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Moving Day

We have been busy moving to Albuquerque. The house sold in late April and closing was June 15. I have been running around crazily trying to get things done that I needed to and I just didn't have the energy to pack. So there my belongings sat until June 12 waiting to go in boxes. I did manage to take care of the utilities and also do a photo shoot. I don't have the pictures yet, but I would imagine the photographer will want to be paid for them first. :) 

Even so, here is one of Hannah while we were getting set up. I have never had professional outdoor photos taken before so I am anxious to see if they are better. I like family pictures, but it has just always been so much easier to go to a studio and be done in 20 minutes. This shoot lasted almost 90. Luckily Hannah was looking cute. 



We got the U-Haul on June 14 and then proceeded to pack it to the brim. Last year, I bought a beautiful red Ram Truck so we were good to go on space. You can see the truck in the background on the right. The H3 we also own has things in it is and was left at a friend's house.


Hannah and I took the Ram Truck with our bikes mounted on the back and we paid our moving dues by driving 8 hours the first day and 5 hours the second to Albuquerque. We stayed the night in Guymon, Oklahoma in between driving stints. It took us longer to finish packing in the morning to set off and so the first day required evening driving. As our luck would have it, there was a tornado in Oklahoma. The moving van was blown quite a bit, but did not tip over and the Ram Truck held her own. The van was behind the truck and got the worst end of the storm. The twister formed and touched several hundred feet from the road, approached it, and then just faded suddenly. It was really such a relief.

The second day we had lunch in the Texas panhandle and happened to stop at a place with a talkative woman who wanted to know everything about us, but who also told us how to find the spur to get around the extensive road work. We thought that was fair and were very grateful. Hannah wanted to order her own ice cream cone but the cashiers were not expecting to attend to her, so she started jumping up and down, waving her treat ticket saying, "hey, please can I have an ice cream?" The ladies working giggled with glee and gave her sprinkles as a bonus. 

At about 4:30 p.m. Mountain Time, we rolled into Albuquerque after a lovely descent from the mountains. When I saw the Welcome sign, I was so relieved. The last time I drove more than 90 minutes at a stretch in 2006 when I was living in Utah and helped bring a car back to Provo from St. George. Before that, it was driving to Utah from Oregon to go to school during my undergraduate days and I only think I did it twice. Otherwise, I take a plane or get someone else to drive me. I think I am going to go back to that system, but I am glad that I made it. 

When we arrived at the storage unit, more people were there to help us unload. It took about 3 hours with a steady stream of help and the simplicity of moving boxes out of a van onto a hand truck and then a little bit of Tetris to get them into a unit. We turned in the van with just enough gas to qualify us to not have to fill up the tank and we were a day early. 

And now, to find a place to live.  

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