Moving across the country

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July 3, 2006:
Mayflower Moving Company came to pack up all of our stuff (all appliances, mirrors, photo frames, statues/figurines, furniture, glassware & dishware... anything breakable!) while David & I packed up our clothes, books, DVDs and linens.

July 5, 2006:
Westside Transport came and loaded up David's Jeep and headed off to California... but only after we made the decision to DRIVE to California when we found out flying wasn't really an option for us. After several phone calls to American Airlines and our Travel Agent, it was determined that our pet "may or may not" be able to board the plane as the temperatures in Texas were just too high for our pet's safety AND as our trip was scheduled at the last minute (their fault, not ours!), most of the flights were booked or the seats available were no where near each other. Ugh... totally not worth all the stress and hassel! Note to self: Never try to fly anywhere with a pet as it's just impossible and there is no guarantee that your pet will even get on the plane!

July 6, 2006:
Mayflower Moving Company loaded our stuff onto their truck and headed off to California. Once David & I finished cleaning our apartment and turned in our keyes, we hoped into my Xterra and headed off to California as well.

**David very excited to be leaving HOT Dallas, TX**


Our goal was to make it to Amarillo, TX, which was about a 5 hour drive. We decided to drive such a short distance on our first day because we had spent the last three days running around, getting very little sleep, and we didn't get to leave Dallas, TX until after 5PM and driving at night didn't seem like a good idea.

Well, once we got to Amarillo, TX (about Midnight), we discovered the Jahova's Witness Conference was in town and there wasn't a single vacancy at any hotel (even the grundgy Motel 6)! Unfortunately, we had no choice but to continue driving to the next big town: Tucumcari, New Mexico where, thankfully, we found a really nice, clean Best Western. We unloaded the car and Shelby (our dog) and literally fell asleep in our clothes. :-( We were just exhausted! In total, we drove about 7 hours today.

July 7, 2006:
After sleeping a mere 6 hours, we loaded up the car and headed out towards our next stop: Arizona.

I drove the first shift (as David drove the entire way the day before) getting us all the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

**Who knew New Mexico was so beautiful? Check out the mountains!**


David drove us all the way to Flagstaff, Arizona so I could get in the back seat and elevate my feet... I was swollen in my legs and feet from sitting so long. I also managed to catch about a two-hour nap before we stopped and had ice cream at Dairy Queen.

**Entering Arizona... woo hoo!!!**


We decided to stop and eat at McDonald's in Williams, Arizona ~ home of the Grand Canyon and I drove us to Kingman, Arizona where we decided to stop and sleep so we could get an early start the following day. We found another really nice, clean Best Western around 11:00 PM so we crashed there. In total, we drove about 10 hours today.

July 8, 2006:
After a GREAT night's sleep, we loaded up the car and Shelby and stopped for breakfast before hitting the road at 8:00AM. Today was our last day of driving and we were feeling great! I am a "morning person" so I took the first shift, getting us into California in about an hour.

**Here we are, crossing over the state line... the Colorado River!**


David started to feel really sick so I decided to be a Trooper and keep on driving as we passed through Bakersfield, CA and headed North to The East Bay. Can you believe it... I drove the whole way to our hotel room in Emeryville, CA while David slept. Poor thing. We stopped at the drug store to get him some meds and then, Westside Transport called to tell us they were in The East Bay if we wanted our car a day early... um yeah we did! So, we drove a few blocks from the drugstore to pick up David's Jeep and went back to our hotel.

**The Jeep arrived all in one piece!**


We went to bed early (about 9PM) as we were both just exhausted! In total, we drove nearly 9 hours today making our total trip about 26 hours, which included all bathroom breaks (for me and the dog, ha!), stops for gas and stops to eat. Our total mileage was 1,718 miles!

Our trip really wasn't all that bad, to be honest! I mean, who likes being cramped in the car for 26 hours over three days? Not us but my SUV was fully equipped with bottled water and juice, snacks, a ton of CDs and a pallet in the backseat for taking naps. We made great time and didn't stress ourselves out to get to CA in a hurry and actually had some fun, if you can believe it. :-)

Once we arrived, we totally crashed in our hotel room, sleeping until REALLY late on Sunday! We just hung out on Sunday, watching movies in our hotel room and only leaving to get some food. On Monday, we picked up our keyes and paid first month's rent and began the "renovation"! We wanted to have a clean house for the movers to put our furniture into and we wanted Emily's Room to be cleaned and painted before her furniture arrived so, we spent Monday through Wednesday cleaning and painting, purchasing rugs and curtains and just trying to relax as David had to start work on Monday the 17th.

July 13, 2006 thru July 16, 2006:
Mayflower Moving Company showed up at our house and had our stuff unloaded in less than one hour ~ they had 5 guys!
David and I spent all day and the next several days unpacking, assembling furniture, cleaning up the mess from the movers, stocking our fridge and pantry with food and just trying to get a good night's rest each night. Talk about exhausting! Poor David practically had to do everything himself as I am 8 months pregnant and pretty much useless. My best friend, Shelby, came over to help us unpack over the weekend and boy, were we happy to see her (for numerous reasons) as a helping hand was needed!

July 17, 2006 thru July 21, 2006:
David's first week of work went by so fast!!! He will be training for about 4-6 weeks so his schedule will be a little eratic but he is just so excited (and so am I)! I spent this week trying to organize the house, unpack the remaining boxes, ensure our mail was forwarded correctly and get all of our utilities turned on and connected. Our landlord pays for water, gas, trash, electricity, cable and internet but I still had to set up our home phone, which is a pain out here in California. Ugh... $12.00 a month just to have a dialtone and to be able to make phone calls within 12 square miles... that is my "local" calling area. I can't even call Shelby as she is long distance. Thank goodness for cell phones!

July 24, 2006:
The nursery furniture arrived!!! OMG, I have been waiting several months for this day (we knew we'd be moving and did not want to have to move anything additional so we've been patiently waiting to order anything for Emily's nursery) and was just so excited that I starting cutting away the cardboard everything came in... had to wait for David to get home to actually get it all out of the boxes. The changing table/dresser came fully assembled and the glider/ottoman just had to have the cushions put on it. The crib is massive and will have to wait until later on this week or over the weekend to be put together as we'll first have to clean out her room of all her stuff (stroller, swing, toys, etc.) so we'll have room to set it up. I JUST CAN'T WAIT!!!


So, here we are in California, settle in (almost) and back into a routine (almost). The weather is just gorgeous... unbelievable to be honest as we both grew up in Texas and only experienced 60 degree weather in the "winter". For the most part, it's only about 70-75 during the day, bright and sunny, and low 50's at night. No one in the Bay Area has air conditioning and I can see why ~ you just don't need it. We have two fans which I use during the day because I have frequent hot flashes due to the pregnancy but otherwise the breeze keeps everything cool with our windows open. We just love it here already and are just trying to focus on Emily's arrival. :-)