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| Getting the feel of a big rig. |
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| Of course, time was available for fun with Addison and Niko. |
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| Waiting in line to score some bargains. |
Saturday and Sunday gave us a chance to go to Room and Board's Outlet store. The outlet is only open on week-ends. Saturday morning we were in line 45 minutes before they opened. We were eighth in line. 20 minutes after we arrived there were several hundred people behind us. When the doors open, everyone streams in to find their area of interest. Once you find something that you want to purchase, you sit on it until an employee can be flagged to write it up. We got a love seat and a media cabinet. Sunday we drove the truck over to pick up the new purchases and to see if there was anything new on the floor. Well, there was. I found another media cabinet that I liked much more. Since all sales are final, I was nervous about asking if I could make a switch. They were very kind: we hadn't removed the item from the store so they let us make a switch. All was loaded and the truck still seemed large.
Monday morning we began our 1825 mile drive to Sarasota. Brian drove the truck and I had the 'miserable' job of driving the Panamera. The front tires on the truck were so bad that Brian's first stop was the Penske garage where they replaced both of them. I took off hoping he would catch up with me before dinner. He was pretty sure I'd make a wrong turn and wind up in Pittsburg! Finding me at the St Louis hotel with dinner arranged was a bit of a surprise.
When we sold our house, Jennifer was moving into a larger home in St Louis. We LOANED her some furniture with the stipulation that we would take it back when we moved on land. In the meantime, she moved to San Diego so we put that furniture in a storage unit in St Louis. It was a surprise to open the door and see how much was there. All of a sudden that truck did not look so big. We were truly afraid that it wouldn't fit. It did, but there was no room to spare.
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| Since the truck only got 9 mpg, there were lots of stops. I think the bumpy ride necessitated pit stops for Brian's bladder also. |
On Wednesday we began a two day trip south. It was uneventful other than arriving in major cities just in time for rush hour traffic both days.
Now it was time to unload. The temperatures for all three days was in the mid 90's. Before we even started we knew that we'd need a second storage unit. Furniture, art, rugs and wine went in the climate controlled unit. Everything else went in the outdoor unit. The second day I noticed my Fitbit recorded almost 8000 steps carrying boxes from the front of the truck to the back! I had hired two guys through Penske to help us the last day with a dozen items that were heavy and awkward. Unfortunately, they did not show up. I can't explain how hot, tired, disappointed and frustrated we were at that point. Just as we were getting ready to move the slab of granite down the ramp; Bill and Scott (who had been unloading their truck) walked over and asked if we needed some help. I almost cried as they insisted on not only moving the granite, but everything else that was still on the truck. God sent them to us. We were exhausted and these two guys spent an hour of their Sunday afternoon selflessly helping us. They wouldn't accept money -- they were just good guys! We immediately returned the truck and promised ourselves we would hire movers when it's time to move the furniture into the house.
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| Our guardian angels, Bill and Scott. |
Monday we drove across the state, picked the BMW up at the airport and crawled onto the boat. Now everything we own (except for one car) is in Florida. Of course, once the boat sells we still have to unload it. And, I'm sure there is so much more on board than we can even imagine!
Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!
