We took advantage of an extra day off this Labor Day weekend to get caught up on our unpacking. I pushed hard in the first four or five days after we'd moved in to get as much unpacked as possible, and we made really good progress. We moved in on Monday and our first houseguest--Mom Bakker--arrived on Friday of that week shocked to see how "moved in" we were. She left the following Monday and then life got busy... Marisa got involved with volleyball practise, all three kids started school, Mary Nel was in the final stretch of preparing for her board exams, and I went back on the road a couple days. The unpacking lagged. The boxes that remained were mostly stragglers, filled with odds and ends and a mish-mash of the unknown. Well, today marked a milestone in that we pushed through unpacking a dozen or so of those "last remainings" (frankly most of the stuff in them was stuff we could have left unpacked and never would have known it! At least we got the boxes out of the way though). We also hung some more pictures and got things a little more organized. All in all we're making great progress!
Incidentally, today was also an another first in that it was the first time I cut the grass here at the new house. We bought a brand new lawnmower to do the deed (our old one was purchased for our house in Chicago, and had seen better days so before we moved we dropped it off at the Rustic Market. The self-propel mechanism wasn't working so well anymore and I thought the better of trying to use it on the slopes and inclines of an Asheville lawn). We stopped at Home Depot and bought a new one the other day. After today's first go at cutting the grass here I'm glad I did! Three things I discovered: 1) We actually have more grass to cut than it first appears. 2) The inclines along the side of the house are as steep or steeper than they first appear. 3) I am as out of shape as I appear.
We also had a nice outing on Sunday night to the North Carolina Apple Festival. Interesting little piece of trivia that I was totally unaware of until this weekend: North Carolina is the 7th largest apple-producing state in the nation and this area is the largest apple-producing county in North Carolina. The festival reminded me of the annual Cherry Festival in Traverse City, MI. We were invited there by a family we met through the kids' school. We had visited their church one weekend and they invited us to join their small group at the festival on Sunday night. It was great fun with good food, live music, a street fair, etc. Mary Nel even got a chance to practice a little medicine on a young lady who passed out (seems she was probably just dehydrated and maybe had a little heat stroke--hopefully she'll be alright). It was a nice opportunity to experience a little local culture and to hang out with new friends, and we appreciated the invitation.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
First Impressions...
A few random observations about Asheville:
- We've discovered there's a reason they call this "God's Country". Few areas are as naturally beautiful as the Blue Ridge Mountains, and -- at 2,360 feet elevation -- Asheville is nestled in the heart of them on a plateau divided by the French Broad River and surrounded by lush mountains, many with elevations above 5,000 feet. If you drive here from the north or west, there's a section of I-40 between Asheville and the Tennessee state-line where you drive right through Smoky Mountain National Park and the Pisgah National Forest. It's a slow-go because of all the hills and twists and turns, but at every bend there's another stunning view. Another great drive is the Blue Ridge Parkway, which passes right through Asheville. They are great views year-round, but apparently the best times for these scenic drives are in the spring and particularly in the fall, when the colors add intensity. One of the things we like most about our neighborhood and yard is that the builder did such a good job integrating this development into the surrounding environment. Even though our house is less than two years old, we are surrounded by seventy-foot trees towering ten feet from the back of deck. Our neighbors have spotted deer, fox, and black bears(!) in the ravine behind our house. We can actually see a mountain view right from our back deck. It's like a serene mountain retreat. To me, mountains convey a sense of peace and spirituality--in scripture people often went up into the mountains to commune with God. They provide an inspirational and fitting backdrop for my favorite scripture text: "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). People who live here say that you never get used to seeing the mountains--it's not something you stop noticing after a while. I hope that's true.
- Culturally, this is a community that somewhat defies all labels. In many ways it has all the best attributes of the Carolinas and the South. "Friendly" is a term that is probably overused to the point of sounding like a cliche, but it's the word that keeps coming back to me when trying to describe the community here. Friendly and laid back. For the most part, it is a family-oriented, conservative Christian community, much like you find in any other small to medium-sized sub-urban southern community (or in West Michigan, for that matter, except it's dominated by Southern Baptists rather than Christian Reformed). People here are eager and willing to get to know you and to lend a hand. That's particularly true in the neighborhoods and outlying communities. Interestingly, the people here hail from all over. Only a small minority seem to actually "come from here". That probably adds to the eclectic diversity that is a big part of both the milieu and the identity of Asheville. Though primarily found in the central city, unusual elements can also be seen sprinkled about the surrounding communities. The first time we met our neighbor to the west, for instance, after some perfectly normal neighborly small talk, she then went on to tell us how she trained her dog by "mentally projecting her thoughts and attitudes into the animal's sub-consciousness". Uh-huh. The funny thing was she said this in the most matter-of-fact manner. The other day we passed by a man standing on the side of a side-road. He was hitch-hiking in a bright red honky-tonk suit, black cowboy hat, white cowboy boots, and a pink floral backpack. With some people around here, that's probably "normal" enough that someone probably eventually picked him up. Whether because of or resultant from this eclecticism, the city's culture reflects this diversity. There's a thriving arts community that has developed a national reputation. There's a dynamic independent music scene with a nationally known venue called the Orange Peel that Rolling Stone magazine has rated one of the Top 5 clubs in the country. Restaurants can be found offering every kind of cuisine imaginable. Downtown has a walkable, somewhat European character with a collection of art deco architecture, antique stores, art galleries, boutiques, and a very diverse selection of people--from artists and musicians (and the occasionally bizarre) to corporate executives, merchants and entrepreneurs. The health system was ranked ninth in the nation in a recent survey. All this in a city about the size of Sheboygan nestled in the mountains in the rural south.
- Known for its mild year-round climate, with winter and summer temperatures tempered by the surrounding mountains, we're quickly beginning to understand why Asheville has become a popular destination for those seeking relief from the extremes of both southern summers and northern winters. The first day we met our neighbors to the east they said hello and goodbye -- they were heading back to Florida where they live nine months of the year. Apparently this is just their summer home! The doctors have a name to describe the seniors who have settled here--they call them "halfbacks" because many of them came from the north, moved to Florida, but found it too hot and too crowded down there so they moved half-way back, settling here in Asheville's mild mountain climate. This is a growing contingency (60% of the MN's group's practise is Medicare funded). Winters here are sunny and mild, with occasional snow but an average winter temperature that hovers around 50 degrees. Summers are similarly sunny and mild, with average temperatures in the high 70's and low 80's and very low humidity. We like four seasons but aren't keen on either high summer humidity or heavy winter snowfalls so we feel like we've found our nirvana! One thing we particularly won't miss is the long, damp, dreary West Michigan winters. According to the National Climate Data Center, at 29% average winter sunshine, Grand Rapids is tied with Seattle for the second dreariest winter place in the nation (at 25.2%, only the 600 residents of Quillayute, WA receive less sunshine in the winter than Grand Rapids).
- Finally, I'm discovering how central this area is to so many places. Charlotte is only a couple hours' drive east. Atlanta is four hours south. Knoxville is about an hour-and-a-half east. Greenville-Spartanburg is an hour south. The ocean is an easy weekend destination, with Charleston being an easy 5-hour drive down I-26. Raleigh-Durham is four hours away. In fact, on one tank of gas you can get to most places in eight states--North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Alabama. From the standpoint of a traveling consultant in an era of declining air travel, that's a big plus!
Admittedly, we've only lived here about a month so far, so take these observations for what they are -- first impressions and heresay. But if you want to experience it for yourself, our door is open and our guestroom is ready. Come see us anytime and experience a little of this "southern hospitality" for yourselves!
- We've discovered there's a reason they call this "God's Country". Few areas are as naturally beautiful as the Blue Ridge Mountains, and -- at 2,360 feet elevation -- Asheville is nestled in the heart of them on a plateau divided by the French Broad River and surrounded by lush mountains, many with elevations above 5,000 feet. If you drive here from the north or west, there's a section of I-40 between Asheville and the Tennessee state-line where you drive right through Smoky Mountain National Park and the Pisgah National Forest. It's a slow-go because of all the hills and twists and turns, but at every bend there's another stunning view. Another great drive is the Blue Ridge Parkway, which passes right through Asheville. They are great views year-round, but apparently the best times for these scenic drives are in the spring and particularly in the fall, when the colors add intensity. One of the things we like most about our neighborhood and yard is that the builder did such a good job integrating this development into the surrounding environment. Even though our house is less than two years old, we are surrounded by seventy-foot trees towering ten feet from the back of deck. Our neighbors have spotted deer, fox, and black bears(!) in the ravine behind our house. We can actually see a mountain view right from our back deck. It's like a serene mountain retreat. To me, mountains convey a sense of peace and spirituality--in scripture people often went up into the mountains to commune with God. They provide an inspirational and fitting backdrop for my favorite scripture text: "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). People who live here say that you never get used to seeing the mountains--it's not something you stop noticing after a while. I hope that's true.
- Culturally, this is a community that somewhat defies all labels. In many ways it has all the best attributes of the Carolinas and the South. "Friendly" is a term that is probably overused to the point of sounding like a cliche, but it's the word that keeps coming back to me when trying to describe the community here. Friendly and laid back. For the most part, it is a family-oriented, conservative Christian community, much like you find in any other small to medium-sized sub-urban southern community (or in West Michigan, for that matter, except it's dominated by Southern Baptists rather than Christian Reformed). People here are eager and willing to get to know you and to lend a hand. That's particularly true in the neighborhoods and outlying communities. Interestingly, the people here hail from all over. Only a small minority seem to actually "come from here". That probably adds to the eclectic diversity that is a big part of both the milieu and the identity of Asheville. Though primarily found in the central city, unusual elements can also be seen sprinkled about the surrounding communities. The first time we met our neighbor to the west, for instance, after some perfectly normal neighborly small talk, she then went on to tell us how she trained her dog by "mentally projecting her thoughts and attitudes into the animal's sub-consciousness". Uh-huh. The funny thing was she said this in the most matter-of-fact manner. The other day we passed by a man standing on the side of a side-road. He was hitch-hiking in a bright red honky-tonk suit, black cowboy hat, white cowboy boots, and a pink floral backpack. With some people around here, that's probably "normal" enough that someone probably eventually picked him up. Whether because of or resultant from this eclecticism, the city's culture reflects this diversity. There's a thriving arts community that has developed a national reputation. There's a dynamic independent music scene with a nationally known venue called the Orange Peel that Rolling Stone magazine has rated one of the Top 5 clubs in the country. Restaurants can be found offering every kind of cuisine imaginable. Downtown has a walkable, somewhat European character with a collection of art deco architecture, antique stores, art galleries, boutiques, and a very diverse selection of people--from artists and musicians (and the occasionally bizarre) to corporate executives, merchants and entrepreneurs. The health system was ranked ninth in the nation in a recent survey. All this in a city about the size of Sheboygan nestled in the mountains in the rural south.
- Known for its mild year-round climate, with winter and summer temperatures tempered by the surrounding mountains, we're quickly beginning to understand why Asheville has become a popular destination for those seeking relief from the extremes of both southern summers and northern winters. The first day we met our neighbors to the east they said hello and goodbye -- they were heading back to Florida where they live nine months of the year. Apparently this is just their summer home! The doctors have a name to describe the seniors who have settled here--they call them "halfbacks" because many of them came from the north, moved to Florida, but found it too hot and too crowded down there so they moved half-way back, settling here in Asheville's mild mountain climate. This is a growing contingency (60% of the MN's group's practise is Medicare funded). Winters here are sunny and mild, with occasional snow but an average winter temperature that hovers around 50 degrees. Summers are similarly sunny and mild, with average temperatures in the high 70's and low 80's and very low humidity. We like four seasons but aren't keen on either high summer humidity or heavy winter snowfalls so we feel like we've found our nirvana! One thing we particularly won't miss is the long, damp, dreary West Michigan winters. According to the National Climate Data Center, at 29% average winter sunshine, Grand Rapids is tied with Seattle for the second dreariest winter place in the nation (at 25.2%, only the 600 residents of Quillayute, WA receive less sunshine in the winter than Grand Rapids).
- Finally, I'm discovering how central this area is to so many places. Charlotte is only a couple hours' drive east. Atlanta is four hours south. Knoxville is about an hour-and-a-half east. Greenville-Spartanburg is an hour south. The ocean is an easy weekend destination, with Charleston being an easy 5-hour drive down I-26. Raleigh-Durham is four hours away. In fact, on one tank of gas you can get to most places in eight states--North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Alabama. From the standpoint of a traveling consultant in an era of declining air travel, that's a big plus!
Admittedly, we've only lived here about a month so far, so take these observations for what they are -- first impressions and heresay. But if you want to experience it for yourself, our door is open and our guestroom is ready. Come see us anytime and experience a little of this "southern hospitality" for yourselves!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Lovin' It So Far...
The three things we like most so far about our new home in Asheville (no particular order):
- Our house. Lots of open space and room for everyone. Lots of windows. Everything's nice and new. Our big master suite (finally -- some privacy!). It's very bright and spacious and homey. We'll take some pictures and post them soon!
- The community. It's amazing how friendly people in this area are. We've gotten to know several people so far. It's a very laid back and friendly community. We just love our neighborhood too. We haven't had a chance to even take advantage of everything it has to offer yet. Bike trails, walking trails, a lake (good for boating and swimming), a clubhouse, a playground, tennis courts, basketball courts, campsites. It's like living on a little resort! We're in a really private little corner of this community too, up a ridge and at the end of a court. Our house backs onto a wooded ravine, so it's very quiet and peaceful.
- The kids' school. We enrolled all three kids at Asheville Christian Academy this year and we're really pleased with the decision. Everyone is very friendly. It seems to be a very spiritual environment, but at the same time it is academically rigorous. The teachers and staff do an excellent job communicating with parents. They have very good sports programs (Marisa made the JV volleyball team, which is a great program -- nine state championships so far!). The only issue is the commute (the school is on the other side of town, so we've got them on the bus while we try to figure out car-pooling, etc). There are several people in our neighborhood with kids there so we've been able to work out rides, etc. so far. I'm sure it will get better as we get to know more people.
Three things we miss most about GR:
- Our church. We've tried a few different churches so far, all of which I think we could do alright at, but haven't found the one that "feels just right" yet. There are a few we want to try yet before we start going for second looks at some of the ones we've tried already.
- The familiarity. Everything's new for us here. We miss knowing where to go for whatever you need whenever you need it! We miss knowing the best place to go for pizza, where to get the best deal on video rentals, where our favorite restaurants are, etc. etc. We're getting the hang of Asheville but it's a little confusing (everything in the mountains is confusing because there's never a nice straight way to get from point A to point B.
- Meijer's! You just don't know how good you've got it until it's gone. It was so nice having a big, new Meijer Supercenter and a Target store both right around the corner (literally). Asheville is a small enough town that they've generally got just one of everything -- one Target store, one Walmart, one Best Buy, etc. The main shopping area just happens to be on the other side of town from us. Not a big deal, but you've got to plan your shopping expeditions a little more carefully because you can't just run out to Meijer's real quick and pick something up!
To be honest, there's really no comparison between Grand Rapids and Asheville. They're just so different! We love the mountains and the scenery that surround you here everyday. We love the climate so far too! We've been here several weeks in August and haven't used the air conditioning yet. We just keep the windows open and enjoy the fresh mountain air (summer temperatures here hover in the high seventies and low eighties with very little humidity). Next up is the fall (which by the way is a very popular time for tourism in the mountains because of the great fall colors--just in case anyone is wondering when is a good time to come to visit!) We're looking forward to "winter" in Asheville too. It's very mild. It's been dry lately though. We were glad to get some remnants of tropical storm Faye last week--we got several inches of rain over the course of a few days. I guess we'll finally have to cut the grass! Oh well... Life can't be perfect I guess.
- Our house. Lots of open space and room for everyone. Lots of windows. Everything's nice and new. Our big master suite (finally -- some privacy!). It's very bright and spacious and homey. We'll take some pictures and post them soon!
- The community. It's amazing how friendly people in this area are. We've gotten to know several people so far. It's a very laid back and friendly community. We just love our neighborhood too. We haven't had a chance to even take advantage of everything it has to offer yet. Bike trails, walking trails, a lake (good for boating and swimming), a clubhouse, a playground, tennis courts, basketball courts, campsites. It's like living on a little resort! We're in a really private little corner of this community too, up a ridge and at the end of a court. Our house backs onto a wooded ravine, so it's very quiet and peaceful.
- The kids' school. We enrolled all three kids at Asheville Christian Academy this year and we're really pleased with the decision. Everyone is very friendly. It seems to be a very spiritual environment, but at the same time it is academically rigorous. The teachers and staff do an excellent job communicating with parents. They have very good sports programs (Marisa made the JV volleyball team, which is a great program -- nine state championships so far!). The only issue is the commute (the school is on the other side of town, so we've got them on the bus while we try to figure out car-pooling, etc). There are several people in our neighborhood with kids there so we've been able to work out rides, etc. so far. I'm sure it will get better as we get to know more people.
Three things we miss most about GR:
- Our church. We've tried a few different churches so far, all of which I think we could do alright at, but haven't found the one that "feels just right" yet. There are a few we want to try yet before we start going for second looks at some of the ones we've tried already.
- The familiarity. Everything's new for us here. We miss knowing where to go for whatever you need whenever you need it! We miss knowing the best place to go for pizza, where to get the best deal on video rentals, where our favorite restaurants are, etc. etc. We're getting the hang of Asheville but it's a little confusing (everything in the mountains is confusing because there's never a nice straight way to get from point A to point B.
- Meijer's! You just don't know how good you've got it until it's gone. It was so nice having a big, new Meijer Supercenter and a Target store both right around the corner (literally). Asheville is a small enough town that they've generally got just one of everything -- one Target store, one Walmart, one Best Buy, etc. The main shopping area just happens to be on the other side of town from us. Not a big deal, but you've got to plan your shopping expeditions a little more carefully because you can't just run out to Meijer's real quick and pick something up!
To be honest, there's really no comparison between Grand Rapids and Asheville. They're just so different! We love the mountains and the scenery that surround you here everyday. We love the climate so far too! We've been here several weeks in August and haven't used the air conditioning yet. We just keep the windows open and enjoy the fresh mountain air (summer temperatures here hover in the high seventies and low eighties with very little humidity). Next up is the fall (which by the way is a very popular time for tourism in the mountains because of the great fall colors--just in case anyone is wondering when is a good time to come to visit!) We're looking forward to "winter" in Asheville too. It's very mild. It's been dry lately though. We were glad to get some remnants of tropical storm Faye last week--we got several inches of rain over the course of a few days. I guess we'll finally have to cut the grass! Oh well... Life can't be perfect I guess.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Barack's Big Speech
Just a few random thoughts...
- Did you notice that in the whole speech he barely even mentioned international issues? Have people forgotten that nearly all the big problems we face today are linked to the situation in the Middle East? Or problems with American economic competitiveness in the global economy? Also not hardly mentioned. Ought those issues not at least get passing mention in the biggest political speech of the era? Do folks have ADD or what?
- Does anyone else find the level of populism evident in Obama's candidacy a little frightening? 85,000 fans screaming and weeping over a political stump speech? This is getting kind of surreal.
- Talk about expectations. Even if he is elected this star is going to fall hard and fast. No one can live up to all that.
- Remember Bill Clinton's line that "The Era of Big Government is over"? Well, it's b-a-a-a-c-k. Or should I say it's Barack? There were more new government programs in that speech than there were fans in the seats.
- So how does one pay for all those promises? "By getting rid of government programs that no longer work" he says. Yeah right. We've heard that before. He's going to raise taxes. But--you say--he promised to lower taxes for 95% of Americans! We've heard that before too. Sure, he'll raise the top 5% tax-payer rates faster and higher than the others, but make no mistake. For all the talk about "change" and a "new wave", this is standard liberal Democratic fare -- more government, more spending, and more taxes. As opposed to the standard Republican fare, of course -- more government, more spending, and more deficits. What's a limited-government, low-tax, libertarian guy supposed to do?
- Final thought... There's probably no stopping this train. Reminds me of the 1993 post-Brian Mulroney tsunami in Canada. People are so fed up with Bush/Cheney that they are clearing the decks of all Republicans. And the big-government, bleeding-heart, tax and spend liberals are going to take full advantage of the opportunity. And that reminds me of Canada too!
- Did you notice that in the whole speech he barely even mentioned international issues? Have people forgotten that nearly all the big problems we face today are linked to the situation in the Middle East? Or problems with American economic competitiveness in the global economy? Also not hardly mentioned. Ought those issues not at least get passing mention in the biggest political speech of the era? Do folks have ADD or what?
- Does anyone else find the level of populism evident in Obama's candidacy a little frightening? 85,000 fans screaming and weeping over a political stump speech? This is getting kind of surreal.
- Talk about expectations. Even if he is elected this star is going to fall hard and fast. No one can live up to all that.
- Remember Bill Clinton's line that "The Era of Big Government is over"? Well, it's b-a-a-a-c-k. Or should I say it's Barack? There were more new government programs in that speech than there were fans in the seats.
- So how does one pay for all those promises? "By getting rid of government programs that no longer work" he says. Yeah right. We've heard that before. He's going to raise taxes. But--you say--he promised to lower taxes for 95% of Americans! We've heard that before too. Sure, he'll raise the top 5% tax-payer rates faster and higher than the others, but make no mistake. For all the talk about "change" and a "new wave", this is standard liberal Democratic fare -- more government, more spending, and more taxes. As opposed to the standard Republican fare, of course -- more government, more spending, and more deficits. What's a limited-government, low-tax, libertarian guy supposed to do?
- Final thought... There's probably no stopping this train. Reminds me of the 1993 post-Brian Mulroney tsunami in Canada. People are so fed up with Bush/Cheney that they are clearing the decks of all Republicans. And the big-government, bleeding-heart, tax and spend liberals are going to take full advantage of the opportunity. And that reminds me of Canada too!
Moving In...
Alright, I admit... I'm a newbie at this bloggin' business. A friend told me I broke the two cardinal rules of blogging so far (in my one blog): 1) Keep it brief, and 2) Update regularly. Frankly, I've discovered that if you break rule #1 you are pretty much destined to break rule #2 (unless you don't have a life, of course). So, in an effort to adhere to the rules here is my (brief) update on the next step of our move... "Moving In".
Here goes...
- Truck here 9 am
- Stuff got unloaded
- Lots of piles of boxes and crap
- Couple things damaged (nothing real important)
- Truck gone 10 pm
- Make beds / Find PJs
- S-S-S-S-L-L-L-L-L-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-P-P-P-P (aaahh... feels good)!
End of story!
Y'all come back to read the next one, okay?
(Was that better BJD?) ;-)
Here goes...
- Truck here 9 am
- Stuff got unloaded
- Lots of piles of boxes and crap
- Couple things damaged (nothing real important)
- Truck gone 10 pm
- Make beds / Find PJs
- S-S-S-S-L-L-L-L-L-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-P-P-P-P (aaahh... feels good)!
End of story!
Y'all come back to read the next one, okay?
(Was that better BJD?) ;-)
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Moving Out...
Who knew moving could be such fun?
(Formatting note: The line above should be read as if it were dripping with sarcasm...)
I can hardly believe that as I write this it has been almost three weeks since we officially made our "move" here to Asheville. Frankly, for us this summer has basically been bracketed by the twin peaks of our relocation--moving out and moving in.
The first hill to climb was that of packing up our lives and leaving Grand Rapids after more than a decade there. This turned out to be more challenging than we thought! Most of all, the goodbyes to friends and families were the toughest. Our roots ran deep in Grand Rapids and we really appreciated everyone who turned out at our party on the 4th to say goodbye. We will truly miss those relationships.
In addition to the goodbyes, though, I have to say that packing up our stuff was equally challenging! We decided to do our own packing to save some money on the move, and in retrospect it turned out to be a good decision. We packed 90% of the boxes ourselves. The movers packed 10%. Seeing how they packed those 10% I'm really glad we did our own packing! Nothing wakes you up to the concept of quantity like the decision to do your own packing. My goodness did we acculate a ton of "stuff" in our eleven years on Brooklyn Avenue (nine tons of it actually -- despite numerous trips to Goodwill in the weeks and months preceding, by the time the truck rolled down the road they tipped the scales 18,345 pounds heavier than they did when they showed up that morning! Yikes! Probably time for another garage sale...
Once packed, it was time to say goodbye to our old home in GR. We put a lot of "sweat-equity" into that house. Even though we were really pleased to get it sold in a reasonable amount of time without completely losing our shirt on it (in light of the market in Michigan these days) it was still sad to let it go. In the weeks before we moved I began to develop a sense of "last times". These ranged from the mundane (like the last time to get my haircut at that cheap but reliable hair salon) to the significant (like the last time worshiping at our church) to the fun (like the last time having a beer with the neighbors!). Probably the most impactful "last time" for me though was the last time walking through the house before we finally hit the road. The movers had cleared out all our furniture and belongings but the memories sure lingered. A friend of mine recently said that when you're up to your backside in alligators it's sometimes hard to remember that you were there to drain the swamp. Well, in the busyness of the moving process it was easy to forget the finality of it all. Seeing the house empty like that sure brought the reality of it home (pun intended)!
Move-out day was Wednesday August 6th. The truck showed up a little after 9:oo am with a crew of four. We'd been warned that this wasn't the "A-team" in advance (the moving company offered us the A-Team if we would only delay our move by one day but we respectfully declined). They weren't exactly the speediest (at least not until twelve hours later when the skies opened up--then we actually saw some hustle!). We had hoped to get a five or six hour head start on our drive that evening and maybe make it as far as Cincinnati, but that was not to be. The movers didn't get done until after 10 pm so by 1:30 am we'd only made it across the state-line into Ohio. By then we were too exhausted to go another mile so we all clambered into the trailer and crashed for the night in a rest area.
It took us most of the next day in driving (two vehicles -- Mary Nel in the Windstar and me in the big beast pulling the trailer, plus we left one vehicle back to be picked up later). At around 3:30 pm we stopped for a rest in Tennessee and sitting on the curb having a sandwich I discovered the tires in the travel trailer were about ready to pop! Not a good sight! The treads were in great shape but the sidewalls were cracking and splitting. I had checked them earlier and they weren't looking bad, but we'd never taken the trailer on such a long drive before either. I guess the tires were just getting old and the rubber was starting to give out under the long drive. I thought the better of heading into the mountains on shoddy tires so headed into town in search of four new trailer tires. Fortunately I found a place right away that gave me a good deal and had all four installed in less than 45 minutes! Considering what might have happened if we'd had a blowout on a winding mountain road this was a minor inconvenience. Frankly I said a little prayer of thanks--who knows why I sat down on that curb at that particular time?
We were on our way again and--after a couple hours on a beautiful winding drive through Smoky Mountain National Park that all of us were just too plumb tired to appreciate--we finally arrived in Asheville at around dinner time. Problem was, this was Thursday and our truck wasn't scheduled to arrive until Monday. We were going to be homeless for a long weekend! Fortunately we had a reservation at a local KOA and set up camp there.
Our move out of Grand Rapids was now officially complete and our move into our new home in Asheville was about to begin. The tough part was behind us and a new beginning was ahead. For now, though, we were homeless and exhausted, so we warmed up some hotdogs and collapsed in bed.
Next up... Moving In
(Formatting note: The line above should be read as if it were dripping with sarcasm...)
I can hardly believe that as I write this it has been almost three weeks since we officially made our "move" here to Asheville. Frankly, for us this summer has basically been bracketed by the twin peaks of our relocation--moving out and moving in.
The first hill to climb was that of packing up our lives and leaving Grand Rapids after more than a decade there. This turned out to be more challenging than we thought! Most of all, the goodbyes to friends and families were the toughest. Our roots ran deep in Grand Rapids and we really appreciated everyone who turned out at our party on the 4th to say goodbye. We will truly miss those relationships.
In addition to the goodbyes, though, I have to say that packing up our stuff was equally challenging! We decided to do our own packing to save some money on the move, and in retrospect it turned out to be a good decision. We packed 90% of the boxes ourselves. The movers packed 10%. Seeing how they packed those 10% I'm really glad we did our own packing! Nothing wakes you up to the concept of quantity like the decision to do your own packing. My goodness did we acculate a ton of "stuff" in our eleven years on Brooklyn Avenue (nine tons of it actually -- despite numerous trips to Goodwill in the weeks and months preceding, by the time the truck rolled down the road they tipped the scales 18,345 pounds heavier than they did when they showed up that morning! Yikes! Probably time for another garage sale...
Once packed, it was time to say goodbye to our old home in GR. We put a lot of "sweat-equity" into that house. Even though we were really pleased to get it sold in a reasonable amount of time without completely losing our shirt on it (in light of the market in Michigan these days) it was still sad to let it go. In the weeks before we moved I began to develop a sense of "last times". These ranged from the mundane (like the last time to get my haircut at that cheap but reliable hair salon) to the significant (like the last time worshiping at our church) to the fun (like the last time having a beer with the neighbors!). Probably the most impactful "last time" for me though was the last time walking through the house before we finally hit the road. The movers had cleared out all our furniture and belongings but the memories sure lingered. A friend of mine recently said that when you're up to your backside in alligators it's sometimes hard to remember that you were there to drain the swamp. Well, in the busyness of the moving process it was easy to forget the finality of it all. Seeing the house empty like that sure brought the reality of it home (pun intended)!
Move-out day was Wednesday August 6th. The truck showed up a little after 9:oo am with a crew of four. We'd been warned that this wasn't the "A-team" in advance (the moving company offered us the A-Team if we would only delay our move by one day but we respectfully declined). They weren't exactly the speediest (at least not until twelve hours later when the skies opened up--then we actually saw some hustle!). We had hoped to get a five or six hour head start on our drive that evening and maybe make it as far as Cincinnati, but that was not to be. The movers didn't get done until after 10 pm so by 1:30 am we'd only made it across the state-line into Ohio. By then we were too exhausted to go another mile so we all clambered into the trailer and crashed for the night in a rest area.
It took us most of the next day in driving (two vehicles -- Mary Nel in the Windstar and me in the big beast pulling the trailer, plus we left one vehicle back to be picked up later). At around 3:30 pm we stopped for a rest in Tennessee and sitting on the curb having a sandwich I discovered the tires in the travel trailer were about ready to pop! Not a good sight! The treads were in great shape but the sidewalls were cracking and splitting. I had checked them earlier and they weren't looking bad, but we'd never taken the trailer on such a long drive before either. I guess the tires were just getting old and the rubber was starting to give out under the long drive. I thought the better of heading into the mountains on shoddy tires so headed into town in search of four new trailer tires. Fortunately I found a place right away that gave me a good deal and had all four installed in less than 45 minutes! Considering what might have happened if we'd had a blowout on a winding mountain road this was a minor inconvenience. Frankly I said a little prayer of thanks--who knows why I sat down on that curb at that particular time?
We were on our way again and--after a couple hours on a beautiful winding drive through Smoky Mountain National Park that all of us were just too plumb tired to appreciate--we finally arrived in Asheville at around dinner time. Problem was, this was Thursday and our truck wasn't scheduled to arrive until Monday. We were going to be homeless for a long weekend! Fortunately we had a reservation at a local KOA and set up camp there.
Our move out of Grand Rapids was now officially complete and our move into our new home in Asheville was about to begin. The tough part was behind us and a new beginning was ahead. For now, though, we were homeless and exhausted, so we warmed up some hotdogs and collapsed in bed.
Next up... Moving In
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
