Yes, the time had come to finish packing up and to leave our first New House. It was a good house (and still is), and we learned a lot while living in it, maintaining it, repairing it, and generally improving its overall condition.
Departure 1
I returned from my epic journey, chronicled in
this Episode, on a Friday evening, and we resumed preparations for our trip. Saturday afternoon we attended a going-away event put on by Becky's friends, and on Sunday, July 14, 2019, we picked up the Uhaul.
From the start I didn't like that Uhaul. The cab was loud and echoey, and the stereo was just an AM/FM radio - no USB inputs, no bluetooth, we thought it had no audio input at all, and it smelled faintly of cigarette smoke. We got a bunch of air fresheners, and I actually put the ashtray in the back of the truck, which helped. The engine was noisy, there was not much seat adjustment, the high beams were useless, and the mirrors could not be adjusted from the inside. On the plus side, the AC was quite good, and I did become quite adept at backing the truck into parking spaces. On the second day of driving I finally noticed the big, blue sticker on the dashboard with instructions for plugging in to the 1/8" audio input for the stereo. As it turned out, sound quality from the stereo was pretty bad, so that didn't help a lot.
Departure 2
Boxes! We got boxes! Stacks and stacks of boxes!
After picking up the Uhaul, deciding I didn't like it, and picking up the air fresheners, we actually started packing it.
Most of these boxes did not go into the Uhaul.
We had already kind of decided on what would be in the Uhaul, and what would be carried by a professional moving company.
We would like to thank Becky's sister, Amy, for coming over and helping us pack both the Uhaul and Becky's truck. Thank you, Amy.
This is the Uhaul after the initial pack. The front section houses the precious plants that we did not want the movers to move, along with strategically-placed bracing boxes. The rope, bungy, and plywood partition was set up to keep items from moving forward and damaging the plants. Said partition worked amazingly well. Nothing broke through to the plant area.
After the initial pack I moved the Uhaul to make room for the professionals.
Departure 3
The professional movers arrived bright and early (ahead of schedule, actually) on Monday, July 15, 2019.
The crew, consisting of the long-haul driver and two local loaders, was professional and efficient. They did the heavy lifting, and we watched and directed, and I tried to find things to do, so as not to appear idle in front of the movers.
One thing I did was to take pictures of the cactus garden. Look at these huge blooms on the Apple Cactus (Cereus Peruvianus).
Here we see an overview of the cactus garden in its final Bishopian form.
This Devil's Tongue Cactus (ferocactus latispinus) is low to the ground, and hard to see in the overview, so it gets a close-up.
This is the orange room after the movers had finished up and left. Notice that we kept only the bare minimum unpacked.
Monday night we went to our usual Monday night band rehearsal. Afterward we came home, I did final prep in the cab of the Uhaul, and we slept on the floor (of the house, not the Uhaul).
Departure 4
Tuesday, July 16, 2019, dawned bright and early, as is usual for the dawn, and Becky got up before me and put Miles in his pet carrier. I think I had a hasty breakfast of a Hot Pocket, then we finished up our preparations for departing. Let us take one last look around our New House before we depart.
Look at that back yard, and that blue sky. It promised to be a day of adventure.
The master bedroom, with its awesome paint scheme.
And its dais for the bed. Can you spot Miles in his cat carrier?
The fireplace room, also known as the red room. Which cats do you see there?
Becky's office, with its happy monkey.
And its great view of the back yard.
My office, with its whimsical paint scheme.
Ocean waves beneath green, grassy hills, beneath a blue sky.
Let's all take a moment to just appreciate the whimsy.
The orange room. Look at all that empty space.
And look at those cute cats. The bricks on the floor stayed on the floor. The cat accoutrements came with us.
The kitchen and the trip supplies we anticipated possibly needing on the road.
The large island stayed with the kitchen. That kitchen really needs an island.
The garage, where nary a car set foot while we lived there. The last couple of boxes can be seen, and some cat items. The workbench stayed put. I have plans (in my head) to build a new workbench at our Texas House.
We left some surplus supplies for whoever moves in next, including all of our wonderful paint colors, and some genuine VW G-12 antifreeze/coolant.
El Toro also stayed in San Jose. As I explained in
this Episode, we have a new, electric, mower at our Texas House.
The back view and the spacious back yard. Did we uncover all of the buried concrete? Did we dig up all of the hidden conduit? Are there more tile fragments to be found?
The front view, and the beautiful succulent garden. We brought some of the succulent garden and the cactus garden with us. Hopefully they will thrive at our Texas House.
Departure 5
And now, friends, it is time to say Goodbye to our San Jose House.
The final items are packed into the trucks, and the cats are all in their carriers.
My bluetooth speaker is set up in my cab, and snacks are within reach. Walkie talkies are powered on and ready. Time to hit the road.
Onward!
bIsh
1 comment:
I loved the beautiful "apple" cactus blooming. Glad you took some of the plants with you for a new garden.
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