Eastbound and down!

So the exodus has begun. Please please PLEASE go read Jennifer's post on this first (especially if you like to laugh).

First off, let me start with a tale of what Monterey was like the last 2 years...

1- It was 60*F

2- Alistair was born

3- I graduated

I think that sums up all the important stuff rather nicely

You want more than that? Well I guess I'll briefly expand on graduation (seems a little late to talk about Alistair at almost 2 years old...)

So I was at the Naval Post Graduate School getting a Masters in Applied Physics.

I know that make me sound really smart. Really it was more like this.

At the end of the day I had to do some actual science and wrote a 100 page thesis (with 60 pictures. I ain't that dumb). I wish I could tell you more about it but...

So with that all out of the way, it was time to move! And for some reason we decided to do it ourselves.

Like the saying goes "Never get involved in a land war in Asia"... oh and "Hindsight is 20/20"

Everyone says "You'll only do it once," but I think it is for different reasons than we found. 

First let me preface with I should have prepacked some things a little more. I openly admit that. Not that I didn't do any prepacking, I did, but who wants to do that when you have been writing a thesis all day and get home and everyone is already eating dinner? Responsible people that's who.

Its just hard to know what you are going to need and when, what to put in a box together, and where to put all the boxes and still live in the house etc. etc.

In retrospect, this is the obvious solution to "What do I do with the boxes?"

I feel like there would have been a lot of half packed things, like you could put away X&Y, but still need Z which really should be in the same box, so why put any of it away?

Because life would be easier that way, that's why Evan. Duh.

The next problem is we had limited time with our pods and needed to fill them TIGHT. I would say it is like a game of Tetris, but I distinctly remember that when I completed a row, it disappeared and I got more space.

This did not work like that. AT ALL. IT GOT HARDER. But I made it all fit. All those years of high school band operations paid off (more so than a masters in physics so far... that approach left me assuming the PODS were perfect spheres, all my stuff was mass less, and transporting everything was in a frictionless environment where everything operates as if it were a simple harmonic oscillator aka spring #icanusebigwordsifiwantto).

The next part of the issue is that when doing it your self, it all takes longer but all has to happen simultaneously IF you don't have everything prepacked... But if you were trying to live there still, prepacking EVERYTHING isn't an option. So you need to pack, load, live, pack, load, live on and on. This is so everything fits right and fills the pod, but you also don't find yourself without toilet paper or socks, or even worse things you need to move out like a drill, step stool, vacuum etc. etc. Then there is the stuff you just didn't get to in time on top of that... and it happens to all be sitting on the piece of furniture you need next or in the room you are trying to empty. Because the universe hates people moving.

This is where movers are beneficial. They may throw all your stuff in a box like it is a mid-court shot, but they at least do it all at once and they load it all the next day. None of this stretching it out junk. They are a brute squad.

When you do it yourself, you are the brute squad.

Oh, we also decided to clean ourselves. Because life isn't hard enough when you are moving. This kinda paid off though because our final "inspection" was more of a final "meh, good enough"... so that is $750 we didn't waste to have our housing community clean it.

In the end though, it all fit and we got loaded up and departed. In two separate cars. Because we are masochists apparently. Jennifer and the boys in her car. The dog and I in mine. Now I know that sounds unfair but

1- I do not have satellite radio. Case in point: driving through Sacremento Valley every radio station was in Spanish. Except the one talking about GeeSUHus.

2- I have a soft top jeep. Going over 60 mph...

3- My AC can't champ like hers. And it was literally 57 million degrees when I got to Fresno. And we are heading to places like Death Valley, White Sands, Grand Canyon, Houston etc. etc. Once more I feel like we must like pain.

Basically I imagine this is what the future of our trip will look like

Our convoy. Boys, once again, on the poles...

Ah, the wonders of the South West... so exciting!

But before that our first stop is Endor. Or Sequoia National Park. Same difference really.

But before that we have to deal with Gabe throwing up on our bed (mind you my first real bed in a few days. Days of back breaking labor) in our hotel room at 10 PM

Rawhide: Packing, Loading, Cleaning, Moving

Horror stories. Stress. Carelessness.

Not only do those words describe this past week, but it also describes every move we have ever had. If you have ever watched movers come into your house and put their hands on ever thing you own, then you might have been like us and taken the harder route by doing it all yourself.

Packing began in May with items we did not use frequently or were not going to use before we moved. Then I realized we still had 6 weeks to live in our house and we needed quite a lot to get by. So packing took a break. I started cleaning the more difficult areas of our house so that when we moved out we had to do a quick wipe down and call it a day. (Tips: Vinegar and a scrub brush gets up dirt between tile. Dish detergent and steel wool is excellent on the oven interior. Basically, steel wool on everything.)

The week after Evan's graduation was crunch time. Our containers were being delivered and picked up with or without our stuff in them. We had to be out of our house by Friday, June 23rd. Packing was in full swing as we transitioned to temporary living. Gabriel was so eager to help move that he packed up random objects even if they were not his or were still in use daily. Alistair was great at moving things from one place to another.

We had two "pods" delivered on Monday and had 2 full days to load up all of our stuff. When they rolled around to behind our garage, I had doubts if our stuff could actually fit into those 2 containers. Evan continually reassured me that our stuff would fit. I doubted it. I even doubted if he believed himself. It felt like whenever I walked into a room there was more chaos than when I left. It may or may not be the best method of moving, but in my mind the best way to get stuff from here to there was pack it up and take it to the containers.

Now, I realize that in order to make sure it all fits, all voids must be filled. And to do that logic must be applied to filling the space. But that didn't mean that I was not frusterated seeing boxes and furniture lying around while more boxes were being packed.

That's when I realized this (buying a house, packing our stuff, loading the containers, cleaning the residence) will not work ever again. Outsourcing to professionals is the way to go. Or, rather, I want nothing to do with the entire process but I do want to reap the benefits of an empty and clean house. I get why professional movers have the attitude of "not my shit; don't care" because the sooner they get done, the sooner they can get home. Evan remarked a few times that he has more stuff than he realized. I am hoping this packing and unpacking will encourage him to downsize his belongings. Just another difference in our personalities that is hard for me to process.

With some finagling, managed by Evan, our household goods did fit into those 2 containers!

Late nights and mornings getting up with the kids has left us exhausted, sore, bruised, and with dried out & rough hands and a larger muscle mass. No regrets. Our stuff made it on the containers, our house was cleaned to expectations, our cars were packed and loaded up. But, logistically this will not happen again.

The good news is that we made it to Fresno! Evan bought some fancy walkie- talkies for us to use, but he had a couple more errands to run in Monterey causing him to be delayed at least 2 hours so we have not tested them out on the road.

Volcanoes, Volcanoes, Volcanoes: Final Chapter of our Journey TO Monterey!

This is Update #11 on our 2015 GRAND CROSS COUNTRY ADVENTURE.
For previous installments CLICK HERE!!!

So yesterday I left off with us in Oregon having come though the vast nothingness of Idaho. But remember in Idaho we had stop one of our Volcano Grand Tour! Craters of the Moon national park, aka Pumice Stones R Us.

Tommy Lee has nothing on us.

Well entering Northern CA we continued on with this part of the journey, first up Crater Lake, or as Gabe called it "A swimming pool with a volcano island"

With this stop, Garbiel got to play in snow for the first time EVER!!! Mind you this was June too.

He wanted to keep playing in the snow, but his hands "burned" and he didn't know what to do.

Someone skied down this while we were there. As I learned from an Australian I only remember as "Bruce" at Ski Dubai once: "Shred where ever you are at brah"

It is important he show you his car.

Because thats the ideal pet to take to National Parks. Goats. Not like they destroy vegetation or anything.

I swear he said "The night is dark and full of terrors, old man, but the fire burns them all away."

After a volcano pool came a volcano bed, or rather Lava Beds National Monument/Park (I forget which and am too lazy to google it. Sue me), which was really just another branch of Pumice Stones R Us. 

So its a monument. But I am still to lazy to go change that above. Be satisfied with the knowledge that riddle is solved.

Gabe exploring "Caves"

Found a "Cave"

Found another "Cave"

We went from there to Lassen Volcano National Park, which was really another big snowy rock WHICH WAS HIDDEN IN THE CLOUDS! LIKE EVER SINGLE OTHER MOUNTAIN ON OUR TRIP!

Yes dear, that is a big rock.

This is a debris field from the last eruption.

This forest was killed by the Volcano IIRC. Either way, good location for Blair Witch 3: The Volcano Witch

Come to CA they said, the Summers are great they said. Golden State they call it.

From there we just drove onto Monterey, where we proceeded to live for the next two years. Yay. 

With that the EPIC TALE IS DONE. PREPARE YOURSELVES AS WE SET FORTH ON ANOTHER GRAND ADVENTURE!!!!