Thursday, July 07, 2022

Home Sweet Texas

 

 Thankfully, Jake only had to go #1 as there was a no dumping sign nearby.  But this is our stop near Lake Belton when we arrived.  Nothing notable happened in Lubbock other than a quick rest and return to the road.  Our AirBNB is in an area called Morgan's Point, north of Belton where Sonny and Karen live.  The roads there meander in the rural area which I didn't see a single yard fence.  I think there was a reason.


It is hard to call this place anything but beautiful.  The inside is stunning and perfect for our 1 month adjustment to the area and transition to Nolanville.  So far everything is looking good on that front.  Speaking of front's, check out that deer on the right near the porch.  This area is swarming with them and, yes, they are protected.  Below is what the yard looked like in the afternoon.

They also hang around the back, outside the windows.  This house is actually a few streets off from that first house we almost bought.  I didn't know when we heard about the deer that it would be this much of a part of living there.  Nice area though.  I'll throw a few more photos in as well but right now it is time to unpack and arrange things for the next few days.



Tuesday, July 05, 2022

I Knew I Shoulda Taken That Left Turn At Albuquerque!

 


I can't avoid thinking of Bugs Bunny when thinking about where we woke up today.  It was a hard drive as the potholes in Arizona are no joke but day 1 is finished and we pulled into Albuquerque for the night.  I feel sorry for anyone living there only for the fact that they have to spell the city's name over and over.  But, again we were pretty tired and ready to pass out.  The doggies traveled pretty well once we got going.

The next morning we were ready to hit the road and Jake did a quick inspection of the car and truck as I pulled the tarp on the truck tighter.  If he hadn't done that, we wouldn't have spotted our deflated tire.  So, after unsuccessfully attempting to inflate it as we got our morning coffee, we decided to head to the closest tire store to ensure we would be safe for the road.

One new tire later, we are on our way to Lubbock and our new home state.

Monday, July 04, 2022

Emptying The Nest and Hitting The Road

 

Today is the day.  This photo above is our final farewell to the valley I called home for the last 50 years.  The next 50 look pretty bright with my co-pilot for life.  The packing and loading would not have gone as well as it did without the early assistance of my brother-in-law Cory and the sweat and hard work of my sister-in-law Kelly and nephew Jake.  Although we thought we would have more than enough room, we did not.  A last minute save came from our neighbor Roy.  We were unable to get our BBQ, lawnmower and many last minute big items in and he took them off our hands.  We were at wits end and he made it happen.  I hope he can use the items or sell them and make some cash.


It was a tough day as beyond the loading of things, our baby bird flew the nest.  David is growing with his job (recently promoted internally) and has a relationship he wants to stay and build on.  This wasn't easy but I'm so freaking proud of him and the man he's become.  I know he is meant to do great things in this life and he is well on his way.  It is just going to be tough not having him close.


You can see how tightly packed the trailer was in the photo of Jake and David.  There were some tearful goodbye's.  It was really hard on Kerry but I also know she has been ready to leave for awhile.  The gameplan is to make it into Albuquerque, New Mexico tonight if all goes well.  I feel like we got away with something because there were so many ways for this to not happen or happen within our timeline.  Wish us luck and send a prayer or two.

 

 


Saturday, July 02, 2022

Farewell Las Vegas

 

It has been a flurry of packing and arranging with a few breaks inbetween.  We started loading the moving trailer today after my last physical day at work.  My co-workers came out tonight to the Crown & Anchor not far from the big green monster and had some food and drinks.  I also dragged my wife's family with me as it was the last we would see some of them although two of them are helping during the move.  We had a great time and stayed long enough to take a few waves of photos.  I know we missed photos of several others but this was really nice and a preserved memory.


I have always loved the food and have some great memories of the place.  So it was a farewell to Crown & Anchor as well.  I couldn't have worked with a better staff and in my resignation letter I urged the department head to keep this family together and strong.  They are a special crew and I have amazing memories with each and every one of them.  I'm blessed to have known you and I've become a better person in your presence because of your presence in my life.

Yes, I think you now know what I mean by feeling overwhelmed.  It is going up somewhere that I will be able to look at it often.  They are pretty amazing friends and I'm going to miss them.  Thank you for everything.


Saturday, June 25, 2022

Long Goodbyes And Signs

 


It isn't easy to announce that you are leaving when you have 3 months before leaving a job that you've had for almost 3 decades.  Heck, it's hard to tell family that you plan to leave the area after 5 decades as well.  I let just a few people know early on.  The timing was odd as a co-worker had recently passed away, another was announcing his retirement and one out fighting cancer.  And (on the family side) I mentioned my brother moving back to town which was giving my mother the idea that all her family was now going to be close again.  We decided in early April to move and I was more forthcoming about it by the end of May and June was openly talking about it.  There was a wide range of shock as I was never someone that mentioned wanting to leave the Las Vegas valley.

Long goodbyes are tough.  If you are at a party and an hour in you walk around mentioning that you are going to leave and then you are still there hours later, those people you told spend those hours thinking every time they see you "he's leaving soon" and may start wondering why you are still there.  That was the last thing I wanted.  I actually had someone tell me how hard it was to see me because they knew that I was soon not going to be there.  Life is weird like that.

So it suprised me when I walked around the corner during work and saw someone writing on something.  It seems that my friend Tony talked to another friend Don about painting a Raider logo on a framed canvas and my co-workers were writing farewell notes on it.  I don't think I've ever been emotionally hit like that at work.  I love the crew that I work with and it may be the hardest part of leaving.  So, I slyly took a picture of it and put it aside for now.  I know that I'll be staring at it often once I move.