Weather: Partly cloudy, 22 degrees (feels like 14)
Winds from NW at 6 mph
Forecast calls for sunny and cold
Last time I came this way ('round about 1992, driving in the opposite direction) my good buddy Nick made me a tape of songs relating to the states I was driving through. The New Mexico edition featured the Patridge Family song in the title. I still have the tape, but it got loaded on the moving truck, so I just had to kind of sing it (much to Sara's chagrin.) At any rate, herewith a summary of some events leading up to our move and the last two days:
The Goodbyes - Both Pete and Sara had to say farewell to mutual and separate friends and family these past few weeks. The parting words were accompanied by tears and promises to stay in touch, a promise which is being kept in part by this blog and our main website. Pete's goodbye message to his co-workers will be posted soon. Suffice to say that none of the leavings were easy, but we kept reminding ourselves that we are chasing our dream of a happier lifestyle.
The Packing and the Loading - We hired a moving company recommended by our real estate agent to both pack all of our belongings and put it on a truck. Sara had to oversee both operations as Pete was still at work wrapping up his two weeks. Sara's car was also loaded onto a truck:
Rigby was a bit confused when we deflated our bed for transport.
Finally, everything was onboard and we had a lovely farewell dinner with Sara's cousins. We then settled down on the (portable) inflatable bed to await the dawn.
Travel Day One - Los Angeles to Flagstaff, Arizona - We got a late start on the drive after making sure every room, closet, drawer and nook/cranny (what does that phrase mean?) was empty. Pete insisted on playing Randy Newman's "I Love LA" as we drove by the skyline one final time. We then proceeded to drive out through the arid deserts of Eastern California (not really all that pretty) and western Arizona (prettier landscapes, though the variation in height hurt the gas mileage a bit.) The big surprise came when we arrived in Flagstaff - it was COLD and SNOWY. It was Rigby's first experience with snow over, say, a millimeter in height, and he did NOT like trying to "go out" in it - he began whimpering and hopping around because his little feet were cold. Pete tried to clear a space for him to go, but he was having none of it.
Travel Day One - Los Angeles to Flagstaff, Arizona - We got a late start on the drive after making sure every room, closet, drawer and nook/cranny (what does that phrase mean?) was empty. Pete insisted on playing Randy Newman's "I Love LA" as we drove by the skyline one final time. We then proceeded to drive out through the arid deserts of Eastern California (not really all that pretty) and western Arizona (prettier landscapes, though the variation in height hurt the gas mileage a bit.) The big surprise came when we arrived in Flagstaff - it was COLD and SNOWY. It was Rigby's first experience with snow over, say, a millimeter in height, and he did NOT like trying to "go out" in it - he began whimpering and hopping around because his little feet were cold. Pete tried to clear a space for him to go, but he was having none of it.
It continued to snow as he tried to find the most perfect spot. Finally, he did his business and we returned inside to dry off.
Travel Day Two - Flagstaff, Arizona to Albuquerque, New Mexico - Today started off with us running late again, but this time it had a purpose: Given the weather reports of snow and ice on the road ahead of us, we wanted to wait until mid-day for travel to ensure the sun melted as much as possible. As it turned out, once we got out of Flagstaff proper and back onto the freeway, the road had very little moisture on it at all, none of it frozen. Today was a quick day, as we wanted to vary our days of long travel (like tomorrow, from Albuquerque to Oklahoma City) with some short ones where we could get lots of rest. We stayed again at a La Quinta (all the hotels in the chain accept pets) and had a genuine Tex-Mex dinner at Sara's request. I'm off to sleep now - more news as it happens.
Travel Day Two - Flagstaff, Arizona to Albuquerque, New Mexico - Today started off with us running late again, but this time it had a purpose: Given the weather reports of snow and ice on the road ahead of us, we wanted to wait until mid-day for travel to ensure the sun melted as much as possible. As it turned out, once we got out of Flagstaff proper and back onto the freeway, the road had very little moisture on it at all, none of it frozen. Today was a quick day, as we wanted to vary our days of long travel (like tomorrow, from Albuquerque to Oklahoma City) with some short ones where we could get lots of rest. We stayed again at a La Quinta (all the hotels in the chain accept pets) and had a genuine Tex-Mex dinner at Sara's request. I'm off to sleep now - more news as it happens.
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