Moving to Los Angeles: part 1 leaving oregon

We got up on Monday, threw on some clothes and drove to the Budget truck rental place. Addy had made a reservation, so we figured it would be in and out in 30 minutes, tops. We were renting a 16ft truck and a car dolly to pull the Honda. We had to wait for the ONE GUY in the shop to finish helping one customer, so I ran to get some coffee. While I was on the way back, Addy began getting helped, but needed her ID (which I had). We got things underway when I got back, but found out quickly that they did not have the car dolly (that we had reserved). There was not much he could do, he called and found one at a "nearby location" and gave a us a discount. So, we signed all the papers and the guy ran out to get our truck. He drove it to the front of the shop, stopped, and then hauled-ass around the corner to the back of the lot. We had no idea what was going on, until he came back in and told us that was his only 16ft truck and the check engine light had come on. So, now he had to call and find a 16th truck. We ended up having to drive up by the airport to get both the dolly and truck. The guy gave us the most discount he could, but it still seemed ridiculous that we were having to drive somewhere else to pick up the equipment Addy had reserved weeks ago. When we got to the other shop, we asked if they could throw in some furniture covers and a handtruck as well. They did, without much fuss, since we had driven across town. I finally drove home with this huge truck and the tow dolly. The whole ordeal ended-up taking 2 1/2 HOURS! This was a big set-back for our timeline for the day, as we were scheduled to do the walk-thru with our new tenet at 1 pm and wanted to leave town before traffic started backing-up.

We got to work and started packing the furniture in the truck. We were taking the fridge from downstairs, since we had found out that some apartments in LA don't come with one provided. (That's what we needed the handtruck for) Everything went in easily and fit snugly. We put the boxes under or on top of the furniture and made sure everything was protected and stable. It took longer than I thought it would, but we did a good job. Our new tenet showed up at 1 and walked around for a minute, before deciding to grab some lunch and let us finish packing. That was really nice of her, because we were frantically trying to get everything packed up and Addy was finishing cleaning the baseboards and a few other last minute touches. When she came back, we were pretty much ready and she did the walk-thru with Addy and was satisfied that everything was in good shape. She left and wished us luck, saying that she was really excited to move in. It is definitely a weird feeling to give your house keys to someone else and realize they are the ones that will be coming "home" to your house for the next year. She seems great and I'm sure it'll all be good, just a weird feeling. Another weird feeling is packing up your whole "life" into the back of a moving truck, which we finished soon after she left. Those that know me, know this isn't the first time, by a long shot, that I've done this. But just because you've done it before, doesn't mean you don't still have a weird feeling about it.

I got the Honda (which was also full of stuff) on the tow dolly (following the directions to the letter) and Addy got the pets loaded into the Corolla. We said goodbye to our home and hit the road, around 5pm. I started out driving the truck really conservatively. The tow dolly said not to exceed 55 mph. I followed that for the first 2 hrs, then as I got more comfortable, I was able to go a little faster. Just had to keep it under control and stay comfortable. We had decided that Addy would just drive like normal, not waiting for me, so that she could spend some more time with her folks. We would not be seeing them for a while and it was the first time she was moving this far away, so I wanted to give them as much time together as I could. We kept in touch via phone, but everything went fine. I listened to a bunch of music and focused on driving the "big rig". I got to her parents house around 11pm. They were all up, hanging out. I got a drink and had some supper, thanks to her mom. She always has food ready for us, she's so great. We got to talk and hang out for a little bit, but it was late and we wanted to get an early start in the morning, so we called it a night.

We got up in the morning, had breakfast and lots of coffee and hung out with Addy's parents, enjoying our time together. Then Kim had to go to work and it was time for us to get going. Mark helped me try to back the truck and trailer out of the neighbor's drive, which we ended up not being able to do. We realized that there were too many pivot points for my level of expertise. We ended up having to unload the Honda and re-hook-up the tow dolly by hand. We went inside and found Addy about to freak out, because she couldn't find Ciara, our cat. We let her out in the bedroom for the night and now couldn't find her. Just as Addy was about to start getting emotional, I found her under the bed, in the box spring. I finished packing the cars and getting all prepped to go as Addy fought Ciara to get her out from under the bed. Finally, we were ready to hit the road. So, with a final round of well-wishing and hugs, we got in the car and headed to California.