We had originally planned on leaving at 2AM on Monday, but we were concerned that the roads would be too icy, so we left at 8PM Sunday night. We hit snow in Tacoma, but it did not affect the driving too much, and made it to Eugene at 2AM. (David drove a 26 foot van, so it was slow going. He did an incredible job!)
We checked into a Comfort Suites and crashed for 4.5 hours and hit the road again.
Grant’s Pass and the Siskiyou’s were just fine, except that the Siskiyou’s had been heavily sanded with a red gravel. My car was a brick color by the time we got through it.
I blew out a tire near Corning. David changed it to the spare and I was able to get to a Les Schwab in Corning. David and the boys kept going to try to make the deadline for us to get our apartment. This last leg of the trip was all highway 99, along gorgous countryside.
We did not reach check in in time, and went to a Starbucks in Roseville to log on and find a place to stay for the night. We were all very tired and looked worse for wear. There was a friendly couple sitting at the tables outside with their two dogs. I stayed outside with the boys so they could run and stretch their legs. I had mentioned to them that we just drove in from Washington and were moving to Roseville. The woman complimented me on my sweater, then noticed my cross, and asked if I was a Christian. She asked if we had a church in Roseville. When I said that we were planning on attending Bayside, they both lit up and said that they serve in the Jr. High ministry. We talked about Bayside and why they chose to go there, and why we were attracted to it.
I told them that God tapped them to be our "Welcoming Committee". We have exchanged numbers and plan to meet up before service on Sunday. They were exactly what we needed at that time.
We spent our first night in Roseville in another Comfort Suites and ate our first meal at Olive Garden, YUM!
Yesterday morning (Tuesday), we got into our apartment. David not only did good, he did REALLY GOOD! I will get pictures up soon, but this place is incredible! We had two movers help us move our stuff in. They were so professional and polite. David struck up a nice conversation with one of them, and he ended up asking David to invite him and his wife to church with us once we are settled. Pretty cool!
Got cable and internet connected and although our place looks like a hurricane victim, the kitchen is in place (for the most part), and we should be able to finish everything today.
The kids were amazing through the trip. They spent most of the time in the UHaul with David. I spent most of the time listening to conference seminar tapes, and the local Christian radio. (I love KLOVE!!) Chelan was not happy, and was quite vocal at times, but he persevered.
My love to you all. Will update more later…