I made it to Tacoma in about 11-1/2 hours, which isn’t bad considering I had 2 food stops and 3 “bio” stops. The worse thing that happened was that my cough drops fell between the passenger seat and the door at the Washington state line…
I’m going back to Cali…
After the black ice incident, the first thing that came to mind was, “OK. That’s it. I’m outta here. Pack it up.” You see…like most men, I fancy myself an above average driver. I’m (usually) aware of what’s going on around me, I know exactly how long it takes to brake at whatever speed, I can corner in the Explorer like it’s a Porsche, I CAN parallel park, I can accelerate quickly without spinning the tires, … I can do it all…except in the snow and ice.
I was all over the place…couldn’t maintain traction at all. This was all within a mile of the house. In the store, I was hearing stories of fire trucks and ambulances all over the place. I was also hearing “you think it’s bad now, you should’ve been out there when I came in this morning at 5:30.” I’m thinking, “Great! I’m heading into work tomorrow at 5:30…”
Did I Mention the Cold?
I'll be using different modes of public transportation to get back and forth to work. Because of the ice, I didn't want to drive to far so I chose the bus - the bus stop is a few minutes drive. I caught the bus OK on Monday morning and made it to my desk before 8:00. Getting home was another story... It turns out that some of the buses with the same number don't go to my neighborhood... So, I'm stuck at the Renton Transit Center... Luckily there is a bus that took me to my car...
The rest of the week was OK. I think I have the bus system down... Next, the train or Vanpool....
Work, work, work...
...tired, tired, tired.
Year-end performance reviews, project deadlines, escalations, meetings, ....Calgon!...scratch that...Jack Daniels! Take me away!....
Lisa has me reading 1-2-3 Magic. It's a discipline book for children based on calm, quick discipline rather than the screaming, yelling, spanking, or lecturing methods. Sounds interesting and the book is an easy read. Been working evenings so I haven't been able to read since Sunday but I might try to take an hour tonight to take in a few pages... Better check my work email first...
Quote of the Day
There is more to life than increasing its speed. ~Mohandas K. Gandhi
The new get-up...
Whoa…What the….
Black Ice
So, I wake up this morning, shower, and head out to get me a coffee and something to eat and, if I feel adventurous, do a little shopping. I get about a mile from the house and stop at a stoplight. Green…go…whoa…I’m all over the place. Let off the gas…there we go. I’ll just turn into this Albertson’s parking lot…wait!...I’m not turning…
So, I slide into the parking lot and down the hill into a parking space. “Wow! I must have hit a patch of black ice.” I head to another exit (away from the “patch” of black ice) and…whoa! “Another patch?” I stop in a parking space, open my door and almost fall on my a**. The whole parking lot is invisibly iced over. I head to the exit…wait…car coming…OK…no…that one might be too close too (I’m afraid to get near anything moving). I pull out into the street…s..l..o..w..l..y…cross the intersection, slide into the Starbucks/Safeway parking lot. I park the car…darn!...forgot to stop at the bank. I skate across the icy parking lot to the bank and back. I go into Starbucks for a coffee…and a deep breath.
I’m thinking….”no way I’m going shopping anytime soon!”
Quote of the Day:
A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water. ~Carl Reiner
The House...
I'm back...
Actually, I've been around...just sick and not feeling up to blogging after several long work days. Let's see. Where do I begin...?
We Have a House
Lisa and I spend all day Saturday and Sunday morning looking at houses around Seattle. We looked North, South, and West (which is actually south...). So, I have one question: when did we become snobs? Really...looking back at some of the places I've lived and comparing them to some of these homes...I must be a snob or something. Don't get me wrong. A couple of the houses were dumps. The only thing missing was the tractor with spikes on its roller to release air pockets (inside joke....). We settled on Renton. We found a 2-story, 2400 sq. foot, 4-bedroom (or more) in a nice neighborhood on the outskirts of town. Of all the places we looked, it was the only place with snow on the ground too (from earlier in the week). It's minutes away from a Safeway, QFC, Albertson's, and Fred Meyers, a McDonalds, Home Depot, specialty pet store, golf course, and, most importantly, a Gold's Gym. Now, I just need to figure out how to get back-and-forth to work....
We managed to get a 6-month lease and month-to-month after that - we plan to start looking at buying a home right away. I have a picture somewhere which I'll post later...
A Little Fun
I've been sick for a week. Today, I'm feeling a little better. This really put a damper on a couple of nights out in Seattle. Well... Friday, Lisa's plane was delayed quite a bit. So, we headed straight to the hotel, picked up a cup-o-noodles at the front desk, and hit the sack by midnight. Saturday, I was sick and exhausted. We did make it out for a few hours to check out the shopping district in downtown. It was packed - pretty cool for a people watcher like me. With the area so packed, we ended up back at Von's for dinner (downstairs from the Roosevelt). We each had a tasty bowl of clam chowder and some really good cornbread. I was feeling really crappy though so we headed back to the hotel.
Finally, A Good Meal
The best meal of the short trip was actually at the Seattle-Tacoma (SEATAC) airport. There's an area that I never knew about that has some pretty good restaurants. We ended up at Anthony's Seafood (or something like that). We both had grilled mahi mahi and a bloody mary. Very tasty...
We got back to Sacramento and home just in time to put the kids to bed. Thanks Nanny for taking care of them for the weekend. Sounds like they had a pretty active time....
Quote of the Day
"Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders." ~ Tom Peters
Hmmmm....
I'm unable to see my blog this evening... but I can create this new post...
Bleh....
...sick. Sore throat, runny nose, coughing, tired, general malaise (I just had to work that one in there...)... I'm way too busy to be feeling crappy... I laid in bed all night and didn't even check my email - something I try to do every night... I had to drag myself out of bed this morning - might have been better to sleep a couple more hours.
Time for work....
Quote of the day:
Nothing so conclusively proves a man's ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself. ~Thomas J. Watson
