We spent 14 hours packing up on Wednesday. We thought we were in good shape going into our last day of packing, having already pulled out and packed everything from every closet and cupboard and boxed up the kitchen. We were wrong. Stuff just kept multiplying. We took a break at 8pm and went to Sean, Xochitl & Finn's house for dinner and one last visit. It was a great way to spend one of our last evenings in Los Angeles. After dinner we came back home and put in another 2 hours of work.
The movers were scheduled to arrive Thursday morning between 8 and 9. They showed up at 7:20 and caught us completely unprepared. We were scrambling to get the last of our belongings in boxes. It took 5 guys 3 1/2 hours to load everything from the apartment to the truck. With every load that went down the stairs I thought to myself "this is the best money I ever spent!" Once they were gone and we were left with an empty apartment I went to work scrubbing the carpets trying to rid them of all the cat puke - sorry if I offended anyone's delicate sensibilities. Once I finished spot cleaning, Matt went back over everything with a steamer. Looked pretty good if I do say so myself.
Thursday evening Andy and his friend Rick came over and we all went to see the new Harry Potter at Mann's Chinese. It was a good way to let our brains take a vacation from all the move worries. After Andy left and we went back into our empty apartment I had a sobbing spell. I will miss Los Angeles terribly. And I will miss living so near Andy. It was great to have the chance to get to know him while we lived in the same city. We spent Thursday night sleeping on yoga mats on the wood floor in the living room - not the best way to rest up for a 2 day road trip.
Friday we woke up early and packed the cars. Matt's car, Friq, was filled to the brim with our computers and my car, Fraq, was filled with cats. Una, Lily, Russell and Quinten were completely freaked out at this point. I hired a maid service to come to the final clean and they were still at it, under the watchful eye of our manager, Judy, when we pulled out of town at around 10:30am.
We had a pretty uneventful drive (the cats will tell you differently) up to Red Bluff, CA where we spent the night. As soon as we opened the cat carriers Russell and Quinten ran under the bed. Una and Lily took things much more in stride. In case you ever find yourself in Red Bluff and consider staying at the Cinderella Riverview Motel you should know the following - Negatives: the bathroom is the sort of dirty that never comes clean, the towels will take off at least one layer of skin, there are cigarette burns on the mattress. Positives: they allow pets (this may be a negative for you), there is a view of the Sacramento River, there is a tasty Mexican restaurant nearby but I don't know the name.
Saturday we slept in a little and got back on the road at 10:30 again. The cats were less willing to get in the carriers and were much more vocal on the road. They would tire themselves out with all the howling, fall asleep, wake up only to realize they were still in cages and still in the car and start crying all over again. A little more than halfway through Oregon the scenery began to change and I started to get really excited about our new life. Our new place is only an hour north of Portland so that town was a major milestone. The miles flew by once we made it over the border into Washington and before we knew it we were pulling into our driveway.
The cats were unloaded and once again, the boys ran for cover while the girls explored every nook and cranny. There were deer having dinner in the yard when we arrived!!! After unpacking we drove into Winlock for dinner. Not too many vegetarian options on the menu at the place we ate so we ended up with grilled cheese (velveeta sp?) and tater tots!! ha ha ha! I took pictures of the Winlock egg and one of the chicken statues in town and will post them when I get my own computer set up. I am now using Tom and Kathy's computer.
Got back to our shed and set up the air mattress. I tried to stay awake for Kathy & Sharon's visit but I was pretty drowsy by the time they came by to welcome us. Went to sleep to the sound of trains in the distance, birds and horses. Woke up in the middle of the night freezing on a semi-deflated mattress. Stupid air molecules shrinking in the cold! Sometime during the night the cats discovered that there is an upstairs and we could hear them wandering around up there. Lily has staked her claim on the upstairs. Whether it is because she really likes being out of the way or is too chicken to climb down the rickety stairs remains to be seen. Una came to snuggle in the bed. Russell eventually came and burrowed his way under the covers. When we left this morning to come over to Tom and Kathy's, Quinten was still in hiding under the shower that is under construction.
I feel good about everything. No more tears. Ask me in 2 months if I still feel that way. Love to you all.
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