The idea of packing your life into a box and leaving for the
hills is not a new topic for this Blog.
“Your Life In A Box” http://jim-afisheyeview.blogspot.com/2011/02/your-life-in-box.html
prophetically went through the basics two years ago, and as a bonus included
ample reference to the better of the two movies Patrick Swayze and Jennifer
Grey starred in together. However, on
the evening of March 14th 2013 I found myself looking at a 6 x 12 U-Haul
trailer that contained the sum of my family’s possessions, which were deemed
worthy to travel west with us. I imagine
that several hundred years ago some other man (named something biblical) did
the same thing. I’m sure Nimrod (If your going to go biblical, go big!) had a
slightly different mode of transportation, a bit more travel time to contend
with but decidedly less traffic.
In the weeks between accepting the job and the western migration
we whittled down our belongings. Clothing and old toys were donated, unused
kitchen tools tossed, even extra bedding was disposed of. We sold some things, gave others away. All in all, the experience was liberating. Along the way we visited the childhood homes
and made some keepsake deposits, returned some borrowed items and picked up a
few things we couldn't leave behind. The
business at hand and the socializing kept the “last” visit light and
surprisingly normal. The mental survival instinct kicked in to keep us moving
ahead; looking back now it is just as sad, but then it was exciting.
So the trailer was packed with pictures and important stuff,
valued by size, weight and inability to replace. I approached the packing like the project
manager I am, and had at least 7 spreadsheets.
We did our homework to find out if the cost to replace the kitchen glasses
was worth the cost of the packing materials and the space in the trailer, and
then completed that exercise for anything that wasn't sentimental. It should not surprise anyone that most of
what is in your kitchen is cheaper to leave behind than haul with you.
The plan called for my wife to take the kids in the van,
well provisioned with snacks, movies and our travel clothing and I would follow
towing the trailer. I was excited about
the prospect of the open road as much as any Hunter S. Thompson fan, but chose
to medicate myself with a ridiculous amount of music and coffee over Hunters
more traditional staples. We planned to drive an average of 400 miles per day,
stopping at hotels with pools; Columbus OH, St. Louis MO, Tulsa OK, Amarillo
TX, Albuquerque, NM with an extra day in St. Louis to break it all up.
On the morning of the 15th, we dragged the mattress
to the dumpster, dragged the kids into the van, hit the Wawa for a goodbye
salute http://jim-afisheyeview.blogspot.com/2013/07/wawa-in-rear-view-albuquerque-ahead.html
and jumped on the PA turnpike, westward Ho!
Driving the truck loaded down with the trailer was an
exciting experience. By exciting I mean slightly terrifying. At 70 mph, the trailer swayed when passed and
pulled the nose of the truck creating a serious sway issue….at 60 the problem
was less severe but I got passed more often, which wasn't necessary better. Due to inexperience and the steep grades,
western PA was the worst of it, by the time we made it to St. Louis it was
smooth sailing.
We made it to Columbus OH in time to have dinner with some
family and take stock of our situation.
As predicted, a trip to Wal-Mart was needed for new CB’s, snacks and a 6
pack for my wife and I….yes Wal-Mart has booze in OH. Also in OH was my first sighting of a drive
through Italian pasta fast-food place. Truly scary.
We made it to St. Louis in time for the cold rain, to turn
into wet snow. St. Louis thinks it has
the world cornered on toasted ravioli….nope, and they were deep fried. We saw the Arch, the Mississippi and the remnants
of what looked like an insane St. Patrick’s day party downtown. We spent our day off at “The City Museum”http://www.citymuseum.org/site/ in St. Louis. Which is they absolute coolest place I have
ever been, if you are ever even close to St. Louis, go. Go in the morning if you have kids, go in the
evening if you don’t. It’s like an art
museum, an super huge indoor jungle gym and a circus all in one…..really can’t
stress enough how cool it is. They sell beer. Google It!
In the middle of Missouri we stopped at a “Route 66” catfish
shack and were rewarded by finding Sorghum syrup….it’s like maple syrup and
honey mixed together, and is made from a type of grass, similar to sugar cane. Super sweet, thick, and most excellent on the
Hushpuppies. It was the best meal of the
trip.
In Tulsa while the kids swam, I went out to find
dinner. I found a Budweiser product
which in concept is sickening, and a Subway tuna fish sandwich that did make my
youngest son sick, and sicker, and sickest for the next few hundred miles of
the trip. This forced my older son to choose between a van wreaking of
regurgitated half-digested tuna fish, or a truck that did not have a video
player……after much deliberation he chose the truck. Amarillo allowed for my
first Shiner Bock beer, washed down by a truly Texas sized BBQ meal. Also in Amarillo was this store: Toot'n Totum....any ideas what they sell there?
Our last day, our last 300 miles, into Albuquerque almost
came too fast. As we drove steadily
west, gently uphill toward the mountains the landscape changed from plains, to
high desert and we saw our first pronghorn, and prairie dogs. Just inside the New Mexico border we stopped
to buy “real” fireworks, and just that quick rolled over the Sandia’s into the
Rio Grande Valley, and the kids saw their new home city for the first time……and
then the stress became real.
2000 miles in six days isn't a blistering pace, it wasn't supposed
to be. We had an opportunity to see
maybe ¾ of the county through the windshield, and wanted to enjoy it as much as
possible. It was easy to forget that the
trip wasn't a vacation. It was a migration,
and life changed.
