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Day 5 - The Unloading

Details: Published on Monday, 08 August 2011 16:38

*Thursday - August 4, 2011 - We had made it to New Orleans, not in record time, but were we in a hurry? There were plenty of headaches prior to our leaving, which I'll detail in my next installment, but the drive down had gone pretty smoothly.

There was still one thing left to do though: unload the truck into our storage space. First of all, why are we doing things this way? Well, we are subletting from our friends Rachel & Paul for five months, so we need a place to put all, or most, of our stuff until the New Year. Luckily the storage facility is three blocks away.

Thursday morning arrived all too soon. First things first, we needed to actually rent the space, which went smoothly. Public Storage, my hat is off to you! So much easier and professional than dealing with U-haul in Philadelphia! That taken care of we applied ourselves to the task at hand. I was dropped off with Jim at his place, where we'd left the truck the previous evening. Dave went on ahead to see if he could round up some cheap help over on Claiborne Ave (yes, when in need, it's always available). Jim and I piled into the big yellow taxi and headed down to St. Mary Street. When we arrived back at the storage facility only to discover the truck was 6” too high to pull into the enclosed garage. No matter, we parked just outside, the only problem would be that we'd be unloading in the direct sun. It was 95 degrees on Thursday, and the heat index pushed the actual feel to about 115. This was not going to be a light endeavor. One of the saving graces: our space was on the ground floor, in very acceptable air-conditioning, the others... Dave found three guys to help us. Annoyingly one of them skipped out even before we got started. Apparently he didn't want to work 'that hard' so he left. Yeah, fuck you too, buddy.

I estimate we started to unload around noon and in hindsight I probably pushed the pace a little too hard. The way we'd packed the truck had most of the boxes we needed to store first coming off the truck LAST. We still managed, amidst the horrendous heat of the mid-afternoon, to unload everything within 2 ½ hours. At times I think the two guys helping us thought I was a crazy man, but things went very smoothly, so I'll cling to that. “keep 'em moving and get it done” was my motto that afternoon. It was probably about 120 degrees in the truck at times, but we took turns unloading and finally we cleared it out. The air-conditioned environment of the storage space probably kept me from passing out any number of times, and in the end, we fit just about everything in the two spaces we'd rented that morning. One last series of trips over to the apartment with the remaining boxes and supplies and I found myself standing in a cold shower thinking, “Jesus Christ it's hot outside!”

Dave and Jim showed up with the last of the stuff and while Jim and I trudged things from the porch to the second floor apartment Dave dropped off our two helpers. The only thing left was to return the truck and be DONE with the whole thing. <Break Time, at least for a few minutes>

Back in the truck, stopped for a refueling, then on to the drop off. Jim and I sat in the air-conditioned comfort of Rupert while Dave took care of the last few details. “My God. It's done!” I thought. Jim looked over at me, “I did it! We did it!” I smiled and gave him a high-five. “I didn't want to scare you or anything before we started out, but that was the biggest truck I've ever driven ” he wavered. “You were great though! And we're HERE, so that's all that matters. ”

Not the end of the story, there is plenty to tell about the days leading UP to pulling out of Philly on Sunday afternoon. That's for tomorrow though.

Day 4 - Nola Bound

Details: Published on Sunday, 07 August 2011 15:41

Wednesday - August 3, 2011 - Craziness. That's what this was... taking Rt 85 directly through downtown Atlanta, even after the morning rush hour. Dave wanted to drive, so I let him. I'm glad I did, my congested city driving is still rather nerve-wracking. I settled for the less nerve-wracking passenger position watching Dave navigate through it all. Any couple can probably attest that watching your spouse drive causes... 'tension.' This is something I have to ease into accepting, and just move on from it. We got through it all and out of the city in one piece. Atlanta: I have to say I'm glad I was just passing through. Not much more of Georgia now. Montgomery, AL here we come.

I felt a little bad taking over for Dave after about 2 hours, but it was time for his break. He'd done the hard part getting us out of Atlanta this morning, now the highway driving in Alabama was simple, open and sunny. As soon as we crossed into the state we decided to stop at the 'Welcome Center' which was truly the first sense I got of being in the deep south.... the trees, the lushness, and a different feel all together from the Carolinas & Georgia.

After we got out of the city this morning Jim had told us, “fly, be free, ” so we put the pedal down and scooted off down the highway. We weren't going to see Jim until tonight when he pulled in to Coliseum Street with the truck, but it didn't really matter, the rest would be smooth sailing right on into Nola.

A stop over in Montgomery for lunch then jumping on to Rt 65 southbound to Mobile. In and around Mobile and on to Biloxi, MS a number of flash storms dumped quite a bit of rain on us. the type of rain that keeps you from seeing more than 50-60 feet in front of you. A little unnerving, but still, that's what windshield wipers are for. And you know? There are STILL assholes that insist on speeding through weather like that. Perhaps they were some of the accidents we kept having to slow down to a crawl for? Nah, right?

Route 10 West from Mobile to New Orleans gave us some interesting sites, specifically the very long, elevated stretches of highway above the swamplands. Up and down, over miles and miles and miles of wetlands. This would be the case all the way into Louisiana and over Lake Ponchartrain. We were headed right into Nola now, and we'd just have to meet up with Jim at our final destination. We pulled into Coliseum Street at roughly 7pm on Wednesday evening, parked Rupert in front and shortly thereafter Jim pulled up with the truck. Wedging it in to the spots directly in front of the house we took a short breather before we met up with our friend Megan at the Avenue Pub on St. Charles for the hand off of the keys. I don't seem to remember what else we did that night, aside from hurriedly unpacking the car into Rachel & Paul's apartment, before we collapsed in exhaustion. We'd made it.

BUT, the truck still needed to be unpacked. Tomorrow. Just think about it all tomorrow.

Day 3 - Onward to Atlanta

Details: Published on Saturday, 06 August 2011 12:14

Descending from the mountains in lower VA into NC

Tuesday - August 2, 2011 - Roanoke, it's been fun. Leaving Virginia and descending the mountains was quite breathtaking. Once we finally got to the level plains and crossed into North Carolina both Dave and I looked at each other and said, “I wonder how Jim is doing on that?” He was fine.

We were headed due south for Atlanta and the driving was fine.

I have to say that for two relatively new drivers I am impressed with how Dave and I are holding it together. I had only been driving for a week before we pulled out of Philly on Sunday, July 31^st. And I had only gotten my license on Friday the 29^th. Dave had been licensed for about 3-4 weeks. Our 'green' status and our carbon footprint was going to take a hit on this trip though. 1300 miles in an SUV and diesel truck is a bit much.

Today was kind of boring, but the drive was relaxing. Dave has a limit of about 2 hours at a stretch behind the wheel, so I stayed driving for 3.5-4 hours. I'm actually enjoying it. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia... in and around Charlotte got a teensy bit hairy, but we managed. At the end of the day we pulled in to a La Quinta in Norcross just outside of Atlanta and it was again time for martinis and food. Jim needed martinis, I stuck with some Leffe Blond. Separate rooms tonight, as our snoring was a bit much for poor Jim last night. (It's the least we can do.... I can certainly empathize) Back to the room for a night cap of Red Stripe and it was time to crash...

<crash_hard_now>

More tomorrow.

Day 2 - The Hills of Virginia

Details: Published on Saturday, 06 August 2011 10:45

Monday - August 1, 2011 - We were off. The hangovers were only a slight annoyance on the beautiful Monday morning in Milton, DE. Amidst competing sets of directions, which oddly enough had us going on all the same roads, in all the same directions, we made our way to our first destination: scrapple & egg breakfast sandwiches. And although I love scrapple, I opted for the less adventurous ham & egg. The traffic was light but I knew we would be tested in just a few hours after crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge into Annapolis, then into the crucible of the DC beltway at lunchtime.

Crossing the upper Chesapeake

All in all I would say Dave and Jim did commendable jobs of driving in the maddening traffic, although I will say my knuckles were white for most of the trip into and around DC. After lunch I took over for Dave and was glad to finally get behind the wheel of Rupert. Yes, we named our Honda Pilot "Rupert." Hopping on to Route 66 (not the famous, but still useful) we eventually met up with Route 81, which was going to be our home for a few hundred miles over the next two days. For any of you who have traveled along Rt 81 you will remember what a busy trucking route that is. The day was our longest so far, and the opposite of the cake-walk that we had leaving Philly the day before and hopping down to Milton. When we finally pulled in to Roanoke, VA that evening we were all pretty frazzled. Our original plan was to make it to Wytheville, VA, but needed to break for reasons I'm about to explain. The rental truck, although being a honking beast, didn't quite have the get up and go to handle the hills of southern Virginia. Jim had struggled with it for many miles on the ups and downs. Not being able to climb a hill above 45 mph was nerve-wracking. Dave and I had been speeding along at 70 most of the trip and hadn't known Jim's predicament. Consulting with each other over the phone we decided to cut the day short and stop outside Roanoke, which we felt was a good enough distance for the day.

Dinner, drinks, and a swim (for me), and we all seemed to be 'settled' for the night. We did, however, have a brain-twisting session of 'how do we avoid all these hills tomorrow!?' That's easier said than done, especially considering where we are. The straightest shot for us had the route continuing down 81 to Chattanooga, TN, then on to Tuscaloosa, MS. Another day of fighting with hilly ups and downs wasn't in the cards for Jim though, and we agonized over adding a few more hours to our overall trip by diverting instead to Atlanta, then on to New Orleans from there. In the end it all worked out, and we settled on the Atlanta – NOLA route. I'm glad we did.

First Day on the Road

Details: Published on Monday, 01 August 2011 00:51

Sunday - July 31, 2011 - It's been a tense couple of days, but we are finally on the road... to a new home, and a new life.

Bye, bye Bonaparte House. You've been a great home for 15 years.

That's not to say we are leaving the 'life' we had behind us, but rather, a new something that neither of us know's what exactly is in store.

In talking with many of you over the past few months this is something that most people envy. But let me caution all of you: it's not something to be taken lightly.

We left the comfortable apartment on 9th Street today with a sense of relief. That relief was born of a very stressful year long process of "YAY, we're moving." Well, that sense of excitement creeps up on you and turns into a foreboding sense of dread very quickly when things start going wrong. We've had our share of hurdles, roadblocks and pitfalls in the past six months, but now we are finally on the move. And I can't thank our close friends enough for all the support, encouragement, and strength they have given us.

I have to give special thanks to our friends Will Maus, Dave Malen, Matt Lauts & Tim Pepper, who all helped in the loading and packing of the truck... and without whose help I'm sure we would have been at least two days behind schedule.

The view off the dock at Brakewynde

Tonight we are at Bruce & Kate's in lower, slower Delaware, tomorrow it's on to Tuscaloosa, MS.

Good food and good wine are always in abundance at Brakewynde; tonight we got to see not only B&K, but their friends Rob & Angela and their kids Jasper & Cora.

Hopefully we won't kill each other in the car tomorrow (who, US? Really?) And that doesn't even begin to address the amount of patience our friend Jim Coffin has for us both on this trip. We owe him an eternal debt of gratitude for helping us on this adventure (Jim is driving our truck from Philly to NOLA). Jim, it's only the first day, but you have already proven invaluable to us in all this.

More to come.