The Eagles Have Landed

After 1981 miles, 13 states, and four days.

A few bumps along the way, to be sure, but we are here.

The one-day load turned into a 2 ½ day load. It’s not just because we have a lot of stuff (we know we have a lot of stuff) but because our driver Eddy is a careful and methodical packer (thanks, Eddy!) and because of the long walk up the driveway at 29 Morgan Road (there was no way a moving van could make it into and out of that driveway; the truck had to be loaded from the street.) The extended load meant that we did not get away until 11:00 am on Friday morning—and then we had 500 plus miles to go—through New York, Baltimore, and Washington.

The drive would have been bearable except for the whiteout snowstorm in Maryland. Hello, winter! And AAA said they were routing us along the southern route to avoid bad weather. We heard later from Eddy that he hit the same snowstorm in Pennsylvania. I have driven the Pennsylvania turnpike; I know the Pennsylvania turnpike; I am very glad we were not maneuvering the Pennsylvania turnpike at night in the snow, with our cars laden with animals, plants, and all the things that did not fit onto the van.

We stayed at a motel south of Richmond the first night. It was so warm and comfortable that it felt like a palace. All four of us were so glad to be in a cozy room and off that highway. We would gladly have slept until noon—except that we had another 500 miles to drive to arrive in New Braunfels in time for our closing first thing Tuesday morning.

So we wended our way south, bundled against the chill early Saturday morning. And why was it so chilly for us, you say? Well it seems that an energetic packer grabbed up all of our winter coats while the loading was going on in Canton. N had a windbreaker; I had a down vest—no more. That second night was in a roadside motel outside of Atlanta. It was as bleak as the previous night’s lodging had been comforting. We had a deranged single man next door who talked loudly on the telephone, listened to hip hop music on TV, and talked to himself. N was astounded to learn that I had ventured outside to ask his cooperation to keep the noise down (to no avail). We couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

The third night was just outside of Baton Rouge in a little town called Hammond, Louisiana in an inn on the national register of historic places, the Michabelle. We had a little cottage outside of the 1913 Greek revival mansion that serves as the inn in a suite called Scheherezade. I am certain that this serves as a honeymoon suite for newly-married couples (Michabelle is a popular place for weddings). We made good use of the huge jaccuzzi tub—just the thing to wash away the aches of 1500 miles on the road. I would describe the décor of our suite as New Orleans bordello. Get the picture? The next morning we had a luxurious breakfast in a picturesque dining room with omelets to die for. Some day I hope t be able to create an omelet as soft and delicious as the ones served to us that morning.

Day four gave us hope—after all, only one more day of relentless highway driving. We made contact on the road with Eddy, who, though he had left after us, was already in Dallas (he took another route). Eddy was at least five hours ahead of us! We made it to New Braunfels by dinner, greatly relieved and greatly grateful. And then we heard again from Eddy that he had had mechanical troubles and was not expecting to greet us at the house the next morning just after our closing as he had planned. Eddy’s intention was to make it home (Kingman, Arizona) in time for Thanksgiving. I will leave it to you to plot the route Eddy was planning to cover in a day of driving on Wednesday.

In most respects, we were relieved. We realized we would have a chance to get familiar with our new home and decide where furniture should be placed before the onslaught of our worldly possessions. That gave N time to meet up with A and purchase a new sofa at a place S and K had recommended. And it gave me a chance to return to the New Braunfels library (free wi fi access!) to catch up on my classes. Then we heard from Eddy that the mechanical damage to the truck was more extensive than he had imagined. The truck would not be ready until 1:00 pm on Wednesday, and he knew he would find no one willing to unload on Thanksgiving Day. And that puts off our delivery date to Friday.

In the meantime, S and K and A had us to dinner and sent us home with an inflatable bed so we could camp out in our new home. And that brings us up to date. Oh, except that the new sofa was delivered today (Wednesday) which means that we now have someplace to sit besides on the floor.

The house is even better than we had remembered it. And this morning N ventured out on a walk-run in the neighborhood and found the area to be even nicer than we had realized.
Tomorrow (Thabksgiving) we will feast with A and the group of friends with whom he always spends Thanksgiving. Lord willing, we will receive our worldly goods on Friday and get wired into cable and the internet on Saturday. Then it will begin to feel like home.
Do I even need to say that our hearts are full of thanksgiving?