The Move South

As promised, here is a recollection of the move.

First of all, I had to pick up my 10ft U-Haul on Thursday evening. I was a little nervous about driving it because I've never driven anything that big before. I really wanted my mom to come with me so that I could secretly have her drive it back to the house to load it up but she couldn't so I took my brother and he would drive my car back and I would drive the U-Haul. Drats. Now, in reality the truck is not that big or long but I was pretty sure that I should probably have a CDL to drive that beast around and the little trailer hooked on the back to pull my car. So what I'm really trying to say is that I felt like I was driving a bus. Great. Basically all I was imaging was the MASSIVE semi-trucks and how tricky it is for them to make turns. You know what I mean--when they are turning towards you and you are certain that they are going to hit you straight on and then all of the sudden they straighten out and you remember to do that important thing called breathing? Yes, I had these irrational fears zipping through my mind. Not to mention I knew I would have to drive on I-95 through Massachusetts---hello aggressive drivers--and THE BRONX--hello rude, impatient drivers--with this beast and I was psyching myself out. And as I was driving home after picking it up, I was panicking about whether or not the parking brake was on because the stupid beast kept making horrible noises. No the parking brake was not on, I was again just being silly, and unbeknownst to me, large trucks just make lots of scary and odd noises. 

So we set out at 4am Saturday morning. I decided to let my mom sleep and I took the first, and what would become the only, shift. Since this was my move, I decided it would probably be best if I actually womaned-up and took control. Plus, driving the U-Haul and trailer was actually quite simple. It helped that on a Saturday traffic was pretty light. 

Mishap in The Bronx: Come on you knew it was coming. Three lanes of traffic in the heart of the Bronx and all of the sudden I find myself in the wrong lane because a small van has broken down. Trying to switch lanes proved rather difficult since NO ONE would let me in. Oh and don't worry that the semi-truck about 7 cars behind me was literally lying on his horn. Geez. Because clearly you know that someone intentionally decided to just stop in the middle of I-95. Don't worry though. Massachusetts drivers had prepared me and aggressively I pulled myself into the other lane. Whew. Driving over the George Washington bridge with a view of Manhattan was gorgeous. Sorry no pictures, I was driving.

We stopped in Jersey to get some gas and had the breakfast of champions (true Therese and Gabe fashion): TCBY frozen yogurt! Yummm! So mostly we drove and talked and laughed. When we hit Virginia my mom decided to hunker down and practice her texting. She's not a texter. The best she can do is "ok." But by the time we had passed through Virginia she was well on her way to becoming a pro-texter. In fact, my brothers didn't believe it was her texting because it was so good. I'm so proud.

We made it to Myrtle Beach in 16 hours and then I got lost trying to find my apartment, but after calling Lisa twice, we got in and collapsed into a delightful slumber. Sunday it was in the upper 60s and we were getting sweaty unpacking--I guess it may also have to do with carrying boxes and furniture up three flights of stairs. Done and done!

Now, as requested, here are some photos of my purchases from yesterday:

Isn't this timer cute???

Fun story about the plate in the above photos. I purchased an incomplete antique dish set about 3 or 4 years ago in an antique store in Exeter, NH, which unfortunately is no longer there. I love the dishes because the design is simple and the color scheme includes black, white, yellow, an orangish-red, and some green which gives me great flexibility in adding to my dish collection and in decorating my current and future kitchens. Brilliant!