On the Move

So long, D.C.!  I'm really going to miss your free museums, relatively mild weather, unpredictable traffic patterns, "near" Obama sightings, and your happy hour and food truck scene that I never quite took advantage of.

We have officially moved from our nation's capital and are now entering the "homeless" phase of our summer adventure - the part where we mooch shamelessly off our family and friends, park in their parking spots, sleep in their spare couches/beds, pet their dogs, play with their babies, use up all their shampoo and conditioner, and compel them to offer us their finest snacks and beverages - all in exchange for our "good company."  (Bah-hahaha.)

We made the move on Tuesday (one day ahead of schedule) and thankfully hired movers to help out since, let's be honest, my ability to lift heavy, awkward furniture is right up there with my ability to perform brain surgery or cut hair evenly.

A quick word about my packing style:  In my own ideal, OCD-embracing world, each box would be designated for one specific type of item.  So all the books would go in the book box (organized by the Dewey decimal system, of course), all the towels would fit in the towel box, all the plates in the plate box, etc.  However, anyone who's ever tried lifting a big box full of books knows it is not so kind on the back.  Since I prefer my back normal and not hurting, I end up throwing some towels into the mix to offset the weight, thereby throwing the system off entirely.  Eventually I just surrender to the chaos and start stuffing things where they fit until left with 30 boxes or so of utter miscellany.  But at least miscellany that is evenly distributed by weight...

Once all of our belongings were neatly tucked into a 16-foot "school bus yellow" Penske truck, our ride from DC to Ohio (where Patrick's parents are graciously allowing us to stash our stuff for the next couple months) was relatively quick and painless.

Patrick drove the moving truck and apparently listened to NPR for the entirety of the trip while I followed along in our loyal Nissan Sentra and got to zone out to timeless late 90's classics like Backstreet Boys "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" and Boyz II Men "Water Runs Dry" to my heart's content while consuming copious amounts of Sunchips (I swear, those things have no off-switch).  We both agreed it was one of the more pleasant road trips we'd been on, probably because we didn't have to share the speaker system.

For the next couple of days we are in Evanston while Patrick attends a conference at Northwestern... something or other to do with China...

And then, for those of you not keeping track, we will remain in and around the Midwest enjoying the likes of Indiana, Ohio, Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado (and everywhere in between).

The good news is, when we're not driving for long stretches of time, the next few weeks should be relatively low-key, which means I might actually get around to posting pictures from China.  And maybe even pictures from our friend Justin's visit last week when we went to Gettysburg and Philadelphia.

More importantly (if the first leg of our journey was any indication), I think we are definitely covered for the next few weeks if we get a sudden urge to dine at an Applebees or a Golden Corral along the way.

oo,