Moving Day has come at last! Finally. After 4 long years of planning we are literally out the door and on our way to the next phase of the journey.

The first plan was to drive both of our cars and a small U-haul trailer across the country. However after some deliberation, we decided to donate the now 20-year-old wagon to a Church charity. My grandma sold us this car after my grandfather passed away, and he was in love with it. To honor both of them, we decided to donate it as I know that is something they would have wanted. Down to one van, we rented the largest U-haul that we felt comfortable towing and loaded her up. Kind of crazy that our entire life can fit in a 6×12 foot space eh?

Departure was set for the next day, 0500. Due to the massive weight of the trailer we knew that we would have to drive extremely slow. Our max load-pulling weight is around 3500 lbs. But with all of our ‘crap’ loaded up and the weight of the trailer itself, we were probably closer to 4000+ lbs. Needless to say, we were VERY anxious about the drive.

Day one was brutal. With a max-speed of 55mph, but averaging 45-50mph, it just felt excruciatingly slow, and stressful with any traffic, construction or bumps in the road. We were thrilled when we pulled into our friend Matt’s parents home, some 13-hours later. Our wonderfully gracious hosts, Carol and Marty, had a heaping pile of Jack’s Stacks Famous BBQ waiting for us. Not to mention all the fun fixings and local Kansas City brew.

It was absolute perfection! We could not have asked for a warmer welcome or a better end to the never-ending day. It was an amazing treat for us to spend quality time with our friend’s parents, who treated us just like family.

The next morning I awoke to a black cat standing on my face. I couldn’t figure out where I was or why there was an animal on me, but it all came back. Though I was still totally exhausted and didn’t want to get up, I was happy that this part of the journey would be over soon! Plus what an adorable way to wake up!

Knowing we had another 12-hours to go we left as early as possible. After a nice breakfast and chat with we hit the road by 6AM.

The second day of our long and grueling drive was not too bad. But the compounding lack of good sleep and uncomfortable cramped seating of the overstuffed car, I was loosing my mind a little. I would make a mental note of the road kill that we passed along the way, something to pass the time. I tallied 2 deer, 1 fox, 16 raccoons, a multitude of squirrels (though it was hard to tell completely since the parts were scattered), a rabbit, 2 birds and 1 coyote. It was sad and mildly entertaining at the same time – I was definitely losing my mind.

We pulled into my parent’s drive by 6PM, completely wiped out. 25 hours were done and we felt such relief (and shock that the car survived!). We emptied the trailer that evening so that we could return it and be done. And now we have some time to organize everything, spend time with family and friends and hit the road.

10 days. Then the adventure will truly begin.