Bugs

I had high hopes for Iowa. For a while, I was thinking the state was actually pretty cool. I mean, it’s got a song about it in The Music Man, so that’s something, right? Well, Iowa has bugs. Swarms of bugs. Open your hotel door for a second and you have ten thousand bugs in your room bugs. So . . . no thanks, Iowa. But on the plus side, they had a cool German/Amish restaurant I ate at, and that was nice. Oh, and I’m now in Williamsburg, Iowa, by the way. Distance driven today: 619 miles. Distance to go: 1,388 miles. Definitely making progress.

On the down side, there’s something making noises in the back of the rental truck. I wonder what it is, but I’d have to unpack everything to find out. Not going to happen. Opening that rental truck up after 2,800 miles will be like Christmas Morning from Hell. Yikes.

Sidney

I have officially made it to Nebraska–Sidney, to be precise. Woke up this morning, tired and achy but alive. Now I’m ready to sleep–still tired, achy and alive, but 555 miles further from where I was yesterday, which is nice. Driving in a van while towing a car is certainly a different experience. Finding parking for it is a big pain, for one thing. I think that when I’m through with this drive, going back to my car will be like putting on a pair of sneakers after wearing ski boots all day. Those of you who have skied will know what I’m talking about. 1,918 miles to go.

You Underestimate the Power of . . .

Packing. I thought I’d be done by 9. I finished at about 12:30 in the morning. I can think of few things I have enjoyed less. Honestly–packing is probably one of the forms of torture most feared in warfare. I’m exhausted. And I don’t have room for the extra couch OR the free washer and dryer my brother was going to give me. And I have no television anymore. If it didn’t fit, I left it. Anyway, it’s time for me to go to sleep. Night all.

The Last Night

This is it. After tonight, I no longer live in Utah. Tomorrow evening I’ll just be staying in Salt Lake on my way to Maine. Hard to believe, really. I’ve been here for about ten years, which is at least four more than I planned on. I’ve never lived anywhere else as a husband and father. The me that’s leaving Maine is a very different one than the me that came to Utah, if that makes sense. It makes me wonder what will happen to me in the next ten years.

Scary.

There have been good times here and bad times, and I think I need to learn to focus on the good times more. That’s one of my goals in Maine–try to be more positive. It’s just now sinking in what’s happening. I was driving home from dinner tonight, listening to the radio, and I realized I’ll be leaving all my radio stations behind. It’s little things like that that make the change more real for me, though I don’t know why.

No worries, fearless readers. My blog isn’t moving anywhere. 😉

Things You Shouldn’t Throw

Your back. That’s the number one thing I’ve learned over the past few days. Trying to pack while having your upper back feeling like there’s a dagger sticking out of it is much less than fun.