Back to Blogging the Move

Due to the scarcity of blog entries lately, it’s probably best to simply list some of the recent news, happenings and changes to our relocation from Kentucky to Alaska. So here goes!...

 As I wrote several posts ago, our shipping container weight limit was 18,500lbs and anything over that amount was going to be very expensive (+/-$1,500 per 1,000lbs over the limit!). When we received our “actual weight” from the shipping company, we came in at 17,900lbs…just 600lbs below the limit!!

 The container shipment to Alaska was expected to take 5 to 6 weeks. We learned from the shipping company that things were moving ahead of schedule and that it was only going to take 3½ weeks. This was a big deal for us as the plan was always to have my wife, Rebecca, and the rest of the family in the home on the day our things were unpacked. Since all the airline tickets were planned for 6/18 and the container was set to arrive on 6/7, we had a tough decision to make: put our belongings into storage for 2 weeks or move the Departure Date for Rebecca, Katie and Jillian up by two weeks. After much discussion, the decision was to move up the flight dates. This has brought on additional sadness while at the same time bringing additional excitement to finally get to a relocation we’ve been waiting for going-on 7 months!

 The drive to Alaska, which is the original purpose of this blog, is now pushed back to begin on June 10.

 As I tried to sell my cruiser-style motorcycle, it became obvious the tough economy was not going to make selling it very easy. Fact is, I never received a serious offer even when I dropped the price to nearly ½ of what I bought it for just two years ago! As a result, I’ve found it wiser to hang onto my motorcycle (which I really didn’t want to sell anyhow!) and tow it behind my pickup all the way to Alaska. Returning to Craig’s List once again, I found a good used motorcycle trailer.

 I passed my Alaska driver’s test, my Alaska motorcycle rider’s test and am now considered a bona fide Alaskan resident!

 After looking over the 4,500-mile drive and considering what my daughter, Erin, and I might want to do along the way, we’ve decided to let our 9lb Maltese (dog) take the flight with Rebecca and the girls. This will permit Erin and me to stay in any hotel (not just pet-friendly) and do any activities we want. Imagine getting to Yellowstone National Park and having to cut a hike short for the little dog waiting patiently back in my truck to go pee!

 We’re down to just 2 items still listed on Craig’s List. We’ve been very blessed to have moved a LOT of stuff through this online yard sale.

 Rebecca’s mini-van started its road-trip to Alaska on May 24. It should be there sometime near our original arrival date of 6/18. I suppose this spells r-e-n-t-a-l until that day…yuck!

 Daughter Katie made the high school cheer team on the basis of a video tryout she prepared and sent over email to the team coach. Our eldest daughter has so much drive and determination…she’s got herself on a team long before her first day of school!



I underestimated a couple of things when I first started this journal. First, blogs take a lot of time. I don't seem to be able to post an entry without spending at least 4 hours. I like to add the pictures and spend lots of time making it fun and easy to read. I don’t regret any of it and the only reason I bring it up is to note how the time it takes contrasts the time I have to spend.

The second thing I underestimated was how busy life would become as Departure Day drew closer. I have been pulling more-than-a-few 19-hour days. A typical day includes getting up with the kids at 6:45am, driving them to school at 7:30am and heading home to get cleaned up for the day’s activities. By 9am, I’ve either engaged in a "goodbye coffee" with a friend at a local cafe, or headed off to deliver something I’ve sold on Craig’s list or made my way over to our Brownsboro office, the location of our family business. Lunch has been starting at 2pm and as late as 4pm, mostly on-the-fly, while driving. Hauling home the boxed remains of my company’s dwindling inventory for the morning pick-up has filled many of my afternoons leading up to dinner. With the close of the kid’s school year, there’s been an endless barrage of closing ceremonies, awards presentations and talent shows. It’s fun to see the fruit of my girl’s labor at school and after-school activities and I don’t mind the momentary break from the relocation craziness. Returning home at 10pm sets the scene for the bedtime scramble for the kids. I’ll usually plop in a chair in front of my laptop after the kids are down and size up the day against my punch list, throwing lines through the completed tasks and typing in new “hills to be taken” in the day ahead. My mind can rest with that download-and-reflection time and I think “now what’s on the DVR?” And this is where I lose sleep: I’ve been getting caught up in the season finales of all my favorite shows! How is ANYONE supposed to go to bed without knowing if (a.) Jack Bauer gets offed?!, (b.) Russell is voted the Ultimate Survivor??, or (c.) if Bowersocks or Dewyze will become the next American Idol??. OK, OK… I know… who really cares?! And I really don’t either. But this last activity is simply an excuse to wind down; the result is less sleep, less blog entries and less Andy the next day. Thank goodness for the weekends to get caught up!