Moving on…

We left Wisconsin on June 12, 2015 at 3am. I had arranged a pet friendly suite, in Knoxville, TN, so that would be our pit stop at the end of day one. If all goes well we would arrive around 5pm.

Steve and our son Zach drove a small moving truck with all our things that we did not send in the PODS. I drove my GMC Acadia with our daughter Gabi and our two puppies, Vinney and Gigi. My parents, who lovingly agreed to help us move in and provide moral support, drove down in their vehicle and brought along their puppy, Cooper (Vinney and Gigi’s best friend).

We headed south thru Chicago and beat the bulk of the morning rush, which of course was our plan.

Indiana here we come. The day was overcast, a really great day to drive. I was in the lead, as I had the GPS and a great co-pilot, Gabi, who could read maps. She found us places to stop for food, gas and rest stops for walking the puppies. Steve and Zach followed us and my parents brought up the rear.

Indianapolis was in the rear view mirror and we were nearing the Indiana/Kentucky border. What a change of scenery that was, from the flat farm fields to the glorious rolling hills.

We headed east out of Louisville, Kentucky for Lexington and then south to our pit stop, Knoxville, TN.

 

The drive overall was uneventful. The traffic in the major cities was reasonable and no vehicle trouble. The puppies did well too even though none of them like car riding. Vinney had to have Dramamine as he gets car sick. He also drools excessively for the first 30 minutes or so once in the car, so we wrap a waterproof pad around his neck, like a bib. My dad had rigged up a padded bed over the middle row of seats so the pups could see out the windows and come check on what we were doing in the front seat.

Saturday morning we woke up early and headed out. The trip would normally take about 4 hours, but with the moving truck going thru the Smokey Mountains, it would take us longer. It was an amazingly beautiful drive. Words nor pictures can truly do it justice. As we got past the Smokey Mountains and headed further into North Carolina, I was amazed at how mountainous and hilly the land continued to be. Steve admittedly was worried about my first reaction to the farmhouse. I was just so glad we were going to have our family back together, full time, I really didn’t care where we lived.

As we drove up our windy and hilly road and came around a bend, the dense forest opened up to the east and there sat the sweetest little yellow farmhouse. Steve, who was leading our little parade, put on his blinker and turned in. I pulled in behind him, leashed the puppies and was out of the car as fast as I could. I took the whole seen in, it was surreal. The setting was perfect. The sky was deep blue without a cloud to be seen. You could hear all sorts of birds chirping. There is a huge magnolia tree in the front yard and a large holly tree in the back yard. The yard slopes gently to the south so you can see over some of that dense forest and see how high up we are. Just to the north, although not seen from our yard, are the Brushy Mountains. It is everything we dreamed of. I was home.

Steve opened up the house and I went in. It was stifling (it was near 100 outside) and dark. The walls, ceilings and floors are all pine. Some rooms have been painted, but not the two front rooms which I stood in. I had looked at pictures and roughly sketched floor plans for weeks dreaming of this moment. I didn’t need a tour, I knew my way. I silently walked thru each room and looked out each window. It was everything I expected and I loved it. It would need LOTS of work and it was really small, but it was also perfect. It needs to be loved and we are the ones meant to do that.