Step One: get our stuff out of Kansas: Our moving truck was dropped in Kansas on a Wednesday, and it was of the U-Pack variety. It rained the first day we started moving furniture, so we prioritized rushing furniture out between downpours and packing during the worst of the rain. Apparently the rain shepherded in the standardly crazy hot July weather, and Kevin spent the next two days loading a truck in 113 degree heat index. The problem with the truck was not getting stuff onto it, as any monkey can move stuff into a truck, but utilizing the full truck height (9+ feet) to maximize capacity required ladder work and Tetris skills that only Kevin possesses (although Stephanie showed some Tetris promise while helping me pack). Kevin was actually down right chipper about the whole thing. I didn't think things were going quite as smoothly as I had hoped, so I finally asked him if it was about what he had expected. His response? "Oh, no, it has been worse than I expected at every turn". I thought it was possible that being overly pleasant might be a sign of heat exhaustion, but that seems to not be the case. Over several long and hot days, the truck was loaded and picked up. We remained in Kansas for another two nights to touch up the house a bit, visit with our neighbors one last time and tie up some other loose ends. The last piece of a very complicated puzzle was getting all of the items that we had not put into the moving truck into the car. Many of these things were left out of the moving truck intentionally (artwork we love, Gwen's pack and play, some kitchen items), and would have fit in the car without issue. Unfortunately, there were several items left off of the truck unintentionally (a few things from the garden, a cabinet that we apparently forgot to clear out for the truck) and it made loading the car a bit crazy. Again, Kevin the master of all things Tetris made it work. And off we headed for the East Coast, just much later in the day than initially planned on Friday, thanks to the extra supplies in the car.
Step Two: get across the country: I drove the car with the girls and the crazy amount of stuff that Kevin managed to fit into it (seriously, the sonata held the contents that most people would only be able to fit into a minivan) and Kevin pulled out on the motorcycle (did I forget to mention that Kevin decided to take a motorcycle and I decided I would be okay driving alone with the kids?) We didn't make it too far the first night (not even to St. Louis), but it was a decent start. We pulled out the next morning, and we were moving at a pretty good pace, but had to stop roughly every two hours for gas for the motorcycle. This is far more often than we would stop if we were all together in the car, but I was happy for the frequent breaks since I was the only car driver. Everything was going just swimmingly, and I was toying with the idea of bailing on Kevin and driving until after midnight to reach our new home. But shortly after a gas break, Kevin pulled off at an exit. This seemed bad, but I was hoping he just needed to readjust his pack (oh yeah, he was carrying a pack too). We got to the gas station, I heard him mumble something along the lines of how he should have sold the motorcycle when he had the chance. At that point, I realize this is bad, as we are only 400 miles in, 700 miles remaining. I call Alaina to help us research where we are and what kinds of shops are around, and in the meantime, we wait in line at the gas station to ask where we are and buy Stephanie an ice cream sandwich. Alaina gets the number of a Honda place and a storage place, but then the cashier brings us a phone number for a bike place. We make a few calls, and I overhear the cashier tell multiple customers that she was out late last night to go to the local motocross races, and I realize that maybe we stopped at the right gas station at least. Her lead gave us a guy who drove out, put the motorcycle on a trailer, hauled it to his shop (which turned out to be a large shop and authorized retailer of several brands), and call in a mechanic, as it is now after 2pm on a Saturday. 20 minutes later, the motorcycle is out of the shop and Kevin says it is time to go. It was a super small problem that he could have found himself had time permitted. What I think is possibly the craziest part of the whole experience was that the guy that had gone to all of this trouble for us apologized for having to charge us something for the tow and mechanic, and billed us $75, and we were back on the road in less than three hours from the initial breakdown. I really felt good about the Midwest at that point and was kind of bummed to leave it behind. We made good time after that, stopping in Kentucky about 45 miles short of our chosen destination due to a heavy downpour. We at least stopped right as it started so that Kevin and his pack contents were not drenched, but it was a crazy storm and I was glad it was late in the evening and not mid afternoon, because the broken down motorcycle was the only exciting delay we really needed.
Step three: arrive in North Carolina and get to see our new house! Kevin had seen our new house, and I had certainly seen plenty of pictures of it and of many others on the market, dozens of which Kevin got to see in person on a whirlwind weekend purchasing trip. I did not go partly because I was working, partly because having kids along slows the process, and partly because Kevin already had a scheduled trip to NC during which he could do a weekend of house hunting. Our house in Kansas sold in two days as a fsbo, to a lovely couple that was able to close before the end of July, and the process of moving out of it just made me feel good about having anywhere to go! But the house is great for us! First of all, it is in the trees, and I think I vastly underestimated how desperately I craved a bit of privacy. As I sit typing this on my screened in porch with lights and a ceiling fan, listening to the bugs and seeing absolutely no other home I am extraordinarily happy. We are a bit further out, Kevin is maybe 20 minutes from work, but has been taking the bus, which is only 8 minutes from the house. I have been spending a lot of time in Pittsboro, which is maybe 25 minutes south of us. It is a small little town, but has a great library and cool vibe. I have yet to really explore the Chapel Hill or Durham area, as it is much more city and I am taking my time exploring the country first. I did discover a pick your own blueberries place, which is effectively a giant garden next to someone's house where you can pick blueberries and lots of other produce and pay on an honor system basis. Since we had to leave the garden behind in Kansas, this place feels like a close second since getting an established garden here this season is unlikely.
Our first night here I was so happy to have a new home I liked. Our second night here I started to panic that we had made a huge mistake (this was partly related to the fact that the upstairs air conditioner stopped working that night), but my mom came the next day and Alaina came that weekend and I remembered why I wanted to be here! Oh, and the air conditioner was still under warranty, so bonus there!
So there you have it, all of the details of the trip! Stephanie was quite a trooper from beginning to end, from packing and saying goodbye to good friends, to hauling across the country. The motorcycle part was actually great fun for her, as it was very entertaining to keep an eye on Daddy. Gwen was also a trooper, but she is a little young to really complain much or be upset by much. She did look super annoyed when the Tupperware disappeared from her favorite drawer in kitchen in Kansas, but the joy of unpacking in North Carolina has been immense. Stuff in boxes everywhere, and she can frequently escape enough of our attention to scatter at least some of it before we stop her.
At this point, and largely thanks to Alaina, we are doing good on the unpacking. Hopefully this weekend will be another leap forward and this place will start looking like home. In the meantime, you have read so much, I suppose you deserve a picture, so here it is, our last night in Kansas...
