the move
Please forgive the lame photos. I had snapshots in my head that I was sure that I took but sadly I was too busy driving and fussing to take pictures. Driving at night is not the best time to document a journey either.
I won’t even get into the packing details. I got the truck on January 3rd and we barely had the thing packed for a 4:30pm departure on January the 6th. I can’t do Cesar (and Viet), Ryan, Jeff and Dave justice right now given all the hard work they did. Luckily Jeff and Dave did all the heavly lifting early on in the process and were not around for the meltdown that occurred in the wee hours of the 5th. Cesar and Ryan worked their magic and appeared to be calm and patient throughout. I really am a bit foggy on certain details. One highlight was Ces fashioning an indestructable cardboard container for my massive Eric Starke painting. It served as the lynch pin for the thrust of the final items into the remaining cavity in the cargo hold. Though I sadly didn’t snap a picture the truck was abso-smurfly full to the hilt, end-to-end, top-to-bottom. The Honda was packed quite full as well. There were some smaller items that would have come along that were left to the extremely active dumpster divers on the 6th.
I was up at 9 or 10am on the 6th doing final packing and cleaning with Chako until our departure. A spin around the block reveals a terrifying grinding noise that is simply extra long mud flaps. A quick coffee stop and we drive through some really funky conditions all the way to Danville, California.
Extreme apologies to one Linhchi Tang who kindly offered to be our first stop of the journey in San Francisco. Certain conditions made a later offer of Danville more favorable and I’m sure, given a foolhardy mistake I made during our first stop, she should be glad to bow out of the host duties in hindsight. Still, I am a ginormous butt-head and a dingleberry and I owe her a thousand apologies. You should have seen the gorgeous map she drew to her place replete with color photos, parking options, road hazards and color coding. Speaking of road hazards… The drive was very eerie in spots with fog, rain and even smoke. Not sure what was going on but I think the occaisonal cattle dung smells in the ag industry areas were more intrusive to our space pod than the smoke.
Some time after midnight we arrive in Danville and at some gorgeous golf-course bound community. The drainage grates sounded like waterfalls. I am triply aware of dead-end drives or cul de sacs and, having consulted online aerial mapping websites, insist on parking near the only circle drive in the community. We are picked up and driven to our pitstop. I fall instantly asleep and Chako keeps her friend Sharan up until 6am talking. I wake the next morning to a lovely breakfast (Sharan’s mom is a culinary genius. Her Indian cuisine is amazing.) and walk to the car to get my atlas. After a LONG walk in the rain, I realize I have no keys in my pocket. Angrily storming back, I sprint half the distance before getting winded. Suddenly I realize the keys are really not at the house either and are most likely locked in the truck, still in the ignition. A quick drive back to the truck confirms this and we call AAA.
Neither the AAA tow service nor the Budget Rental provided locksmith could unlock the vehicle (Yes, GMC Sierra vans are quite secure) and that locksmith sure gave it his all. Later, a bad keycode from Budget further added to our delay. Eventually at around 6pm the locksmith had a working key and we depart Danville to climb the Northern California and Southern Oregon peaks. It poured on our way out but eventually mellowed. (Footnote: While I was packing the truck over two days I considered separating the keys about 15-20 times but never actually did it. Oh the humanity.)
The next big concerns were the mountain passes after Redding, CA. I actually had to get another set of tire chains for my car so that I could make it through the Weed, CA area. I went back south and got cables that ended up being more costly than the chains for the gigantic truck tires. Once we arrived at the actual snow I only had to have a drag chain through the CA passes and the cables on the car sufficed.
Around Medford, OR I had to put the full complement of chains on and once again, I had to exit and go south only to return after putting the chains on. The passes were remarkably serene but there was snow off and on. Maybe the mountains were so peaceful because Chako had been asleep since putting the chains on. Once the chains were off we made good time again through the valleys until we got near Grants Pass. The AM radio station kept talking about I-5 road closure at some town that I couldn’t find on the map. It turns out it was some podunk town past Grants Pass up in the mountains.
At this point Chako has been asleep for quite a while, waking only when I nudged her for something or when I had to put on and take off the chains. I think I was in one of those weird late-night/early-morning grooves that I sometimes get into while working and I had been feeling fine. However, for quite some time prior to Grants Pass there had been nothing but heavy snowfall and slight wind. The sort of thing that really taxes your eyeballs, brains and will especially after having been night driving for so long.
Chako woke and really wanted to stop somewhere. Since I was spent we pulled over at one exit that ended up seeming a little sketchy parking and amenity wise. The next exit turned out to be Grants Pass and I had a hard time just getting around the city because it was a bit slippery and the truck wouldn’t find traction after stopping. I just wanted to get this thing parked in a direction that wouldn’t cause problems the next day and get some rest. Somehow a few circuits around the town found us a large emptyish parking lot across from a Motel 6. I’m glad my first instinct to sleep in the truck was vetoed by Chako and after finding this place we both headed in. At 6am their system was just accepting reservations for the new day and we signed in, cleaned up and conked out.
The next day I was roused by the front desk that said the pass up ahead was closed and they were accepting reservations from current customers in case things got crowded. I made a reservation and went to sleep. When I woke up again at Noon or 1pm everything was open and the roads were clear and slushy. Well rested and ready to get there we filled up the tank and took off. It was so nice to actually drive during the day for once and enjoy a bit of the scenery.
Near the pass there was a sign on the interstate that indicated the necessity for tire chains. Rather than repeat the round-about scenario that I had done two times before I stopped along with the other trucks and put on the chains. It took forever because the chains were twisted up. By the time I was ready I realized they were no longer necessary. Totally pissed, I drove quite a ways until I found a spot that was safe and straight enough to remove them. I was cautiously joyous as I figured this was the last time I would have to touch the hideous and unwieldy hand manglers. It was pretty smooth sailing and the curves and snow melted away with the miles.
In the evening we were getting a little cranky because in our haste to get through the pass we didn’t find breakfast and simply snacked on goodies still left in the truck. Around 6pm we stopped in Eugene and ate at Scholotsky’s near some mall. It tasted sooooo good. Some local guy gave us some helpful info and we realized we were alot closer than we thought we were. We had some more rain off and on but we kept on trucking at a pretty good rate.
We got into Seattle around 11pm and the apartment manager happily handed over the keys and pointed out the lease to be signed and that rent needed to be handed over ASAP. We spent all of Sunday unpacking with the help of Tysen, Julie and later in the day, Jeff. While Jeff boldly mocked all of our crap Tysen and Julie just politely shook their heads. They were so sweet as to arrive with lunch. Aw man that rocked. In the late evening Jeff bravely guarded the overflow crap and joined Chako in hefting it up towards my extra storage while I returned the truck with the stamina daddies Tysen and Julie. So sweet!
I would never have survived without friends, family and Chako. I’ve worked a few days in the new office and I’m excited to really dig in. Now to unpack some records and make home a little more liveable.
P.S. I must concur with sugarboots glowing assessment of roadtrip timewarps and great conversation. Some day I’ll have to make a trip where I’m not worried about tire chains, time tables and $100 per extra day charges. Or next time I’ll just make Chako change the chains and drive the big rigs.
16 January 2005, 17:35 ::
commenting closed for this article
1) last-minute packing
2) lousy weather
3) overloaded truck
4) drama associated with the vehicle
5) late-night arrival
if it was easier, would it have been as memorable?
— rmckaggis 2005-01-19 13:35 #
— sharan 2005-01-21 05:17 #
— kc 2005-01-28 16:20 #
— starke 2005-04-14 13:09 #