"It is what you learn after you know it all that counts." - John Wooden

So much has happened since my last post that any attempt at catching up would be ridiculous. So, at 5:45 a.m., as I sit on the bed waiting for Pam to finish her shower, a brief summary.

The scheduled driver for transporting my truck to Elmira didn't show, got himself fired, and was replaced by the company owner. He picked it up a day later, took it to their storage yard, and there it sits until he puts together a load and locates a driver who can haul it north. He said he may be that driver if he can't find someone else. Maybe I should be upset, but it was beyond his control, he's dealing with it best he can, and my trucks arrival isn't critical to anything on our schedule.

The kids came out Saturday morning and two hours later we had the truck packed with all our earthly belongings. We had lunch at Carl's Jr. and then hit the road, about 1:15. In between were some difficult goodbyes. We'll be back for a visit in a few months, but not being together once or twice a week is about the only part of this we don't like, and we don't like it a lot.
BTW, I took pictures of them before leaving but they didn't turn out well and need some Photoshop work I don't have time for now.

Right now I'm sitting on the bed in a Motel 6 in Redding, CA waiting for Pam to finish getting ready. I was up at my usual crazy hour so I'm ready to go.
We've done just under 1,000 miles over the last day and a half and I wouldn't recommend this as a recreational activity. Going through L.A. Saturday evening was a good idea, but trying to find a motel room within 50 miles of Pasadena that night wasn't. The U.S. vs. Mexico soccer game was being played there and even in Sylmar, 30 miles north, it took several tries to find a room. No TV, it was a smoking room, and came with a wailing puppy on the other side of the wall. All. Night. Long. But it was the only room available so we took it.

Yesterday we drove from Sylmar here to Redding, about 550 miles, and will do the last 5 hours today. We should get to our new home sometime early afternoon and start unloading the truck. I think we'll get a storage unit to hold some things for a few months so I can build shelves in Barnette for all my garage stuff, begin the rehab of Fred for all my books and study stuff, and have room in MoHo for a little more rehab.

Pam's been following me in the Kia and has done a great job of running interference for me as I make lane changes. We have walkie talkies to stay in touch (easier than cell phones and works out in the middle of Nowhere, AZ). She's listening to CD's and music on my iPad. I'm listening to whatever I can find on the truck's radio, which through the central CA valley sometimes means a Mexican music station. Oh well.

Pam's just about ready, the dog needs to be walked, and then we're off. B'fast at Denny's and then the challenging drive up and over Shasta. Once we hit Grants Pass it's all easy.
If today goes well look for a "We're home!" post tomorrow night with pics to prove it.