September 3

It still seemed like we were on vacation.  Even waking up in our empty new apartment presented no impact that this was our new home.  Any other time, this would be just a brief time away and we'd be heading home soon.  But not this time ... this was home!

Mike called earlier; he had just passed through Flagstaff.  Normally this would be about a two and a half hour drive, but there was major construction.  The truck didn't arrive until almost 1:00.  By then, most of the other residents had all gone, and we had a nice wide open area to back the truck up.  The ramp slid down almost to the bottom of the steps to our apartment.  Better yet, it was under the car port out of the blazing sun.

This was the truck before we started loading in Edinboro.  Scott's motorcycle was on first, surrounded by 3 sets of mattresses and the 2 couches (for padding), plus boxes and boxes and boxes.  It was nice that the boxes packed so neatly.  We were amazed that we got everything in just 10 ft. of space on the back of the truck.  Of course, it was packed floor to ceiling.  That's what we wondered about when Mike opened the doors ... did everything stay put?  Did everything survive the trip?

There was one plastic tote that was on the very top and it was above the last strap.  I felt sure this would be lying on the floor, but it was still there.  It was all just as we had left it.  Peggi and I started unloading the boxes.  Scott was at a job interview at Best Buy, so just the two of us just unloaded boxes ... all of the big stuff would be the last items off.  Scott would be back in time for that.

The inside of the truck was like an oven under the 110 degree sun.  Sweat was just pouring off.  I finally ditched the tee-shirt and wrapped it around my head like a bandanna.  I unloaded in stages, taking boxes off the top down to the middle, then climbing down and handing those boxes to Peg, who stacked them in the parking lot.  Then when I needed a break, I got out of the truck and carried boxes up the stairs into the apartment, catching brief breezes of air conditioning.  We fell into the rhythm of this routine until Scott came back from his job interview.  He became the man in the middle.  He got more excited as more of his motorcycle started to appear.  His strength seemed to increase, while ours waned.

The heat seemed to suck every ounce of energy from our bodies.  Even with a short lunch break, it was now more of an endurance test than anything.  Plus, the unrelenting "stair master" (remind me to find an apartment on the first floor the next time) shredded our calves and thighs, making it painful to even walk down the stairs empty handed.  But we managed to get everything off the truck, and Mike checked his other load ... the one in front of ours.  The timing couldn't have been better when Peg's brother Dan showed up after work and helped us carry the couches and a couple other items in.

We were beat ... but ... finally ... we were moved in!