The Great Northwest Move Part 2: The Movers Arrive and the LONG Trip 'Home!'

 

November 2nd was officially moving day. We were as ready as we could be by the time the trucks arrived.  I had so much stuff...much of it I had not even been able to go through and sort out. But, I was out of time. It would all have to go with me and be sorted out later.

The movers arrived. There were three workers and a foreman to go over paperwork. They were all rather personable.

Mom and Erich were here helping me pack. Erich thoughtfully went out to get donuts for the guys. Mom made a pot of coffee--but we had no cups. Ha! Erich had to run out and get those as well.

Just say NO to crack!

The work seemed to move quickly at first. They were piling boxes on at a rapid pace. The furniture I was bringing, they carefully wrapped in plastic. 

A second team that had been working in the area and had finished their job, came over to assist. I didn't like this second group as much. There was just something about them. At one point, one of the original movers said to me "You've got a lot of Marvels." I didn't know what he talking about. Comic books was what he meant. It was true. I have a lot of comic books from when I was a kid. But how did he know that unless he or someone was going through the boxes. 

I walked into the garage once and one of the new team was holding up some collectible he'd pulled from a box, showing his partners. Uh, hello?

When all was said and done, they had done a pretty good job of packing up my crap. But there were issues. The company we contracted with (which was not the company that came out) originally quoted us $9,000. As the movers were working, the foreman guy went over the bill. It jumped to $12,000. When he learned I was moving to an island and he saw the narrow streets, he said they'd have to change trucks again to deliver it--and the price shot up to over $17,000. Holy guacamole!

There was also a small container of pills that disappeared from a guest room closet where Erich was keeping his things. It was only some sleeping pills--but that is beside the point. I'm not saying the movers took it. But I'm not not saying that either.

After the movers had left, Erich and I went to a movie. Mom didn't want to go as we were seeing the horror movie, ANTLERS. Afterwards I encountered a Zoltar fortune teller machine. Should I consult him about the move? Nah...but I wish I had.

Leaving the theater, we walked around the corner to head to the parking lot--and decided to try this Persian restaurant that was there. It was very good.

When I got home, Mom pointed out that one of the movers had left his tools behind.

That night, Mom slept on the floor (!) (It was her choice, although I offered her my bed or to at least share with me.) and Erich slept on the couch (which I'm not taking), as both of their beds were packed and shipped.

The next day, Nov. 3, Mom went to go stay at her sister-in-law, Linda's, place. She would be flying back to Washington on the 4th. Erich was going to go with me to Washington for a while to get me settled in. There were a few things he needed to take care of before leaving--so we headed to his house that day. My car was packed with my crap I didn't want to entrust to the movers.

There was just enough room in the back seat to fit in Shirley (the family tortoise) and her box. (I wasn't about to leave her behind.)

Arriving at Erich's we relaxed with a glass of wine. The first leg, so to speak, of the l-o-n-g trip up north was done.

Erich did whatever he was needing to do on the 3rd and 4th. On the night of the 4th, though (which was my last night in California), we had plans. We went to Tiki Tom's tiki bar in Walnut Creek. There was a party that night with noted tiki personality Otto Von Stroheim acting as DJ and one of my tiki heroes (the man who was responsible for Tiki Tom's incredible build out), Bamboo Ben, was also in attendance. 

In fact, I was on Bamboo Ben's personal guest list! Zowie!

Early November 5, we were on our way again. In the town of Shasta, I filled up the gas tank for the last time in California.

We made it as far as Roseburg, Oregon that day. It had been a particularly awful trip. From Redding on, we had been besieged by heavy rain off and on. Fortunately it was not raining when we actually crossed into Oregon on that scary mountain pass, but the rain didn't stay away. It kept coming back. But we made it safely to our hotel, and had dinner at a great little place with Erich's cousin Robin and her wife Skye. They live just up the road in Sutherlin.

November 6 was the final leg of the trip--and was supposed to be a shorter day than the 5th by a couple of hours. That didn't happen. It was a far longer day. The rain kept pursuing us. We got lucky again with no rain as we crossed the scary bridges of Portland and again when we made our way though Olympia (where traffic always seems awful), but not when we went through Seattle. 

Aside from rain, there were numerous accidents (Not ours, thank goodness.) that we passed and some of the worst traffic jams ever. 

Eventually, we reached the Mukeltio Ferry Landing. There was only one ferry running the connection to Whidbey Island (instead of the usual two), so our wait to board was a bit more than an hour.

Eventually, of course, we did get on. The rain had stopped---hopefully for the rest of the journey.

We made the crossing, but the sound was choppy.

Before long, Whidbey Island was coming into view. Thank goodness. The final part of our journey was nearly at hand. 

The Clinton Ferry Terminal was soon in sight. I was glad. It was still daylight, although the light was obviously beginning to fade. 

The water was rough. The ferry swayed as we waited to disembark. 

We were soon leaving the ferry complex, on Whidbey Island at last. It was just another scenic-but-long 30-45 minute drive and we'd be at my new home.

With the day rapidly coming to a close and night creeping in, we finally reached the house. Mom had come over to leave the porch light on for us. We unpacked the car and finished just as the last of the light was leaving the sky. We realized that if we had arrived just one day later, the time change would have happened and we would have had to unpack in the dark. 

But the trip had come to an end. We arrived safely. I was "home." But the move was far from over...

See the next part here: Settling In and Checking Out Some of the Local Color. 

CHEERS!