The Big Move: Part 1

What do you get when you take two people, one six hour flight, one 16 foot truck, one trailer hitch (plus car), 10,000 lbs of furniture and goods, 5 days, 11 states and 3,000  miles?

Oh, hey there! Yep, we're back! All in one piece and with more miles under our belt than I ever thought could be accomplished in five days. I have to say at times (I'm looking at you Montana and South Dakota), I didn't think we'd make it. But we did, and as with any road trip there were a few bumps along the way. 

But every bump tells a story, right? Here's a little of what I learned along the way:

First, I may have missed my calling as a professional truck driver. While for first half few hours of the trip this thing scared me senseless, I eventually got used to it (yes there was a car on that trailer): 

After awhile I even felt comfortable enough to participate in some snapshots. But always hands at 10 and 2, naturally.

Hours upon hours of driving will teach you a lot about comfort as well. In a seat that doesn't recline you start to miss the simple pleasures of being low to the ground. Another lesson I picked up: vinyl is hot. Real hot, sweaty hot. And sometimes, you need to improvise (those paper towels were very absorbent, by the way):

As it always turns out, things don't always go as planned. If this trip was a life lesson it would be something like "from now on, plan to be about a half hour late anywhere." Because you can very easily get lost here:

And here:

And if you're me, even here: 

Sounds simple enough, but always have enough gas. You never know when you, and your gas guzzling truck, will end up lost and with a dangerously low tank in South Dakota at 2:00am in a location you're pretty sure they filmed the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

While we tried our best to stretch every dollar, our packed food ran low around day 4. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that eating Burger King and Taco Bell in the same day is not always a good idea. 

Have you ever gone 12 mph up a hill? Well just imagine what its like going down a hill that steep carrying thousands of pounds of goods. Lesson #2390439084: brake fluid is important and sometimes needs to be replaced. Like say, when you're descending Mount Rushmore and your brake light begins flashing and dinging. 

Smile, you just dodged a bullet: 

Despite the bumps, we survived and show no sign of killing one another yet. But the biggest reality check was waiting for me at home: maybe the hard part wasn't really over:

Welcome home! 

To be continued...