I found it hard to wrap my head around moving to Arkansas until we went through all the major tasks to get ready for the trip cross country. We needed to get our current home ready to sell, movers scheduled, work situated for time-off, and the new home details ready like electricity, water, internet, trash. Only when the mover arrived did it start to feel real. They packed up all our belongings from 8 am on a Sunday till 11:45 pm! Even though the home was only 1300 sq ft, it was chocked full, like tetris, with things ranging from 1940 Disney cells to beer glasses from our favorite breweries and everything in between. We stuck around to help and exhausted, fell asleep on air-mattresses that evening, to the echo of an empty home.
It's hard to describe seeing the home you've occupied for 20 years void of everything. There is such finality and closure in walking through an empty home and saying thank you for the safety, security, memories, and comfort those sturdy walls provided us. I was quite sensitive the next day when we packed up the remaining belongings. At just the moment when we were about ready to leave, our wonderful neighbor Norma Jean came over to say goodbye and I pretty much couldn't speak. She consoled me and my kiddo's laughed, "ahh mom, its just a house". They will understand one day, and I'm so glad they brought me strength and laughter in that moment.
Day 1 - Journey Begins
We hit the road with 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 dogs, 2 fish, 2 vehicles (truck and van), 5 bikes and a mission to get across 5 states in 3 days. This was not a sight-seeing trip largely because we had too many valuables with us to leave alone during exploration, and given each of us were driving one vehicle, with no trade-offs when we got tired, the faster we could be done the better.
So, we made due with the scenery around us. From Santa Cruz to Barstow, we saw much of the familiar roads used to visit family in Southern California, the 101, 46, 5, through to the 15.... It was uneventful, save sloshing water out of the 2 gallon tank (minor drama in the back seat), stopping at KFC for some quick chicken bites and caffeine. We arrived in the Barstow KOA at 11:45 pm - still running on adrenaline.
We decided to pop the top on our van camper for the kiddos then we headed to the bathrooms to get ready for bed. When I arrived back at the truck, Todd had an air-mattress blown up on the gravel next to our truck and asked "is this ok?". I was surprised, but knew it was safe - we were in the dessert, it was 75 degrees that night, and I said what the heck. I got into the sleeping bag, and looked up at the stars, thinking - how cool. My phone couldn't do it justice, but I tried to capture the moment, before I put in ear plugs, turned on my side, said goodnight, and closed my eye's imaging being at home in bed.
Next thing I knew - it was daylight - 5:45 am. I opened my eyes to see Todd staring at me with a smile and a "good morning". He was glad the dogs didn't bark during the night. I rolled out of bed, put on my shoes, and we went to work, walking the dogs, having a quick campfire breakfast, and hitting the road.
The beginning - and the end - starry night (that you can't see)
Day 2: Hard
OK, I'm not gonna lie, this was the hardest day EVER. Todd only got a rough 1-2 hrs sleep, and my 5ish, never does me justice. We were already a bit out of it, when Jaina said - "MOM - Sergeant Bobblehead is floating sideways". I flagged down Todd. He confirmed the water was out of oxygen and even at this point, if we got an oxygenator, they likely wouldn't make it. We made the decision to give them their best shot in the sewer system and off Captain Orange Cremesicle and her buddy went to a "thank you and a few more tears".
We crossed over from the 15 to 40 - which would be the road that took us home. We settled into the long drive ahead. When we finally crossed over to Arizona, "The Grand Canyon State", I was excited to see and instant change in the road - nicely paved. Then was struck by the geologic diversity. It went from tumble weeds to rocky plateaus, dissolute vast stretches of nothingness to sierra like mountain regions getting up to 5000 feet. But then it all came to a dead stop...
LA style traffic, unrelenting, crawling, merging, energy draining...and I began to get tired. I caught up on the day's news, NPR, Techmeme Ride Home, The Newsworthy, Science vs., then cycled through 80's music till finally passed the construction...in the middle of the day. I was irritated. Oh, and then we passed the Grand Canyon exit and wished we had energy/time to stop, but knew that wouldn't happen. Off we went to meteor crater rest stop.
When we all got out to stretch our legs, it was HOT, and we were at elevation so within 15 minutes - my nose and shoulders got sun burnt, and I noticed Todd wasn't doing well. He was so tired. He sat in the car and rested. We weren't much more for the day and it was only 2 pm. I booked us into an upcoming Best Western and we pulled in. We moved half our valuables into the hotel room, jumped in the pool, watched the sunset and ate Albertos Mexican to salvage a savage day. We passed out in a nice king size bed, at 9 pm and snored till 6 am refreshed. Whew.
Day 3: White Knuckles
It started out great, all our stuff left in the truck was unharmed (included the 50 motorcycle), a campfire style breakfast, and beautiful morning light to guide our way. Arizona expired into New Mexico "The Land of Enchantment" and many volcanoes. The geology was as inspiring as Arizona with the vast volcanic rock littering the landscape, from mountainous regions far off in the distance. After catching up on my podcasts, I listened to YouTube New Mexico documentaries that included the likes of Billy the Kid, and imagined a rough time when natives and easterners fought each other for control of this vast, beautiful land. Then was further amazed when we crested a hill and in the distance rose Albuquerque, home to 560K people. We put our heads down and charged through luckily not hitting any traffic.
As we got closer to Texas, the clouds in the sky became more and more beautiful. Little did I know that those desert clouds are not the friendly clouds I so rarely saw in California. They were not friends at all. I called my dad who relayed we'd experience light showers, up the road. However, after that call and an hour later, that light shower built into a thunderstorm. I saw the tell tail signs of a shower ahead, you know, like a sheet of mist blurring the distance. But the clouds above these sheets lost their shape and consumed the sky.
The oncoming traffic looked fine, lights on, windshield wipers on, no big deal. Thinking back, it would have been nice if they'd flashed their lights at us and yelled to get to an underpass. But no, we naively drove into the belie of the beast. The light rain coated the windshield, then without warning, the rain turned into pellets hitting us sideways, and my eyes got wide and my knuckles white. I asked Siri to call Todd who instantly said - get behind a semi, and at the next overpass stop. I went into auto-pilot as the pellets became rock sized bowling balls (or at least that's what they sounded like to me). We slowed to 30 behind a semi, praying under my breath for the overpass that never came, and a windshield that wouldn't shatter. This California girl assumed the cars were being totaled, in that moment, and there was nothing I could do.
Then we emerged out the other side, only to see another one a few miles down the road. We kept each other on speaker phone for a piece of mind, and again, braved through another onslaught. Cars and Semi's were pulled off on the side of the road, but we kept going to get through it. Just as the pummeling eased we saw our salvation - a covered gas station. We pulled in with a screeching halt, looked at all the cars and travelers around us, taking stock of our nerves and vehicles. Much to my amazement, not a dent in sight, just a very clean set of cars. I was so very proud of the dogs for staying quiet through the ordeal and for kiddos who found it all very exciting. I on the other hand, needed a stiff drink. So, booked ourselves into the nearest hotel with a bar.
Day 4: New Home Sweet Home
Back on the road, curious what the day would bring, and hopeful the most excitement would be pulling into the driveway of our new home in NWA. We crossed through Texas, "The Lone Star State", ate at a quintessential Texas diner, in the middle of no where, with food that comforted the soul. We crossed into Oklahoma knowing this would be the longest part of our journey, and that once we made it into Arkansas, we were almost home.
Oklahoma, "The Sooner State" was similarly vast open plains which recalled middle school lessons of the dust bowl. Again, I listened to the states documentaries including the dust bowl and gold rush to remember and imagine the prosperity and difficulty endured by those long past. It was sobering. There was no resemblance of that hardship in the landscape seen off highway 40. Lush green farmlands and trees for miles.
We made smooth progress stopping for gas when Todd noticed a lady in a pick-up truck having trouble with her tire and trying to fix it while distracting her 4 year old with her phone. He asked if she needed help, and he promptly got to work, applying his years of expertise from America's Tire Company. It felt like 100 degrees but he didn't flinch as he sat on the ground working to replace her blowout.
Oklahoma City - now that is a CITY. We tried to bulldoze through, but to no avail. It had a rhythm we couldn't break, so settled into the traffic and five lanes highway that reminded us of the 405 freeway in LA. No matter how many lanes, traffic stays the same. But we broke through and saw Arkansas welcome us home.
Arkansas, "The Natural State", is true to form. Almost instantly the sides of the highway rose into bluff shelters and a wilderness I recalled from the summers spent in this region. Then I realized, as we turned onto highway 49 last road standing between us and our new home, that Magnolia Trees frequented the landscape along with a street called Van Buren. Were we always ment to do this? Was Van Buren, the street in Riverside that Todd drove every day for years, and the 30 yr old Magnola tree that graced our SC home totums of the future? Maybe not, but they certainly made my heart settle and excitement grow.
Fayetteville turned to Rogers. Rogers turned to Bentonville. And I quickly got lost on the side roads. It was fitting for Todd to take the lead, as he found the house in a previous trip. The rest of us had only scene pictures. As we drove into our neighborhood and looked at the inviting homes and yards anticipation grew...
There it was. The same home I'd seen so many times in pictures and that now we would call our own, to impart ourselves into its history and promise to leave it better than we found it, years down the road. Now a new chapter begins. Settling into our new home and surroundings and we couldn't be happier.
Thank you to my Mom who helped plot our course, Dad who greeted us at the end, and a host of friends and family (you all) for the encouraging words along the way. We couldn't have done it without.
Oh and fun fact: Gas went from $4.39/gallon to ...
