Thanks all for your good wishes for a safe trip. It is interesting driving across the country alone with only my doggie to talk to....& sing along to the country music on the radio. Good thing I'm the only one in the truck to listen to the horrible singing....my doggie hasn't started howling YET.

Had a rather slow start this morning. I was up early enough, but decided to take a bag out of the back of the truck (shouldn't have been packed there in the first place). When I opened the back (big mistake) & took out the bag, several other bags fell out. I climed onto the back of the truck to try & throw the bags farther into the truck so they would hold up some of the boxes. Had a hard time getting them to stay & when I finally was successful, I stepped back, thinking I was on the bumper & not in the truck. OOps, that was a long way down & ended up hitting the parking lot on my back....luckily I had a hair ribbon in my hair & that kept my head from hitting the cement so hard....still had a bit of a headache after that. I can also say that after the whole day of sitting & driving....my whole body is a bit stiff. A good hot shower will help.....no bruises....just a lot of bumps. Hope I can find a good chiropractor when I get to my farm. I think I knocked everything out of whack on that manuever. What a clutz!!!!

I realized how dangerous driving a truck can be.....as I was driving along, there was a huge 18 wheeler out in the center divider....the cab jackknifed & mangled. The highway patrol had just arrived. I have no idea if anyone was hurt....but it looked like the truck was the only thing involved in the accident.....probably cut off by some rude driver....but then again, they haul at over 80mph & it was windy.

I never thought that there could be a traffic jam on a highway away from California, but going into Albequerque, they were doing some road work...down to one lane. The freeway was backed up for 45 minutes just going down to the one lane. That was insane.

Bebop, yes, I was planning on going through Denver, but when it took me so long to load the truck, it was only for 9 days & every day over that costs more, so I decided not to extend the length of rental more than necessary.

I do wish it would be quicker getting moved. I priced having movers do most of the moving & they came up with a cost of $21,000 +. I couldn't justify that, so decided to do all the moving except for the large furniture myself. This is the just the first load. Then I will be driving my own truck back to Ca just before Thanksgiving with some of the tools I purchased in Ky to fix my house there. The early part of December, will pack another truck load, along with a trailer if necessary (that will attach to the back of my truck). I plan on having the movers take the large furniture at this time also. I will load all my doggies into my truck also & take them along (don't want to kennel them). I am planning on spending Christmas at my new house. I will give my daughter a plane ticket to spend Christmas there too. Yes, my husband will be there temporarily to help with getting my truck back there...& he might as well spend Christmas with Chandie....it would be a good thing.
Just after the 1st of the year, & when the furniture is settled, I we will drive my truck back to California with the dogs (don't want to kennel them in KY either) & I will spend a month or so fixing up the California house so it can be sold. It is really a mess. Hasn't been painted for the 20 years I've lived in it. The carpets are a disaster & all the kitchen cabinets need cleaned. The natural wood gets grungy after so long in the desert dirt.

Once the house is ready to put on the market, then I will be able to take several of my horses back to my farm along with all my dogs again. I just purchased a very nice horse trailer, so I will be able to transport most of my horses myself. I plan on getting some shelter set up for my horses while I am there this time, & in December so I will have it ready for hauling my horses back there.

I never realized what a huge move this was going to be until I sat down & worked out the details, figuring out just when & how the moving needed to take place. Actually, the plan just came to me one day. I had been thinking about it in the back of my mind all along, then just about a week ago, it all came together in my mind. I love it when my mind works like that.

So I figure I should be moved in with all my horses & doggies & everything, by early next year. Who would think that a move would take that long??? Almost 6 months, but it will cost me a lot less & that gives me more money to put into my horses & that is the most important thing to me. I'm not on any deadline, so time isn't that important. Right now, the housing market in California is terrible, so wouldn't get what I need out of the house if I sold it now anyway. Holding onto it until the market goes up will be the best thing since we are splitting the value of the house when we get legally separated . I need as much as I can get out of it myself.

Sorry this was more than an update!!!!!,
Debbie