The Move - part 5

 

We had picked up an inflatable queen air mattress to sleep on for Thursday night and left out some sheets, pillows, towels, toiletries, and a couple weeks worth of clothing in suitcases.  We knew that we'd be spending several nights at Monda's house once we arrived in Little Rock.  I still haven't found the box holding that air mattress as it was boxed on Friday morning and added to the load, so it's probably buried in a corner someplace. There are still a couple corners I can't quite get to.

Eugene and Tammy came by on Friday to help us finish the last minutes, cause there just seem to always be last minutes.  We swept, ran the vacumn, wiped down counters, lemon fresh-ed toilets, and tried to leave things ready for the eventual new owners. I hope it felt welcoming a month later when the new family arrived.  

It was closer to noon than we had wanted before we had things ready to lock down and pull out of the cove. We said our goodbyes to Tammy and Eugene, tried to keep the tears to a minimum, but it is always hard leaving good friends, forever friends.

Up till this point the cats had been secured in the laundry room, away from the coming and goings of their world as they knew it.  We loaded them in their carriers, put the dog on her leash, double checked the locks, and climbed into the truck cabs.  I would drive the lead truck with two cats and a litter box, pulling the Civic on a car hauler.  Bruce would follow, with the dog, pulling the CR-V, with a 17' canoe on top.  We were a sight pulling out of Windwood, no doubt.  And just like that, we drove away.

We hadn't hardly pulled onto Interstate 20 before one cat managed to dislodge her carrier from the seat, turned gate side down into the floor, right onto the litter box.  At least it was fresh litter.  I phoned Bruce to share the predicament and she just had to stay there until we could pull over in Lincoln at the truck stop to secure her back in the seat.  There were no plans for backing these loads up, so everything was about being able to drive forward.  It took that cat about an hour of meowing before she settled down and rode quiet.  It was the first chapter in our moving story but we were on our way.

Driving the truck was not a problem.  The truck rode steady and traffic wasn't bad.  I like sitting up a little higher on the road and could see very well.  It was a clear blue sky day, Friday of Talladega Race Week, and the best look I have ever had of the speedway from the interstate, as we drove by, and gave it a wave.