This new blog will be about our journey home - what it's like to be back on old stomping grounds, looking at familiar things with new eyes, and finding the place where we will put down our roots and raise a family.
This particular posting is about our actual trip, driving back to Pittsburgh from Phoenix...
Most people were surprised to find out that we didn't take any time off work for the move. Our last 10 days in Phoenix were total chaos, but the warm and comforting kind, if that makes any sense at all. The weekend before our last week of work, we had a wonderful goodbye dinner and bowling with most of our favorite people who could make it. Each night of our last week went something like this: work all day, come home, make dinner, start packing, be joined by friends who wanted to help and say one last goodbye, collapse into bed. Although the week was utterly exhausting, I have to say that it was very nice to spend a few more hours with friends before we left for good.
Saturday 3/26 was a marathon packing day, and we rented the 20' UHaul. We hired movers to come Sunday morning to load the truck - with my almost healed back, there's no way we could have managed. Turns out we made a great choice. Since UHaul has discontinued their 24' truck, and the 28' would have been too big, we thought the 20' would be perfect. How wrong we were. With the expertise of professional movers, and a switch from the car tow dolly to a flatbed (so we could also pack my car), we barely fit everything. And, by barely I mean that when we realized we had forgotten the trash can, there was ONE space for it left!
After the car was loaded, and the kitties were drugged, we finished our move out inspection and got on the road. We had decided earlier that simply getting up the mountain and through Flagstaff would be a huge morale booster. We did about 4 hours, and stopped for the night in Holbrook. Best thing about our hotel: excellent free, hot, yummy breakfast at the diner next door. Worst thing about the stay that night: the confused, high cats yowled and screeched and meowed ALL night. We got 4 hours of sleep at best, which was not a good way to start the drive after seven days of packing and emotional goodbyes.
Somehow, Matt powered through the tiredness and we put in a 10-hour day on Monday, getting us all the way to Amarillo, Texas, where we were greeted by a lobby full of unhappy day laborers at our hotel, frigid temperatures, and the only Subway in Texas that doesn't take giftcards. We also forgot we had lost an hour changing time zones, so we were worn ragged by the time our heads hit the pillow. Luckily, the kitties were also exhausted, so we all got a fairly good night's sleep.
The next day, we were determined to put in another long day of driving, and made it to Springfield, Missouri. We found ourselves in a spacious hotel room, where we made a nice meal of soup, bread and Gatorade, and caught up on email, some TV and relaxed a bit. The next morning was not so calm, as the "big," "pull through" parking lot that was guaranteed to us was actually a deadended, narrow, impossible parking lot. Matt curbed the truck, tested the tire rods, and almost ripped off the second floor balcony with the Mother's attic on the truck, but made it out of the parking lot with no damage to anyone or anything.
The third day of driving was a little bit easier, as we had our sights set on Indianapolis, a comparably "easier" 8-hour drive. We made it to Indy no sweat, parked the Uhaul in a space big enough for 10 firetrucks, grabbed dinner, and gave the road-weary cats some love. P.S. Tuna-flavored liquid kitty valium is truly the way to go.
With only a 6-hour drive at hand, and the excitement of almost being done, day four was a breeze. We made it to Pittsburgh with enough time to drop off the auto trailer before rush hour. My parents welcomed us with squealing and hopping and big hugs and smiles...and, of course, pierogies and kielbasa. Mmmm...
Here's some fun facts from the trip:
- We drove for 4 1/2 days, covered over 2,100 miles, and sat in the noisy cab of that truck for 30+ hours.
- We made it through the alphabet game twice, played five rounds of "20 Questions," and saw 30 US license plates, 2 Canadian provinces, and a plate from the Cherokee Nation.
- We got 8 gallons per mile--which is pretty good for a 20' truck towing an auto transport packed with important stuff and 2 cats--and stopped about every two hours for gas, pumping a grand total of $900 into that fuel hog.
- I did not drive for even one second; Matt kicked butt and did the entire drive!
