The move was a success!! It was a quite a week and here is the briefest of overview (click the links for more information):
My parents and I left Neosho Tuesday, August 10 and drove 535 miles to Lebanon, Tennessee. We drove Highway 60 across Missouri. The scenery was amazing. It was easy to forget we were still in Missouri! After lunch we crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois. We were in Illinois for only two minutes before crossing the Mississippi River again into Kentucky. We drove on two lane highways until we got to Paducah, Kentucky and it was interstate the rest of the way! We got into Lebanon about 4:30 after driving about nine hours! Keep in mind, ABF moved my books and furniture for me, so we only had two cars. My Mustang got 28 MPG despite being loaded and running the air conditioner.
On the 11th we had a much shorter driver. We drove from Lebanon to Lexington, Virginia (an hour south of Harrisonburg). The 451 miles drive went by much quicker. We stopped in Bristol, Tennessee for lunch and to refuel. If Bristol sounds familiar, it is the home of Bristol Motor Speedway. I knew we had a shorter drive and asked my mom to call the speedway to find out if tours of the track were available. They offer tours daily!! For a measly $5 per person, you get to tour the suites, view the track from the owner’s suite, and walk on the track! It was quite an experience and I look forward to going to other tracks in the area!
The mountains in Virginia are amazing! The Smokey Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains are beautiful. Pictures do not do them justice, but I will post some later today. We got into Lexington about 5:00 and stayed in a Hampton Inn (click the link to see the Hotel) that is an Antebellum mansion. The mansion is the lobby area and there are 5 rooms that are decorated in the Antebellum style. Lexington is a historic town. It is the home of Washington and Lee University which is the burial site of General Robert E. Lee. In addition, General Stonewall Jackson is buried in town. We were unable to see these sites since we spent an hour at Bristol, but Lexington is only an hour away and I will go back!
On the morning of the 12th, I knew the next few days would be busy. ABF was supposed to deliver the trailer to my apartment at 11 AM, but when I called they told me it would be around 9:30. We got on the road at 8:30 because we had an hour to drive. We entered the Shenandoah Valley and I got my first glimpse into the scenary that will be outside my window! We got into Harrisonburg and to my surprise, the end of my road is torn out and we had to find an alternate route in. Our cars got separated, which made for an interesting twenty minutes. In the meantime, ABF delivered the trailer and I got the key from my landlord. We were ready to move in! It took us less then an hour to get everything inside the apartment and my parents helped get everything setup. By the time my parents left Saturday morning, everything was setup except for my books. The books did not take as long as I thought it would! Now, everything is setup and my apartment looks like….home.
I am glad my parents were here to help, or I would still be unpacking and putting things away!!
I will post some pictures from the trip later today, but looking back it was strange seeing my life reduced to boxes and I am glad everything is back to “normal.”
-Eric
