Moving Day!

Moving Day has come at last! Finally. After 4 long years of planning we are literally out the door and on our way to the next phase of the journey.

Our first plan was to drive both of our cars (one minivan, one wagon) and a small u-haul trailer across the country. However after some deliberation, we decided to donate the now 20-year-old wagon to a Catholic Charity. Mostly we did this to appease my Grandma, who gave me the car about 8 years ago after my Grandfather passed away. We loved that car but because of its age and condition, we knew that it probably wouldn't make it across the country. So, now that we were down to 1 car, we decided to rent the largest u-haul trailer that the minivan could handle. The good thing is that now we can share the drive together and hopefully make it easier on us.

We picked up our trailer and had it loaded up with our entire life's possessions within about an hour. Kind of crazy that our entire life can fit in a 6x12 foot space eh?

Departure was set for the next day, 0500. Due to the massive weight of the trailer we knew that we would have to drive extremely slow. Our van's maximum weight-load-pulling ability is around 3500 lbs. But with all of our 'crap' loaded up and the weight of the trailer itself, we were towing about 4500 lbs. Needless to say, we were VERY anxious about the integrity of the van!

Day one of the drive felt like forever. Our max-speed was 55mph, but we were probably moving around an average of 45-50mph the entire way...ugh.

The drive was excruciatingly slow and stressful whenever we hit traffic or construction or steep hills; which was pretty much the entire day. We were thrilled when we pulled into the 'Montamore Abode' some 13-hours later. Our wonderfully gracious hosts, Carol and Marty, had a heaping pile of Jack's Stacks Famous BBQ waiting for us. Not to mention all the fun fixings and local Kansas City brew.

It was absolute perfection! We could not have asked for a warmer welcome or a better end to the never-ending day. It was an amazing treat for us to spend quality time with our friend's parents, who treated us just like family.

The next morning I awoke to a black cat standing on my face. I couldn't figure out where I was or why there was an animal on me, but it all came back. Though I was still totally exhausted and didn't want to get up, I was happy that this part of the journey would be over soon! Plus what an adorable way to wake up!

Knowing we had another 12-hour drive ahead, we decided to hit the road as early as possible. After a nice breakfast and chat with the Montamore's, we hit the road by 6AM. Our plan was to drive North from Kansas/Missouri to Iowa and then on into Illinois.

And so it begins again. Another long and grueling drive...At first it wasn't so bad. The city was kinda cool and the scenery up north was actually refreshing. But soon it fell into a dull droll and I felt like my mind was starting to lose it a bit (probably from lack of sleep). I started making a mental note of all of the road kill we passed along the way...something to pass the time I guess. I tallied a total of 2 dear, 1 fox, 16 raccoons, a multitude of squirrels (though it was hard to tell completely since the parts were pretty scattered), a rabbit, 2 birds and 1 coyote. It was sad and mildly entertaining at the same time - I was definitely losing my mind.

Finally at 6PM we pulled into my parent's home in Huntley, IL - completely wiped out! The 25-hour trek was finally done and we were (and still are) so glad to be done with it! We decided to empty the trailer that night so we could drop it off before we hit the sack.

Now we have some time to organize all of the stuff we plan to take with us. We are also going to spend some quality time with family and friends and throw another huge bon voyage party before it all becomes real.

10 days. Then the adventure will truly begin.