Ok, so I didn't actually drive it, but I helped where I could, and I totally owned a few anxious moments especially on our first day. A few times I had to jump out and do some directing making sure he didn't hit anything he wasn't supposed to.
We finally landed in Florida on Monday afternoon after driving for three days. It turned out to be a 31 hour trip from Maine to Florida. It was a pretty scary first leg. We've never driven a truck like this before. We had a 24 foot truck with a tow carrier holding the Suburau for a total of about 45 feet. We did manage to go over a few curbs with the trailer when we took a couple of turns. Oops.
What scared us the most was the tire holder thingys that were to go around the tires kept loosening. I guess we didn't have them on secure enough at first. When we left our house after going slower than molasses along our very bumpy road we decided to check them before we entered the main road and saw one of them had really loosened up alot. We couldn't figure out how these things to begin with were going to keep the car on the carrier, but then if they got really loose or fell off, what would happen?
Since we were novices about this sort of thing, we did what novices do, panicked! We drove another two miles and when we stopped to get my last paycheck at the school my husband checked the tires again and pure anxiety lined his face. I could see that when I left the building walking towards him. So we went back to the Budget place around the corner, and the guy looked at the holders around the tires and said they looked ok. It still didn't seem right tho. We were not very convinced this was ok.
Five more miles later I had to drop off a modem so he checked them again, and one was completely off. This was not good. We had a long trip ahead of us. What now? We stopped at a garage where two of our mechanic friends worked and thought they could give us some advice. They weren't there but one of the young men there came out, cranked up this nylong wrap while my hubby watched, and off we went. This time they seemed to stay on for a while. But again and agan they kept loosening. At one point both of these holders were off the tires!
So at a truckstop in the dark while I held the flashlight, he pulled and pulled and tightened and tightened until they were extremely tight. He even cut his finger doing this. Right there as we were doing this, my husband, exhausted after this hard long day said, "this is not a good day." We kept stopping after this to check but for the most part they held up pretty well.
So the first leg of our trip which should have taken about 5 1/2 hours took 8 hours instead. We stayed our first night in Danbury, CT and did not get in until 10:30. Originally we had wanted to land there about 6-7 not wanting to drive at night with such a big unfamiliar truck. Part of the problem also was we left our now empty, cleaned up house much later than expected. We had wanted to leave by 11 am and didn't drive out of our driveway before 2:30 pm.
Our second day went much smoother. The tire thingys stayed on for the most part and we breathed so much easier. The day went flawless until the next morning at 6:45 am. We met David and Aly, now in Troutville, VA and stayed overnight with them in our hotel. After being so tired we set the alarm at 8 am but didn't make it that far. At 6:45 am an awful sounding alarm woke us up. First my husband and then David sleepily were going around the room trying to figure out what alarm was going off.
It was a fire alarm and it was extremely loud. I'm not a morning person. I pretty much lifted my head out from under the covers as my husband opened the hotel door. He looked out into the corriders seeing people leaving. I asked if he saw any smoke. He said no so I was good. Aly didn't get up either. Hey, no smoke, nobody yelling and banging on the doors, I was good. Back to sleep.
But now he and David were scurrying around picking out their valuables, computers, wallets and such so Aly and I got out of bed quickly dressing and grabbing my laptop and pocketbook I stumbled out the door with the rest. We all ended up outside in the cold. I looked at David and he was still in his boxes with a suit jacket on. Too funny. I cracked up and was glad I had my camera with me. I took a couple of shots. Too funny.
Turns out there was no fire, but we were supposed to wait for the volunteer FD before we could be let in. They didn't show up for at least a half hour. So if you live in Troutville you'd better have complete homeowner's insurance because if your house burns, count on it burning all the way.
So we snuck in via another door. It was either that or freeze. Others followed us in. When we heard it was nothing but an overcooked sausage in the microwave by an employee, we weren't sticking around . Afterall David was in his boxers and it was freezing out.
Before we left that morning David prayed for us to have safe travel. From his mouth to God's ears. We had a great trip the rest of the way . Overall we had great weather and with no accidents along the way we were saved from any tie ups that could have lengthened our trip.
When we drove up to our new home awaiting us, we were relieved and exhausted. We left on Friday in jackets and jeans and arrived on Monday afternoon and have worn nothing but shorts and tees since then. Unheard of for us in November. We are going to have to get used to these Floridian ways.
We are ready and available to see what God has for us here. I think we're in for quite a ride. Time will tell exactly.