It's All a Blur

We finally closed the deal on our home, Wednesday, five days later than we had originally planned, but it has all worked out in the end. With the container not showing up as scheduled, we lost four days of loading time. So, when we found out closing on the house wouldn't be until at least Tuesday, it gave us more time to load the container. And we needed every minute of it. I had it so well planned. We had, what seemed to be most of the house packed and we still had lots of room in the container. Even enough for a golf cart, or so I thought.





But it was all the last minute items, the odd size pictures and my tools, that was the straw that broke the camels back. The container was stuffed as full as it could be and we finished loading it, just as the truck pulled up to pick up the container. It was scheduled to be there, Wednesday at 12, and there it was, right on schedule. We finished packing it with not a minute to spare. Whatever was in there was going to Belize, what ever wasn't, wasn't. We have to take the dogs to Belize in the truck, so there is no room in there for anything.






Now that the container was gone, that part of our adventure was over, but we weren't quite finished. We were so busy trying to load the container, we hadn't got around to finishing the final touch ups on the house or even cleaning it up. So there we were, just an hour after the container left and we had to be out of the house by 7PM. The new owner, Kay, came by to pick up the keys at 4pm, and we were still cleaning the place. Of course, all of our wonderful neighbors came by during the day, to give their best wishes for us, and that took more time. Soon it was six and we had one hour left before we left our beautiful home for the last time. It was just going by so quickly. And we still needed time to get the truck packed and the dogs situated inside.

I finally finished loading the XTerra, just before 7PM. The neighbors came by for the final good-byes, we loaded the dogs, and we were off on our new adventure. I didn't even get the chance to go back through the the house with Mischelle, and remember all the good times we had there. It has been a wonderful first house for us and I am proud of all the upgrades and remodeling we did. It looks nothing like the home we moved into, back in '99. But it was all such a blur, that final day. We no longer lived in California, and soon we would no longer live in the United States. What a change in our lives.

Our first stop on our trip would be Desert Hot Springs, where Mischelle's mom lives. We would stay there the night, then push on to Benson, Arizona the next morning. When we arrived around 11PM, you could smell the rain in the air. By 2AM, it was pouring rain and looked more like Belize than Palm Springs. The monsoon weather had arrived and it looked as though it would stay around for a few days. But we didn't have a few days. So, the next morning, we pushed on. It turns out to be a good decision, as we had clear weather for the next part of the trip and Desert Hot Springs had heavy rain, at times, for the next couple of days.

We got a late start from Mischelle's mom's place and didn't arrive in Benson until around 6PM. We were staying at Motel 6's all along our route in the US, because they allow dogs in the rooms. We had a nice room in Benson, but it was on the second floor and the dogs had never been in an elevator. Coral was a little weary of it, but Timber had no problems at all. Once we got inside the room, Mischelle and the dogs settled in for the night, and our first full day on the road, was over.






The journey continues.....