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Connecticut, the Early Weeks: The Long Drive

Posted on Jun 30, 2010 by | 0 comments

A week and a half ago Jacob and I had the entire weekend planned out in our heads. Let them pack the truck, clean up all afternoon on Thursday. Friday we would do the walk-through then head on up. Saturday morning we would meet the mover and they would unload the truck.

My mom and dad decided to take a vacation to the Outer Banks just in time to help me finish up the last of the packing. It was hard to find the motivation to get everything packed away and mom was great at just throwing it all in boxes and dad was great at making boxes. They helped us so much and we were ready for the movers long before even our normal bedtime. So we got up on moving-day around our usual 6 am and did the finishing touches like taking apart the bed and then we started to clean.

The movers came early but stayed all morning; there were only two of them to inventory, and pack our 7,000 lbs of stuff. However, it didn’t take us two hours past when they were done, close to noon, to finish cleaning (including a Walmart trip for oven cleaner) and run into our landlady who inspected our apartment right then as we were taking the last boxes out. She was stopping by to tell us she wouldn’t be in tomorrow so we would have to reschedule. “Can we reschedule for right now??” It was perfect.

Here is Jacob taking off on our adventure. So long Regency Apts, it was a good run, you and us.
I thought I would give you and idea of my view for the entire 460ish miles. It has been said the view only changes for the alpha dog, I concur 😉 Actually, I am really grateful he had such a distinctive view from the back so I could find him after crazy merges and toll plazas!

The drive was not nearly as bad as the last time we drove up.The traffic all the way through DC and Maryland was bumper to bumper but we got to New York so late that the traffic had cleared up.It was pretty hot when we started around 1:30, my poor truck has no A/C, but after dinner things had cooled down enough that the Jersey Turnpike was quite enjoyable. Jacob and I fell quite naturally into our roles while caravaning up. He is our fearless leader who has to wait for me to catch up a lot and I run blocker in my bigger frame of a truck: nobody comes between me and my man or between my man and where he wants to go. I sure missed having him to talk to on the way up. To laugh with about odd towers and crazy truckers, we got to recap some of the highlights once we got to the rest stops and things, but it’s not quite the same. But he did call me on I-95 to ask me is it Carmel Church and Bowling Green or Carmel Bowling and Church Green. That’s definitely our favorite sign of all time!

All the roads here in Connecticut, main highways, parkways, any form of road really, are apparently worked on after 9pm such that all the lanes but one are closed in many areas. It took us hours to get home after we had left all the tolls and other states behind.

But right at midnight we arrived at our new home.I know it was right at midnight because when we pulled up the outdoor and hallway lights were on and after the first trip in they all shut off.Our neighbor informed us the next morning that they are on a timer.Midnight seems to be a good time to turn off the lights to save money unless you are moving in.But on the bright side, we really got to know our back stairwell with our shins and elbows, in the dark.

Jacob during our first mail check! Woot.

Friday we had a day off, just waiting for the movers, so we drove around trying to find a Walmart with a real food section, not just chips and soda.We noticed a ton of stuff broken in our new apartment, which is to be expected in a 105 year old house, including a broken toilet seat, a shifty door frame, and leaky everything.But we found an amazing Indian restaurant in Bramford.I loved our meal and they even served us homemade cheese for dessert that looked like a doughnut hole doused in syrup.Jacob has demanded that I learn how to make that.I’ve made butter before but I’ll have to look up the laws in the state about making cheese.

The movers were great the next morning.Jacob was a little upset with how they delt with the furniture they had to take apart, but in general they were quick and kind.Our poor couch wouldn’t fit through the front nor the back door.I really didn’t want to have to go couch shopping on top of everything else we are lacking but oh well. Our first few days in the state were off to a great start!

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