Day 15 (Wednesday, July 27) -- The landlord came over and fixed the moldy door, the hole in the ductwork, and the dryer vent. He also took a cabinet full of stuff that they had missed when moving out and a hutch in the dining room.
We had found out when we signed the lease that the rental company isn't like the ones we had rented from with in Eugene; they had been the ones who we paid rent to, and who took care of maintenance, etc. This company only handles advertising and finding a renter, after we sign the lease we work directly with the owner. This had us worried b/c one of the reasons we picked this place was that the company was so friendly, and we weren't happy to find out that we would instead be working with a complete stranger. But now that I've met him, he also seems good, and very prompt about fixing problems.
Also, we decided to go with a PO Box instead of having a mailbox installed. So if you want to mail anything to us, don't send it to our street address.
We had planned on exploring this afternoon, but after stopping at the grocery store in Blairsville, the truck wouldn't start. Jumping it didn't work, nor did bypassing the solenoid, so we had to go get a new battery. Fortunately, there was an auto parts store right across the highway. We carried the new battery about 1/4 mile in the hot sun, and installed it, but it still didn't start. A baptist deacon stopped by and looked at it, then had us try bypassing the solenoid again and it worked. Initial diagnosis: bad battery AND bad solenoid at the same time. What luck... if that had happened a few days ago we might have been stuck in the middle of nowhere in 105-degree Texas, or maybe even Death Valley! As the deacon left he told us he hoped to see us in church at 6:30 tonight, but fortunately we didn't get the replacement solenoid installed and working until 7. Maybe we'll visit church next week.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Day 14 -- Epilogue?
Unpacked some boxes, put together some furniture, entertainment center, etc. Visited Helen, GA with the Holmans. If you're ever in NE GA, Helen is the touristy place to go. It used to be a logging town (like most other towns around here), but when the logging dried up in the 60s it decided to remake itself as a Bavarian-style village. All the streets are now "Strasses" and all the buildings are Bavarian-style timber frame. The three popular activities in Helen are 1) shopping, 2) tubing down the Chattahoochee River in a big neon inner tube, which only costs $3 and looks like LOTS of fun (NOT sarcastic), and 3) drinking beer. Since we didn't bring water clothes and the Holmans generally don't drink, we were stuck with option #1.
HOLD EVERYTHING!!! MAJOR WILDLIFE SIGHTING!!! On the way to Helen the lead Holman vehicle spotted a bear cub next to the road. They slowed down as they drove by it, but didn't point it out or anything so we in the trailing vehicle didn't notice it. I explored the wilderness of Oregon for 5 years before I finally caught just a glimpse of a bear, and they see one on our first full day here. This bodes well.
(Minor wildlife sighting... when we arrived at our new house yesterday there was a spotted fawn in the driveway. It was seen at least 4 times that day.)
We found a few problems with our new place yesterday:
1) The door out to the garage is half-covered in mold on both the inside and outside. By half-covered, I mean, the lower half is literally COVERED in blue-green mold! Gross. The mold is probably caused by the following problems:
2a) There is a hole in the HVAC ductwork in the garage. Not a ripped hole, but a purposefully and skillfully-cut hole, perfectly round, where a branch should join into the main line, but there is no branch. Instead, cold air is pouring into the garage (and surely, out the garage door).
and, 2b) The washer/dryer hookups are right above the garage. The dryer vent hose runs through the floor, into the middle of the garage, and straight down onto the garage floor, meaning that the hot, moist air from the dryer just fills up the garage when the dryer runs.
3) We don't have a mailbox. We found this out when we stopped by the post office yesterday to get money orders to pay our rental fees. The lady said "Are you the ones who moved into the Sunset place? We've been getting mail for you but we don't deliver to there." Unexpected.
We were supposed to get the utilities transferred to our names today, but we didn't make it back from Helen in time. Probably OK, since we don't have a mailing address to send bills to anyway. We didn't let that stop us from signing up for internet service though. They will install it the day after tomorrow (which is Thursday), so I'll finally be able to update the blog (which of course I didn't update until now, Sunday night, or really, 230 Monday Morning).
Tonight, after the in-laws left, we stayed up late and got hungry, and without having any groceries yet that means one thing... Waffle House! It had been about 3 years since I had eaten at Waffle House, and the Texas Cheesesteak with hashbrowns scattered smothered and covered was just as good as I remembered! On the way out, I saw a guy at the bar with a fiddle case. I asked him if he knew anybody who repaired instruments (a peg fell out of place when I shipped my fiddle), and he said he could fix it. He also had A LOT of other stuff to say, and I let him because I couldn't get a word in edgewise, so I stood in the parking lot listening to him for about 45 minutes. I won't relate the whole experience, but suffice it to say I have decided NOT to have him work on my stuff, mainly because he threw up a couple red flags as he talked: 1) his friends call him "Snake", and 2) he is 24 and his girlfriend is still in high school. More importantly, he didn't seem the least bit embarrassed or concerned about telling a complete stranger this (AND MUCH MORE!) information, so I just really don't trust him. But I guess since he's the only person I've met, he's my new Georgia best friend.
HOLD EVERYTHING!!! MAJOR WILDLIFE SIGHTING!!! On the way to Helen the lead Holman vehicle spotted a bear cub next to the road. They slowed down as they drove by it, but didn't point it out or anything so we in the trailing vehicle didn't notice it. I explored the wilderness of Oregon for 5 years before I finally caught just a glimpse of a bear, and they see one on our first full day here. This bodes well.
(Minor wildlife sighting... when we arrived at our new house yesterday there was a spotted fawn in the driveway. It was seen at least 4 times that day.)
We found a few problems with our new place yesterday:
1) The door out to the garage is half-covered in mold on both the inside and outside. By half-covered, I mean, the lower half is literally COVERED in blue-green mold! Gross. The mold is probably caused by the following problems:
2a) There is a hole in the HVAC ductwork in the garage. Not a ripped hole, but a purposefully and skillfully-cut hole, perfectly round, where a branch should join into the main line, but there is no branch. Instead, cold air is pouring into the garage (and surely, out the garage door).
and, 2b) The washer/dryer hookups are right above the garage. The dryer vent hose runs through the floor, into the middle of the garage, and straight down onto the garage floor, meaning that the hot, moist air from the dryer just fills up the garage when the dryer runs.
3) We don't have a mailbox. We found this out when we stopped by the post office yesterday to get money orders to pay our rental fees. The lady said "Are you the ones who moved into the Sunset place? We've been getting mail for you but we don't deliver to there." Unexpected.
We were supposed to get the utilities transferred to our names today, but we didn't make it back from Helen in time. Probably OK, since we don't have a mailing address to send bills to anyway. We didn't let that stop us from signing up for internet service though. They will install it the day after tomorrow (which is Thursday), so I'll finally be able to update the blog (which of course I didn't update until now, Sunday night, or really, 230 Monday Morning).
Tonight, after the in-laws left, we stayed up late and got hungry, and without having any groceries yet that means one thing... Waffle House! It had been about 3 years since I had eaten at Waffle House, and the Texas Cheesesteak with hashbrowns scattered smothered and covered was just as good as I remembered! On the way out, I saw a guy at the bar with a fiddle case. I asked him if he knew anybody who repaired instruments (a peg fell out of place when I shipped my fiddle), and he said he could fix it. He also had A LOT of other stuff to say, and I let him because I couldn't get a word in edgewise, so I stood in the parking lot listening to him for about 45 minutes. I won't relate the whole experience, but suffice it to say I have decided NOT to have him work on my stuff, mainly because he threw up a couple red flags as he talked: 1) his friends call him "Snake", and 2) he is 24 and his girlfriend is still in high school. More importantly, he didn't seem the least bit embarrassed or concerned about telling a complete stranger this (AND MUCH MORE!) information, so I just really don't trust him. But I guess since he's the only person I've met, he's my new Georgia best friend.
Day 13 - Moving In
Left the farm around 5am with 2 sausage biscuits and a thermos of coffee. Daisy did NOT want to get back into the truck, and as soon as she did she laid down and went to sleep. She used to never sleep in the car, even on really long rides, but after this trip it has become her modus operandi. Good for her, I guess, but I can't wait to get there so she can stay on solid ground for a while.
Got to the ABF terminal in Chattanooga around 830 AM. Our trailer was parked where we couldn't access it, but they got it moved right around the time the Holmans showed up, so the timing couldn't have been better. Some of the stuff had been stacked too high so we had a few pieces of broken furniture and quite a few semi-crushed boxes. At least one sounded like broken glass when shaken. We got the stuff transferred to the gooseneck trailer and tarped and tied down with come-alongs in less than 1.5 hours -- way faster than I expected -- then off to Georgia. Lost one come-along right away, but the load held, so we kept going.
The new house is HUGE. As far as we can tell, it was built in two phases: Phase 1: Build a chalet-type house (similar to the ones at Skiposium), with a loft/bedroom that looks over the living room. Phase 2: Double the size of the house by adding a new living room, 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, and another bathroom. What was originally the living room is now a super-huge master bedroom. Counting the loft, it could be three normal-sized bedrooms itself. Oh, and because there is also a basement, the original basement is now a huge garage, and the new basement consists of a spare room (also big enough to be about 2 bedrooms), a hot tub room, a sauna, and a tanning bed room. Sadly, they took the tanning bed with them, otherwise I'd be nice and bronze (and melanoma) by now. Bottom line: this house is WAY bigger than we need, and slightly more expensive, but it's what we could find and arrange from 2600 miles away, and I guess it's better than being too small.
So now we're here, finally. Taking stock of the trip... Major problems: none. Minor problems: 1) loose shifter on the truck -- annoying but not debilitating; 2) probably lost the GPS (biggest bummer), 3) some broken furniture (fortunately we don't have expensive furniture), and 4) some broken glass, which by the way, turned out to be just some cheap candle holders.
I think Rachel and I both feel a sense of accomplishment that we were able to pull off this move/trip on schedule and without any major problems. Now we just have to settle in and, you know, start living.
Got to the ABF terminal in Chattanooga around 830 AM. Our trailer was parked where we couldn't access it, but they got it moved right around the time the Holmans showed up, so the timing couldn't have been better. Some of the stuff had been stacked too high so we had a few pieces of broken furniture and quite a few semi-crushed boxes. At least one sounded like broken glass when shaken. We got the stuff transferred to the gooseneck trailer and tarped and tied down with come-alongs in less than 1.5 hours -- way faster than I expected -- then off to Georgia. Lost one come-along right away, but the load held, so we kept going.
The new house is HUGE. As far as we can tell, it was built in two phases: Phase 1: Build a chalet-type house (similar to the ones at Skiposium), with a loft/bedroom that looks over the living room. Phase 2: Double the size of the house by adding a new living room, 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, and another bathroom. What was originally the living room is now a super-huge master bedroom. Counting the loft, it could be three normal-sized bedrooms itself. Oh, and because there is also a basement, the original basement is now a huge garage, and the new basement consists of a spare room (also big enough to be about 2 bedrooms), a hot tub room, a sauna, and a tanning bed room. Sadly, they took the tanning bed with them, otherwise I'd be nice and bronze (and melanoma) by now. Bottom line: this house is WAY bigger than we need, and slightly more expensive, but it's what we could find and arrange from 2600 miles away, and I guess it's better than being too small.
So now we're here, finally. Taking stock of the trip... Major problems: none. Minor problems: 1) loose shifter on the truck -- annoying but not debilitating; 2) probably lost the GPS (biggest bummer), 3) some broken furniture (fortunately we don't have expensive furniture), and 4) some broken glass, which by the way, turned out to be just some cheap candle holders.
I think Rachel and I both feel a sense of accomplishment that we were able to pull off this move/trip on schedule and without any major problems. Now we just have to settle in and, you know, start living.
Day 12 - At the farm
Yesterday I had wanted to start a project... clearing out a 300+ yard shooting lane to do some real long-distance shooting. The first step is bushhogging, but it got dark before we got the tractor ready so this morning I woke up around 730 and started tractoratin'. Cleared a lane up to about 200 yards, and mowed some of the area beyond. Step 2 was to clear out some tree limbs that were in the way of the really long-distance shots, and Steve and I worked on that together, but it was slow-going because of a) the heat, and b) there was way more stuff in the way than we had thought. Needless to say, we didn't get it done. I went back later but some of the limbs were too high to reach even with the pole saw, so the farthest we could shoot was about 215 yards. Will came down in the afternoon, and the three of us shot. I had brought 2 exploding targets and Will hit one at 200 yards (with the scoped 30-06) and Steve hit the other at 100 yards with the Mauser (open-sights). They were impressed by the big booms. I had already tried to hit them, but I guess I took all my good shots at the beginning because I couldn't hit a damn thing near the end. Always close, but never a boom. Guess I'll have to find more of those exploding targets somewhere.
I had meant to reorganize the truck while I was down here, mostly to see if I could find the GPS (which we haven't seen since somewhere around Vegas or Bryce Canyon). Started working on it around 11pm, and got done around 1am. Didn't find the GPS, but I did find that the Nalgene bottle of milk that I had in the cooler had gotten hot and had spewed sour milk all in the cooler, so I had to clean that up.
Tomorrow I will wake up at around 4am to head to Chattanooga, meet Rachel and the in-laws, load our stuff onto their trailer, drive to Blairsville to pick up the house key, drive to the house, check it out, back to Blairsville to sign the lease, then back to the house to unpack. On 3 hours of sleep, it's gonna be tough.
I had meant to reorganize the truck while I was down here, mostly to see if I could find the GPS (which we haven't seen since somewhere around Vegas or Bryce Canyon). Started working on it around 11pm, and got done around 1am. Didn't find the GPS, but I did find that the Nalgene bottle of milk that I had in the cooler had gotten hot and had spewed sour milk all in the cooler, so I had to clean that up.
Tomorrow I will wake up at around 4am to head to Chattanooga, meet Rachel and the in-laws, load our stuff onto their trailer, drive to Blairsville to pick up the house key, drive to the house, check it out, back to Blairsville to sign the lease, then back to the house to unpack. On 3 hours of sleep, it's gonna be tough.
Day 11 -- Into Tennessee
We decided yesterday to split up... Rachel is going home to Cookeville with her brother, and I'm going to the farm (with Daisy and all the gear). Then I'll meet her and her family at the ABF terminal in Chattanooga on Monday morning, where we'll transfer our stuff onto her dad's gooseneck trailer, then take it the rest of the way to Young Harris.
I left out about 8am, took I-40 to Memphis, then US 64 to the farm. Got there around 3pm... turns out I had missed Aunt Sue and Uncle Larry by about 5 minutes (they had stopped in on their way back from vacationing in Destin).
(By the way, Little Rock and the area about 50 miles on each side wins the award for Most Tailgaters, although OK City wins the Worst Drivers award.)
It's nice to be at the farm. Steve was already here when I got here, and although Mom wasn't going to come down until tomorrow, she couldn't wait so she came down tonight. Steve brought his dog (named States' Rights). She and Daisy get along well, once again mostly by avoiding each other. We took them to the creek, which isn't as low as it normally is in July but is still too dry to really be continuous. Saw a box turtle... Daisy didn't care but States went nuts after it. Also saw a snapping turtle that was probably 15" around. It was at the bottom of a knee-deep pool, motionless among some rocks, so I felt fortunate that I saw it before I stepped on it. Caught a tiny long-ear sunfish with my little 6' fly rod. We ate fried catfish that Steve and Dad caught a couple weeks ago, and stargazed til about 1am.
Bug notes: I just realized that Oregon didn't have wasps... I had totally forgotten about them. Also, tonight there were about 8 huge sphinx moths around the porch light. Impressive, and comforting.
Daisy is defiinitely not used to the muggy weather in the South. She stays inside in the air-conditioning whenever she can. Hopefully she'll get used to it soon.
Tonig
I left out about 8am, took I-40 to Memphis, then US 64 to the farm. Got there around 3pm... turns out I had missed Aunt Sue and Uncle Larry by about 5 minutes (they had stopped in on their way back from vacationing in Destin).
(By the way, Little Rock and the area about 50 miles on each side wins the award for Most Tailgaters, although OK City wins the Worst Drivers award.)
It's nice to be at the farm. Steve was already here when I got here, and although Mom wasn't going to come down until tomorrow, she couldn't wait so she came down tonight. Steve brought his dog (named States' Rights). She and Daisy get along well, once again mostly by avoiding each other. We took them to the creek, which isn't as low as it normally is in July but is still too dry to really be continuous. Saw a box turtle... Daisy didn't care but States went nuts after it. Also saw a snapping turtle that was probably 15" around. It was at the bottom of a knee-deep pool, motionless among some rocks, so I felt fortunate that I saw it before I stepped on it. Caught a tiny long-ear sunfish with my little 6' fly rod. We ate fried catfish that Steve and Dad caught a couple weeks ago, and stargazed til about 1am.
Bug notes: I just realized that Oregon didn't have wasps... I had totally forgotten about them. Also, tonight there were about 8 huge sphinx moths around the porch light. Impressive, and comforting.
Daisy is defiinitely not used to the muggy weather in the South. She stays inside in the air-conditioning whenever she can. Hopefully she'll get used to it soon.
Tonig
Day 10 - Little Rock
We spent today in Little Rock with Rachel's brother Titus, his wife Nancy, and his daughter Katie. Also, they have a Schnauzer named Sean. Daisy and Sean got along for a while, mostly by avoiding each other, but every once in a while Sean would get between Daisy and someone she wanted to be near and she'd attack him. One time they really got into it and Sean got sent to his crate even though the fight was totally Daisy's fault. I felt bad for him, but because I am a guest here I let it go.
Titus is in the Air Force, as a C-130 mechanic. He took us to the base, and was able to get us onto the tarmac where all the planes were parked. About 80 big cargo planes parked out there... impressive. We walked up to the first one and he opened the door and let us get inside it. It was about 105 on the tarmac, but that plane had been parked and closed up all day, so it was about 120 in the cockpit... toasty, but so impressive that I didn't mind being in there for a few minutes. I should've taken the chance to sit in the pilot's seat, but i didn't. After checking the plane out, we walked back out onto the 105 degree tarmac and man, it felt nice and cool compared to that dang plane! I bought a mocha frappuccino and an Air Force knife sharpener at the BX, then we went home. We watched Bolt and got in some much-needed relaxation.
Note: called ABF to inquire about where our stuff is. Turns out it has already arrived in Chattanooga, and is ready to be picked up. Right on time, I suppose, but I'm not sure how long it's been there. They were supposed to call me when it was a couple days out, but they didn't. Oh well, no big deal.
Titus is in the Air Force, as a C-130 mechanic. He took us to the base, and was able to get us onto the tarmac where all the planes were parked. About 80 big cargo planes parked out there... impressive. We walked up to the first one and he opened the door and let us get inside it. It was about 105 on the tarmac, but that plane had been parked and closed up all day, so it was about 120 in the cockpit... toasty, but so impressive that I didn't mind being in there for a few minutes. I should've taken the chance to sit in the pilot's seat, but i didn't. After checking the plane out, we walked back out onto the 105 degree tarmac and man, it felt nice and cool compared to that dang plane! I bought a mocha frappuccino and an Air Force knife sharpener at the BX, then we went home. We watched Bolt and got in some much-needed relaxation.
Note: called ABF to inquire about where our stuff is. Turns out it has already arrived in Chattanooga, and is ready to be picked up. Right on time, I suppose, but I'm not sure how long it's been there. They were supposed to call me when it was a couple days out, but they didn't. Oh well, no big deal.
Day 9 - Interstate 40
Today we drove over 750 miles on one road. Glorious I-40, which runs (almost) from Sea (almost) to Shining Sea. Blasted through NM, across the Texas Panhandle, got gas just before we got into Oklahoma, and would've crossed OK entirely without stopping except that about 5 miles in I saw a sign for the Roger Miller Museum in Erick, OK, and I had to stop. We got there around noon, and it was about 105 degF. The town looked dead (see picture). The door to the museum was locked, with a post-it attached that said the lady would be back ASAP. We waited in the heat for about 10 minutes, then she arrived and I went in. Admission was $3, but she only charged me $2, maybe because I said yes when she asked if I was a fan. "How much time do you have?" she asked, and when I told her that my wife and dog were waiting outside she said she wouldn't make me watch the standard hour-long video before showing me around (whew!). Since I was the only person there I got a personal guided tour of the place. You guessed it... very impressive. I really wanted to get a commemorative can koozie, but I didn't have any cash so I'll have to try to order one online or something. Meanwhile, Rachel and Daisy got to sit around the streets of Erick, OK for about a half hour. Needless to say, both were ready to hit the road when I got back to the truck.
A state-and-a-half later, we made it to Titus' apartment in Little Rock. For the first time, I'm starting to feel like I'm back in the South (because it's hot and humid and there's lots of bugs).
Downtown Erick, OK.
A state-and-a-half later, we made it to Titus' apartment in Little Rock. For the first time, I'm starting to feel like I'm back in the South (because it's hot and humid and there's lots of bugs).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)