For those who don't know -- I've moved to Ohio with my boyfriend, who moved from California to South Dakota first. Poor lad -- that's 2,800 miles in a smidge over 2 months!!
The move was as smooth as can be expected when I'm involved. We got a late start by a day due to issues getting paychecks cashed to have the money orders for the new apartment and then finding out that the insurance company I had chosen doesn't phrase the policy the way the leasing company prefers. Nothing like last minute issues! I would have known this earlier had I called to ensure they received my fax the week before. But I did find an insurance provider so all is good there. (The documents have to list the apartment complex as co-insured, not as an additional interested party. Very few companies list it that way as it can also be taken as the leasing company also residing in the house. Weird, but it's all good now.)
We had wonderful traveling weather the first day (Saturday) with a nice tail wind. We were going to attempt to get there by Sunday prior to 5pm as the office would be closed for Memorial Day. 1,100 miles. Should be do-able, yes? Yes.
We got a bit over half-way and as it was around 1am we decided an hour nap would be a good thing. (We had left around 3pm and had been up since 8am.) I couldn't sleep, so I let MyHoney have a nap, woke him up and we were off. Well....not 20 minutes later I was getting tired enough to be in the danger zone and so we pulled over into a small truck stop (almost more of a gas station) and slept for close to 4 hours, if I remember correctly.
We got off to a good start...until the storms caught up to us. At that point, the roads were so wet that MyHoney's car was unable to maintain traction so we pulled into another rest area. It wasn't raining anymore at this point but it was time for a good stretch. And we no sooner got into the building when the heavens let loose. It was difficult seeing the van from the building. This was the same storm system that spawned tornadoes in Chicago. We spent well over an hour at this rest area (Three Rivers, IL if I remember correctly) and at this point realized there was simply no way we could make it by Sunday before the office closed.
MyHoney's car was struggling at 65 mph so we dropped it down to 55 mph and it did much better. The cat was traveling well beside me. I had her in a medium dog crate with water and a small litter pan. We pulled into Olympia Plains to get her some cat food as it was obviously going to take longer than planned. I had contacted a friend here in our new town to ask if the offer of a sofabed was still open so we knew we had a place to sleep our first night.
The next stop, still in Olympia Plains, was McDonalds for a quick bite. He then noticed the passenger rear tire on his car -- with the nice long gouge in it with steel poking through. We also found out that Sam's Club there doesn't stock those tires as they're a performance tire. Thankfully, with the financial help of family and a tire store that had the tires in stock, a mere 2-1/2 hours later we were on the way. Again.
We drove until probably 10pm or so and then we found a nice Pilot truck stop next to a large creek. We parked there with the agreement we would sleep as long as the first person who woke up. That person would then wake the other one up. I let Fuzzy (the cat) out of the crate and she slept in a little hole in the boxes behind my head. This truck stop was really nice and I felt very safe there. When we went in in the morning it was like walking into a nice hotel lobby. I had no problems paying a bit of a premium gas price (the only time I've ever paid over $4 a gallon at this point in my life!) for the comfort and convenience.
We drove until mid-afternoon and Fuzzy had begged to be out of the crate again so she was again behind my head. Looking in the review mirror, I could see she was much more comfortable up there. We stopped for our last lunch break at a lovely rest area and I picked her up to put her back in her crate for the break. Only to find her back half wet. She had apparently tried to get her litter pan but she was so big and it was so small, she ended up missing and getting the blankets in the crate instead. We pulled a towel out of MyHoney's car and I took her into the restroom for a quick bath. At first she was very content to rest in the nice, cool sink. Then the water turned on (automatic faucets). She jumped a bit, then decided it wasn't worth the effort. hehe She stuck it out for a short bath then I wrapped her up in the towel and took her outside to dry off while we ate (she was in a harness and on a leash). My left foot was beginning to swell so we rested there a bit while I put it up. Fuzzy took the time to explore as far as the leash would let her which I felt was a good sign as to how well she would ultimately adapt. Then it was back on the road with her now established in the hideyhole on the towel.
We got to Fairlawn, OH and stopped to pick up a change of clothes for us (as alhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifl of ours were packed in the trailer under the tarp!!) and then new supplies (litterbox, food/water bowls) for Fuzzy. From there, we drove past the new apartment complex and then managed to get to our friend's house. To be asked if we would be upset if they had rented us a motel room for the night so we could stretch out without their 3 downstairs cats pestering us and Fuzzy. So SpouseofFriend took us to the hotel where we each enjoyed a nice, long shower and Fuzzy was free to explore the room. We went back to their home for a wonderful chicken dinner followed by great conversation until midnight!! (Sorry, SpouseofFriend, for keeping you up so late!)
The next morning we left the van at the hotel, took Fuzzy with, and got the keys to the apartment. More of a townhome, almost! It's a 2-level 2-bedroom apartment (floor plan can be seen here). We have the bedroom on the main floor with a nice private balcony and a lovely view:
The bedroom downstairs we plan on using as a workspace for his sewing and eventually my jewelry making. The storage room has the washer/dryer hookups and we'll rent a washer from the apartment complex for awhile. We're also renting a garage nearby for his car & my trailer. Our building is what is called the "forgotten building" as it's tucked back behind 2 other buildings and has more of the adults/small families rather than the college kids. And so far, I have no complaints of any of the neighbors.
I'm working as a Kelly Services temp driving 30 miles a day right now for a long-term assignment while looking for something closer. MyHoney is still looking as well as working on making new contacts to pick up his sewing business again and start a joint venture among 3 of us: Him, myself and a mutual friend. All in good time but we have very hopeful plans for the future.
The more I drive around the more I really like the area. I am hoping for a very enjoyable time here in Ohio.
