Our Apartment- The Addendum

So as of tomorrow we have been in our apartment for two weeks. I would say that we are doing really well in getting everything going were it belongs except that would be a complete lie to my friends and family. Most of the reason not everything is in it's very own special place is that there is no very own special place for 2/3 of what we own. Our guest room is serving as the unpacking/repacking zone for boxes that need to be pared down and taken to the storage unit, not to mention the fact that we are going to have to dig into a couple of boxes already at the storage unit to find a few very necessary things that did not make it into the apartment the first time...like the silverward holder (currently a large tupperware bin), the coffee pot (currently a saucepan on the stove), and my one missing large basket that matches the other basket under the coffee table. They are a pair for Pete's sake and it just doesn't look right if there are not two of them!

We also only have one "assigned" parking space. The rest of the parking is a free for all. I don't really enjoy that situation. I am getting to old to wake up in the morning and not remember where I have parked my car...because I had to park by the garbage bins and I can't see my car from my apartment. I am especially irate about it right now as new tenents moved in above us and they got 2 PARKING SPACES. They drive two expensive foreign cars with Benz in the name and one of them may have a mysterios flat tire one of these days.

The only other truly pathetic thing about the apartment is the total lack of straight runway for the dog. He is no longer able to get up to full steam while wildly running like he did in the Manhattan house. There are no stairs to wildly fly down, no wooden floors to skid across, and no more long stretches of open area to be totally insane. This leads to a lot of additional contact with objects and people which leads to a lot more broken wine glasses and nearly broken appendages. Actually it has forced us to be way better about taking him out for walks and bike rides. I have managed to con Jake into several of these activities as well. Do not tell him that it is actually exercise... We are getting a lot more of "hey mister, what kind of dog is that?"..."Can that dog really catch a frisbee", you should see people stand around to watch that. Ike isn't even that good. Not like he is jumping off of Jake's back or catching 10 frisbees at once. I guess he is really weird looking in the new world of coon hounds and bassett hounds, and I guess it would be pretty unusual to see a bassett hound try to catch a frisbee when I think about it....

Groceries....

I now am a shopper at "Bi Lo", "Piggly-Wiggly", and "Food Lion". I am not sure what any of those things actually mean. You would think that all grocery stores are the same, but I had to stop a total stranger and ask them what "pole beans" were...they are green beans that are grown on a pole...duh.. But they are mutant gigantic. Lots of pork in the grocery stores. Primarily lots of extra pork parts that don't necessarily show up at Dillons if you get my drift.

First Week of Work

Hey all! We are back in the swing of things now that we have been working for a full week! Work is going really well for me. I am getting to know all of the staff-at least 30 new folks in the department both inpatient and outpatient, and it is definitely a good challenge to work somewhere this big and this new! Everyone is very friendly and very helpful with all of my ridiculous questions. Today was my first full day in the outpatient clinic, and I was lost 3 times. I was told by several of my co-workers that it was very funny to watch me wander around. I suppose it is also funny to watch me drive around as I am lost basically all of the time. The lack of street signs and absence of any sort of straight road has made my navigational abilities more deficient than normal. That is very scary.

Slow on the Updates

So, it's been a few days since our last post. Unpacking, starting work, getting acquainted with the area, walking the dog all seem to take a lot of time!

We'll have more to share shortly - starting with the lack of sidewalks in SC, and as I'm sure my dad has told everyone he knows, the "front door stoop/steps/porch to nowhere"!

The Airport and BBQ!

We took Jake’s parents to the Atlanta airport today. It was our first real chance to navigate the two lane highways as “short cuts”. Yeah. There is not a straight road here at any point, and there are 5 different ways to get everywhere. The trip to the airport was about 3 hours door to door, and since we were out of the house before 7 there really wasn’t any traffic. We were definitely sorry to see Jake’s parents go. They were really a tremendous help in this whole experience!

On the way home we stopped at a roadside BBQ joint called “Vanna Country BBQ” on Georgia Highway 17 that was absolutely fantastic. They are only open 11-9 on Fridays and Saturdays and it is in a big shack with red check tablecloths, plastic silverware on the tables in a bucket, and a whole loaf of white bread just sitting on each table. Jake was in total heaven! The beans and ribs were really great and they had some sort of “stew” with meat, corn, barley, and God knows what else. It was super. I really don’t want to know what else was in it. We left with a pound of ribs and a new respect for shacks on the side of the highway. Next time the folks are in town we are definitely making the drive…

The Move Journal

We kept a journal of our move, since we couldn't easily post while on the road. I'd recommend going to the end of the blog and reading up, since it'll make a lot more sense that way. Hope you enjoy!

Only thing to add to Friday

The only thing I have to add to Friday is that Dad and I got the last of the stuff on the truck unpacked into a storage unit and returned the truck and trailer...at the Penske place, the gal doing the check-in didn't even notice a "slight" scratch inflicted by my garage in Manhattan. Yippee!!!

Friday - breathe a bit

This was a pretty uneventful day. There was just a whole lot of unpacking, sorting, and reboxing fun. I am quite impressed with myself and everyone else who gave me a hand with packing as NOTHING was broken. That is pretty darn good for a 1,200 mile move. However, I really don’t think I will be changing my profession in the near future!

We took Jake’s parents on a tour of Greenwood…at least the part that we know of without someone else taking us on a tour.. We ended up driving around the new golf course that Davis Love III has built near Greenwood. It was absolutely amazing to see. The houses each have their own boat dock to the lake and have front walk plaques with their names and far away original addresses like NJ, TX, CA, CT to name a few. I told Jake he could certainly play golf there…when we could afford to live there.

We at dinner at a fun downtown Greenwood spot called TW Boone’s with great onion rings, shrimp and prime rib.

Moving in - Whoa!

So, after Hilary sweet-talked us into our apartment a day early and we did all the check-in stuff, we proceeded to unload all 26 feet of the truck. Dad and I did most of the unloading while Mom and Hil tried to put things away as fast as they could to make room for more stuff! It had to be 100 degrees at 7 p.m. with an 80 degree dew point. Dad and I were both soaked through. We finally got the last of it in the apartment a bit before 11:00, and loaded the few things that were going to a storage unit back on.

It was a long, long day, but we're very glad to have gotten that done!

Our Apartment

Thursday - Greenwood or Bust!

We left Jake’s aunt’s house at 5:30 this morning. I don’t necessarily want to do that again anytime soon. Just got passed by an actual clown car (truck) NW of Chattanooga, TN. www.bubbletruck.com I am almost afraid to look at the website. The scenery going through the mountains is gorgeous. We got to Greenwood early and ended up being able to get into our apt. a day early. It was about a billion degrees out and Jake and Dan were sweating through their shirts while I realized that all of our junk was not going to fit for sure and we were going to have to get a storage unit. I had a minor freak-out but managed to not totally lose it. We slept pretty well for sure!

Family is the Best!

Nashville made a great stop for us - we got in before evening, and that gave us a couple hours to relax and catch up with Aunt Barb and Uncle David. It was a great evening and helped recharge the batteries after a long couple days. Thanks Aunt Barb!!!

Wednesday - On to Nashville...

Lots and lots of driving to do today. Our goal is to make it to Jake’s Aunt Barb’s house by mid-afternoon. Jake and Dan drive that truck as fast as it will go (70 mph before the governer kicks in) and they never stop. Meanwhile, Sue and I like to drive 85 mph and then stop for ice cream and bathroom breaks so the guys can catch up! We almost totally missed a turn in downtown St. Louis and I thought I heard Sue swear…but then I realized that it was probably just the echo from me swearing. We did end up making it in one piece luckily. Ike got to sleep in the shed while we stayed inside at Jake’s Aunt Barb’s house. I don’t think he actually slept though as he is not into sleeping anywhere other than our bedroom and is not exactly into nature…

The Side of the Road - not a fun place to be!

Ahhh…the joys of 62 mph average driving on the Interstate. I’m now “that guy” driving really slow down the road. The Penske had a governor at 70 mph, though I’d hit 71 ½ if I caught a fairly steep downhill! Of course, just west of Booneville, MO, (mile marker 90.4, to be exact – can you believe they put them every .2 of a mile in Missouri?) a puff of smoke, followed by a whole lotta smoke, told me something was wrong.

As I opened the door, the entire driver’s side of the truck was covered in oil. Not a good sign at all. I got on the phone to Penske and they sent out a mobile repair unit. After 90 minutes of sweating while sitting with dad in the cab (to avoid the mosquitos), “Yogi” arrived. He was a great guy who walked right up to the truck, shone his flashlight inside, and said, “Yep, I can fix that!” Thank goodness – the biggest worry of all was that we’d have to switch trucks, which would mean unloading and reloading. No way we could have fit it all back in without Tom’s expert packing! Anyway, 30 minutes and four gallons of oil later, we were back on the road to Booneville and done driving for the day…

Tuesday - Loading Day

Jake’s parents and my dad are here to help us pack the truck. My dad came unexpectedly and that was great help. He has a very special way of making things fit into spaces that you don’t think they will fit into and we got the truck packed nice and tight. Just kidding dad!

We manage to get done by about 3pm and decide to leave Manhattan and drive past KC as far as we can get. That will definitely help break up the drive tomorrow to Nashville. Jake and Dan are driving the truck with all of our belongings and the Jeep on the back, Sue and I are driving the Durango with Ike and our luggage.

Just before Boonville, MO, Sue and I fly past a broken down yellow truck on the side of the road that is smoking profusely with the hood open..with a maroon Jeep on the back..and Jake standing beside it. Of course Murphy’s Law kicks in and Sue and I have to drive an additional 7 miles before we can turn around to go back. I have to admit that did not know how much oil it really takes to operate a big truck, but it is a really impressive amount when ALL OF IT IS ON THE GROUND. Luckily the Penske folks sent a pretty great repairman out at 8 pm and got the guys up and running again.

Sue and I got the last hotel room in Boonville as the MO state fair had taken every other one. Then there was the business of trying to sneak my 85 lb dog into the hotel without getting noticed. The place allowed “small pets” but I am seriously doubting Ike would count as “small”, and it was the last hotel room for an additional 45 miles. I am a terrible liar and not very sneaky so it was pretty funny to watch me try to sneak the dog in through the back door. I was just waiting for someone to knock on the door next door and for Ike to start barking. Then we would get to see how comfortably all of us could sleep inside the Durange and Penske cab.

Monday, August 13 - Packing Day

We are madly packing trying to get ready for the move. We seriously doubt it is all going to fit in the van. Definitely should have had the moving sale after we packed the truck. We had to take the furniture from the second story out the window and off of the roof. Always a fun experience for sure. Luckily Justin Law is always up for a good time like that. When we purchase our next house we will definitely make sure all the furniture can get into/out of the house through a door. Seriously.

Update - Posting the Journal

We kept a journal as we traveled, as we didn't have access to the web to post updates. So, they'll all be posted as daily recaps...

Let the Fun Begin!!

So...Hilary and I are off to Greenwood, SC. What an adventure!

Hilary suggested, and I agreed, that doing a little blogging about our trip, our new home, and all the fun things we'll do would be a fun way for our family and friends to keep up with us. So, check back often and see what we're up to. She and I will be posting more later today and throughout the week with our moving fun!!!