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.

Pear Blossom Run 09

Easter weekend, Addy and I went down to Grant's Pass (GP) to see her family and to participate in the 33rd annual Pear Blossom Run.  This is something we had planned on doing since we started doing registered runs.  Addy's dad, Mark, was on the cross country team in high school and ran the race in one of its first 10 years, when it used to be 13 miles (half marathon) instead of the 10 miles it is now.  He runs now and is on our Hood to Coast team, so he thought it would be fun for us all to run the Pear Blossom together.  That was months ago, by the time of the actual race, there were many more family and friends involved, which made it even more fun.  

We drove down to GP on Friday night after work.  We were going to get in late, so we stopped for dinner in Eugene at the Eugene City Brewery.  We hadn't been there before and when we arrived, we discovered that it is actually owned by Rogue Brewing.  Which was great, because one of Addy's favorite Rogue beers is actually one that is brewed there.  It is the Honey Orange Wheat by Track City Ales.  It is a great wheat beer: fresh, a little citrusy with a great balance that you could drink all day.  I had their seasonal IPA which was great as well.  We finally got into GP and hung out with her mom and dad for a while before we all hit the sack to be rested for the run in the morning.

We got up early, since we had to meet people and the race was actually 45 minutes south in Medford.  We met up with the rest of our group at the race.  The people running the 10 mile run were: Me, Addy, Mark (her dad), Jessica (her sister), and Andrew (her cousin from LA).  Several others had decided participate and do the 2 mile walk: Kim (her mom), Kacie (her aunt and Andrew's mom), Jeremy (Jessica's boyfriend), Brittany (her cousin from Bend), Diana (her aunt and Brittany's mom), Deanne and Aaron (Jessica's friends since high school).  I was meeting several of them for the first time and it was everyone's first time meeting Jeremy.  Everyone was in good spirits and excited to be out doing something good for themselves together.  The weather was perfect for a run.  It was in the low 60's and partly cloudy, with low humidity.  The course was supposed to be flat and fast, and the participants are mostly from Southern Oregon, which I now believe should be called Runner's Home.  There is a history of great runners from here, the most famous being Steve Prefontaine.  The University of Oregon is in Eugene and has a serious track and field team, several of who come to run this race.  

Back to our race, we got lined up, the muskets fired, and we were off.  I felt great for the first 4 miles, pushed myself through the next couple of miles, then found a pace setter that I stayed with for several miles, eventually passed them, and at the end was pushed to my limits by a friendly competitor.  It was my best race to date.  I found my pace setter and thanked her and congratulated her, then walked back to cheer Addy on to finish.  She had a great race too, as did her sister and cousin.  Her dad unfortunately strained his calf, but finished strong, with his daughters running with him through the finish line.  

Results: 

Brett         1:10:35     7:03 min/mile pace    123/1270 overall place

Addy        1:26:52     8:41 min/mile pace     604/1270 overall place

Andrew    1:29:46     8:59 min/mile pace     717/1270 overall place

Jessica    1:42:50    10:17 min/mile pace   1039/1270 overall place

Mark         1:50:02    11:00 min/mile pace   1136/1270 overall place

The winner was a 29 year old guy, who finished in 49:21 (4:56 pace)!  He is a crazy distance runner who 2 weeks ago ran and won an ultra marathon (50 marathon).  After the run, we all went to eat at the local pizza joint that Addy grew up on, Abby's Legendary Pizza.  There were 15 of us there and we all got our fill of pizza and beer and had a good time talking and relaxing.  From there, a small group of us adults went to a local place with good beer and hung out there talking some more.  Then we decided we wanted to head back to addy's parents' place and grill out.  We had carne asada, kim's awesome "chopped-upped", and margaritas.  It was a fun afternoon in the sun with family and some crass humor.  A great way to kick off the spring.

The next day, we did what we always do in the morning at addy's parents' house.  Get up late, drink a pot of coffee, hang out in our pajamas, and talk about whatever comes to mind.  Its so great and relaxing to just be there enjoying each other's company with no agenda and no pressure to do anything else.  Eventually we did get going, since we had plans to go to addy's great grandma's back in Medford.  It was a full house with us, addy's aunt and her family, and jessica and jeremy.  We had a great meal with her grandma's famous spiral cut ham as the main dish.  After we ate, her grandma wanted to play give-away games.  She finds treasures at the local thrift store and wanted to give away some as gifts.  She would have a guess a number closest to the one she was thinking of, or guess how many macaroni's are in a jar, or pick a card our of the deck and the high card won.  The gifts were anything from fake flowers to books to nice quilts.  Everyone won something and then some wheeling and dealing ensued.  The were many alliances that were formed and just as quickly broken.  It was a lot of fun and had some hilarious moments.  Unfortunately we had to leave earlier than we would have liked since I had to work in the morning.  It was a great weekend and it was really fun getting to meet some more of Addy's family and I always enjoy hanging out with her folks.  I can't wait till the next time we all get together.