Arrivals, part 3

Yesterday our furniture arrived. YEAH! John Loos and his collie, Taylor, along with his crew unloaded all our earthly possessions and placed them in the house. Considering the steep stairways to the second floor and basement, we were grateful we did not have to carry the many boxes and furniture up and down.

I’m not sure we will ever get fully unpacked. After all, we have 31+ years of “stuff” we’re carting around. But we have begun the process of settling in.

After spending the afternoon unpacking, I attended my first Deacons’ meeting at First Central Baptist Church in Chicopee. Although I haven’t yet “officially” started, the work has begun.

 

Arrivals, part 2

On Monday, Carol, Mittens, our cat, and I arrived in Chicopee, MA. Yesterday, our Honda joined us. It made the journey perched on top of an auto transport truck. Having worked for a conveyor firm during and after college, I was interested in watching how it was unloaded. I was impressed with the skill of the driver. Not only did he need good driving skills, he had to deal with heights, navigate narrow walkways, operate machinery, and drive backwards on a narrow platform without clear vision.

 

A new chapter

After traveling five days cross-country, we arrived safely yesterday afternoon in Chicopee, MA. Our bodies, cat, and one car are here. Our other car arrives this afternoon, and our furniture in another day or so (hopefully). Thanks be to God for a safe journey. We are tired and road weary and need a few days to decompress, unpack, settle in, and refresh our spirits. That being said, we look forward to what God will do in and through us in this next chapter of our lives.

 

Moving On – OH – MA

Yesterday was the final day of our cross-country travels. We started out with rain in Cleveland, OH. As we drove through town, we passed Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians, as well as the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. We drove alongside the shores of Lake Erie. In New York, we passed farmlands and vineyards. We noticed that the leaves are already turning colors in upstate NY and in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. After five days of traveling 3,000 miles, we pulled into our new home in Chicopee, MA. We were road weary, and Mittens, our cat, may need therapy after being cooped up in a cage for that long, but all is well. Thanks be to God for a safe trip.

 

Moving On – IL to OH

The road trip continues ever onward towards our destination. We left Moline, IL, this morning, traversed the heart of central Illinois, across the top of Indiana, and as far into Ohio as the outskirts of Cleveland. Our hotel last night evidently hosted a gathering of classic car enthusiasts. It was fun to view their vehicles on our way out. Much of today’s journeys was through farmland, more farmland, and still more farmland. As we drove through northern Indiana, we passed one car with a sign that read, “Go Irish, 2016!” We surmised that someone dropped off a freshman at Norte Dame in South Bend, IN.

 

Moving On – NE to IL

We inched ever closer to our destination as we traversed Nebraska, Iowa, and crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois. Both NE and IA are farming country, the difference being NE is flat for as far as the eye can see (they don’t call it the Plain States for nothing) while IA has rolling hills. The corn in NE looks dry (part of the Midwestern drought) while the corn in IA looks much greener. You see irrigation on the farms in NE but not in IA. We also noticed the wind farms in IA as well. As you can see, it rained during part of the drive. One of the more interesting pictures is the one of the mud flaps of the semi-truck which indicate which side to pass on.

 

Moving on – CO to NE

Yesterday’s travels took us from Grand Junction, CO, to North Platte, NE. I-70 took us from high desert in western CO through the Rocky Mountains where we saw Vail, through the Eisenhower Tunnel into the front range where Denver is located. We enjoyed lunch at Schlotsky’s in Aurora, CO, before taking I-76 northeast where it turns into I-80 as it heads into NE. Eastern CO and NE are flat farmland with an occasional silo to break the horizon.