Hobbit Travel Tales
Okay, I'm a slacker - but here's a recap from my move. I could probably put more into it ... but I need to stop looking for excuses to avoid unpacking. It was an exciting trip - full of danger, adventure, and lovely scenery! Here's a short list for you of things I've learned while driving a moving van from Phoenix to Denver.
I've learned that ...
1) Even once you get that snazzy little precheck diagram that shows all damage to the truck before you sign it out; take pictures and get some sort of signed statement that the truck company is responsible for all the damage that you have not caused. (They've been fighting with me for a week on a dent that was already there before I got the truck. Jerks.)
2) Wear your glasses and not your contacts ... mine fell out three times on the way to Flagstaff.
3) Make sure that at least two employees from the truck company double check your truck before you drive it off the lot. The guy who checked mine out had spent the previous night at his daughter's wedding and wasn't paying any attention. The ball hitch lock was not tight (at all) and the car carrier came right off of the truck in the middle of a street in Flagstaff. I'm exceedingly fortunate that it was not on the freeway (and that Robert my roadside angel happened to be driving past and was kind enough to stop and help a stranger). :)
4) Wear sunscreen if you're going to drive with the window down.
5) New Mexico has HIGH GUSTY WINDS! So roll up the window and turn on the A/C - otherwise, it feels like the truck is going to tip over!
6) If you aren't used to driving in rain - you should probably pull the truck over when it beings to hail on the road between Santa Fe and Colorado Springs. It's really frightening to drive thru if you're not used to it.
7) I wish I'd had a sign on the back of the truck that read, "I'm a novice with this truck - please stop driving past me at 100 miles an hour! You're scaring the living daylights out of me!!!"
8) Don't make the trip alone. Bring someone else along so that once you hit a problem (like getting the truck trapped in a dead end parking lot at a hotel in Flagstaff) you have someone else that you know there already to play the role of responsible adult. One person shouldn't have to play that role all the time. :/
9) If you do get stuck in a dead end parking lot at a hotel in Flagstaff - don't go ask the two dummy teenage brothers at the front desk for help. They were so busy fighting and shouting at each other in Arabic that the police came over to check on a neighbor's noise complaint.
10) I should have asked the police to stay and help me get the truck unstuck - the boys were useless.
11) Drink water. If you are too terrified to take your hands off the steering wheel long enough to drink water - then pull over and stop.
Those were just a few of my lessons ... I've deliberately forgotten some of the others in order to prevent major emotional trauma ;) I had a wonderful breakfast in Santa Fe with Charlie Ash but my arrival in Denver was heralded by getting lost in the city straight away. Erin and Timmy and Trey got me unlost - but I was so exhausted and frustrated at that point that I only made it worse. :/ I parked the truck in a lot between the liquor store and cathedral and headed off to the bus and then light rail station. I had two different guys stop me on the way with terribly indecent proposals... and one woman stop me to ask if I had any weed. I ask you - what would possess anyone in the world to stop ME in my cute little penguin t-shirt and preppy white slacks to ask if I had any weed???? But I got to see several happy and friendly faces at the end of my train ride, so all is well! :)
The drive was fantastically beautiful!! And I truly enjoyed the adventure, once I got beyond terror and panic. But I don't think I'll be making that trip again anytime soon. Very happy to be in Denver in my cute little apartment. :) It has a fireplace and a balcony overlooking a pond where a family of geese lives. :) There are many trees and mountains and grass! And the temperature hasn't come anywhere near 100 degrees since I've been here! NA-HA-HA!!!!
There is a Laser Quest about 1 block from my place; and a karaoke bar across the street!! You can't beat that with a stick!! :) So drop me a line - I'm having a lovely time in Denver!!! :)
I've learned that ...
1) Even once you get that snazzy little precheck diagram that shows all damage to the truck before you sign it out; take pictures and get some sort of signed statement that the truck company is responsible for all the damage that you have not caused. (They've been fighting with me for a week on a dent that was already there before I got the truck. Jerks.)
2) Wear your glasses and not your contacts ... mine fell out three times on the way to Flagstaff.
3) Make sure that at least two employees from the truck company double check your truck before you drive it off the lot. The guy who checked mine out had spent the previous night at his daughter's wedding and wasn't paying any attention. The ball hitch lock was not tight (at all) and the car carrier came right off of the truck in the middle of a street in Flagstaff. I'm exceedingly fortunate that it was not on the freeway (and that Robert my roadside angel happened to be driving past and was kind enough to stop and help a stranger). :)
4) Wear sunscreen if you're going to drive with the window down.
5) New Mexico has HIGH GUSTY WINDS! So roll up the window and turn on the A/C - otherwise, it feels like the truck is going to tip over!
6) If you aren't used to driving in rain - you should probably pull the truck over when it beings to hail on the road between Santa Fe and Colorado Springs. It's really frightening to drive thru if you're not used to it.
7) I wish I'd had a sign on the back of the truck that read, "I'm a novice with this truck - please stop driving past me at 100 miles an hour! You're scaring the living daylights out of me!!!"
8) Don't make the trip alone. Bring someone else along so that once you hit a problem (like getting the truck trapped in a dead end parking lot at a hotel in Flagstaff) you have someone else that you know there already to play the role of responsible adult. One person shouldn't have to play that role all the time. :/
9) If you do get stuck in a dead end parking lot at a hotel in Flagstaff - don't go ask the two dummy teenage brothers at the front desk for help. They were so busy fighting and shouting at each other in Arabic that the police came over to check on a neighbor's noise complaint.
10) I should have asked the police to stay and help me get the truck unstuck - the boys were useless.
11) Drink water. If you are too terrified to take your hands off the steering wheel long enough to drink water - then pull over and stop.
Those were just a few of my lessons ... I've deliberately forgotten some of the others in order to prevent major emotional trauma ;) I had a wonderful breakfast in Santa Fe with Charlie Ash but my arrival in Denver was heralded by getting lost in the city straight away. Erin and Timmy and Trey got me unlost - but I was so exhausted and frustrated at that point that I only made it worse. :/ I parked the truck in a lot between the liquor store and cathedral and headed off to the bus and then light rail station. I had two different guys stop me on the way with terribly indecent proposals... and one woman stop me to ask if I had any weed. I ask you - what would possess anyone in the world to stop ME in my cute little penguin t-shirt and preppy white slacks to ask if I had any weed???? But I got to see several happy and friendly faces at the end of my train ride, so all is well! :)
The drive was fantastically beautiful!! And I truly enjoyed the adventure, once I got beyond terror and panic. But I don't think I'll be making that trip again anytime soon. Very happy to be in Denver in my cute little apartment. :) It has a fireplace and a balcony overlooking a pond where a family of geese lives. :) There are many trees and mountains and grass! And the temperature hasn't come anywhere near 100 degrees since I've been here! NA-HA-HA!!!!
There is a Laser Quest about 1 block from my place; and a karaoke bar across the street!! You can't beat that with a stick!! :) So drop me a line - I'm having a lovely time in Denver!!! :)