So far the journey has been completely successful and absolutely insane.
Pops came out to help us pack which was an adventure in itself. Watching two Hassemer men duke out what to put where in the U-Haul inspired me to stay inside for the most part. Bridget came in the afternoon and ended up staying and helping all day. Somehow we managed to fit years of our lives into many, many boxes and tetris-ed everything to fit into a big truck, a big van and my car. Even the cats were cooperative, if not quite agreeable.
We figured it would take a long 15 hours to get to the Hassemer Parents' place with a U-Haul that really can't go faster than 65. The trip took us 19 hours including the 3 we wasted on the trailer tire that blew. We left L.A. at 7am and got here at 3am NM time which is an hour ahead. At about 1am I was following the U-Haul going about 40 mph uphill through road construction, the truck bouncing the cat carriers around in the back seat and I think it took about 3 years off my life. Luckily Diana had gotten some sleep on the way so she took the wheel once we made it to the next gas station and saved us all.
We did all manage to make it in one piece. Willy came right out of his cage and started exploring the house. Zena still wants to only stay in the back bedroom but she's not much more skittish than usual. We spent all day yesterday unloading the van, the U-Haul and my truck. We hardly need to unpack anything so most of our stuff is being stored in an extra room downstairs in the parent's house which we refer to as "The Big House". We were going to get a storage unit and I wouldn't have minded the $85 a month but this is much more convenient...if I need something I can just go next door and downstairs. Now I just have to figure out what goes where in the comfy accommodations of the Guest House. There's no hurry and I'm thankful for that. I'm not sure how long it's going to take me to decompress after the last couple of weeks but it's going to take more than a couple of days. Though I gotta say - this environment is very conducive to decompressing.
We did all manage to make it in one piece. Willy came right out of his cage and started exploring the house. Zena still wants to only stay in the back bedroom but she's not much more skittish than usual. We spent all day yesterday unloading the van, the U-Haul and my truck. We hardly need to unpack anything so most of our stuff is being stored in an extra room downstairs in the parent's house which we refer to as "The Big House". We were going to get a storage unit and I wouldn't have minded the $85 a month but this is much more convenient...if I need something I can just go next door and downstairs. Now I just have to figure out what goes where in the comfy accommodations of the Guest House. There's no hurry and I'm thankful for that. I'm not sure how long it's going to take me to decompress after the last couple of weeks but it's going to take more than a couple of days. Though I gotta say - this environment is very conducive to decompressing.
I'm not sure I'll ever stop being astounded at the quiet beauty and remoteness of Middle-of-Nowhere, Northern NM. There are enough stars to make you feel like a tiny little ridiculous pee-on. I am constantly stopping outside to listen to the wind blow through the landscape, a hawk cry overhead, coyotes in the distance, Mom H's duck grotto, or lovely nothingness. It's a far cry from our Burbank place for sure - really it's a far cry from ANYWHERE I've lived. There are several places on this property where I can stand and not even see another house. Even the ones I can see are pretty far off. It's spectacular.
Another angle is that I am officially living in a place where a local chicken coop burning down makes front page news and the closest grocery store is a Super Wal-Mart. Saturday, Diana and I are going to meet up with Mom H and do some shopping at the closest Trader Joe's which is in Santa Fe - a 45 minute drive from here. I figure while I'm there I will hit up the Farmer's Market which is supposed to be pretty cool and maybe go to the mall. If I don't buy some makeup there I might be stuck with the Walgreens in Espanola.
I have no idea what's in-store for the next couple of months but I'm pretty sure it's going to make some damn funny stories. More to come!
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| The U-Haul, not even half packed. Clearly we got a lot of boxes from the Tin Horn. |
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| The U-Haul fail. A tire on the right side of the trailer blew. Thankfully we were only about 10 miles outside of Winslow, AZ and it was the middle of the day or this 3 hour excursion could've cost us a full day. I wanted to take a picture of me a-standin on a corner in Winslow, Arizona cuz it's such a fine sight to see...but by the time we got there I forgot. |
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| The notorious Devil Dog Rd. exit. The only ground snow we saw was around Flagstaff, AZ and the weather was great the whole drive. Another thing to be thankful for. |
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| A tiny corner of my new "backyard", making it all worth it. |
