JIM'S OVERLAND TRAVELS

8/05/04   My trip from La Crosse to Columbus was pretty uneventful.  I'm not sure if I remembered / finished everything I was supposed to do in La Crosse, but it was time to leave!  My old colleague, Susan, drove out to East Towne to see me; I gave her my slides from COP days.   I spent the night with Tim and Connie and had a chance to say "hi" to Allison, who is seven months pregnant.  I got a parking ticket in front of their house at 4 in the morning thought!  Probably a good thing that Elizabeth and Michael arranged boat storage out in the country!  Anyway, the drive was uneventful -- just go 64mph in the right lane.  I averaged 10 mpg as expected.   Maddie hid in the van for awhile but is now safely in the house.  Liam is enjoying playing with Alec's old Tonka crane.  We had a nice excursion to the Columbus zoo this morning, and now, after nap time, we're off to the grocery store.

8/07/04   It's the end of the first week of my new adventure -- how am I doing?   The trip here to Columbus was uneventful -- actually one of the easiest I've made.  There's some sadness about leaving people and places that are meaningful, but I'm also feeling some drive to get on with things.  I'm sleeping quite well here at Elizabeth's; my stomach is still a little tender and sometimes it feels like my heart is pounding.  I noticed that when I was applying for jobs (as required for Unemployment Compensation) on-line yesterday.  I will need to keep doing that, but I also have to have the patience to stick to my plan of networking for 3-6 months before I start to panic and worry about leaving St. Croix.

8/10/04  Brunswick, GA:  I left Columbus about 10am on Monday -- a little later than planned, but I went with Elizabeth to take Liam to his daycare center.  Parting with them was a little tearful on my part -- Liam just didn't want his mom to leave him.

Anyway, I left Columbus heading eastbound on I-70, which was busy.  It was hilly but I got reasonably good gas mileage.  Driving through the mountains of West Virginia was challenging though.  It had been almost 50 years since I'd seen that part of the country but I couldn't really enjoy the views while keeping track of the big white thing behind the van.  I thought the van handled the load remarkably well, although I needed to use 2nd gear in the truck/slow traffic lanes.  I think I overheated the transmission though, because it started acting up on the way down hill.  

I had some confusion finding Paul and Lolette 's new house, but Paul came to escort me in the last little ways to their new home in Chapel Hill.  They suggested I lay over with them for a day, but I want to get on with this and left (by the back route Paul showed me) about 10:30.  It does seem to be all down hill from Chapel Hill, and the van ran fine with no trouble from the transmission.

I didn't see much of the countryside though -- tall trees line the interstate and the land is low -- tidewater country, after all.  I'm making good time and stopped in Brunswick, GA at 5:30.  It's starting to drizzle a little, and I'm tired.  I need to make some phone calls and get some dinner.  If I leave early, I should make Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow and have some leisure time there.

8/12/04  I left Brunswick about 7:30 and made it to Ft. Lauderdale as planned -- but not entirely without incident.  I jinxed myself by thinking I had the trip made when a tire blew on the trailer just north of Stuart, about 50 miles from here.  I heard it and saw it but never really felt it; I was able to slow down, pull over and into a closed roadside where I had a safe place and flat surface to change the tire.  It was entirely off the rim by that time and I had to use a piece of 4X4 I had with me to block the wheel.  It took me about 45 minutes and I appreciated the few sprinkles of rain that fell on me.

I made it to the Comfort Inn in Ft. Lauderdale by 4:30.  The traffic was already (always?) heavy but not as bad as Chicago.  I doubt if I've ever been passed on the right so often however.  Anyway it was very hot here and Maddie and I were both glad that the AC in our room was turned up high.  I had two G&Ts at the poolside bar and then a mediocre supper at the restaurant.  I checked on the boat and had a "late" swim (the pool was warm too) and in bed by 9:30.

This morning I had more trouble getting directions to the shipper's than I did finding the place.  Most of what I'd been told was wrong, but they were very nice about it.  They haven't allowed 30 cubic feet of personal property in the vehicle for a long time (and thought I had way more than that anyway), but Arnold made a call and let me go "at his discretion."  Still the whole process took about 2 1/2 hours, and there's no way I could have gotten it all done tomorrow before flying out, even without Edgar being along.

I walked back to the hotel, having nothing better to do, but it was long and hot.  Fortunately I found a marina-side pub and stopped for lunch.  People there were talking about Hurricane Charlie coming ashore (and I saw the alert the Coast Guard harbormaster had posted) but I didn't see anybody doing anything to prepare their pleasure craft.  (I did overhear the people at Crowley reviewing the status of their ships, however).

So I took a cold shower after Rob called and then a little siesta.  Maybe I can get used to this lifestyle.  Tammy and Brian even think they found a buyer for their place, so everything seems to be coming together.

MILEAGE  53171 start

  53932 in Columbus --> 760 miles

  55298 to Ft. Lauderdale -->  2127 miles total

 1958 miles / 190.1 gals = 10.3 mpg, $353 fuel cost

8/14/04  I was anxious to leave Ft. Lauderdale before a hurricane affected my travel plans and didn't sleep well again.  We ended up having a two hour delay, but that shortened my wait in San Juan, where the American Eagle gates were again jam-packed.  Maddie proved to be a surprisingly good air traveler, and her cage fit better on the small plane than the larger -- just the opposite from what the ticketing agent told me.  But then again he didn't charge me either.

Jean was there to pick us up before the baggage was unloaded.  She fixed me a nice supper, we went for a swim, and made love.  It's beautiful here, both by night and by day.  The ocean is closer than I remember.  The wind is strong and somewhat cooling.  Much better than southern Florida however!

Jean has been taking it a bit easier since she hurt her knee, so there's still a lot of unpacking to be done.  I'm not quite sure where I'm going to put my stuff.  The apartment needs a lot of maintenance -- nobody like Roy here! -- and Oswald, the pool guy quit this morning because he wasn't getting paid.  Jean let Maddie out of her cage when we got here and she promptly disappeared, so we have things to take care of.  Jean is volunteering at the Botanical Garden this morning, and it is time for me to go pick her up.

8/16/04  When people asked me if this was going to be a permanent move, I always replied that it depends on three things: will we like it, will we fit in, and will we be able to make a living?  I pray that the answer to all three will be "yes."

I've only been here three days, so it is obviously premature to answer the third question -- it's merely a source of anxiety and/or a test of my patience and faith.

As to the other two questions, I don't know yet either.  It's beautiful here, and warm -- almost somnolent.  Jean and I had one of those deserted Caribbean beach experiences this afternoon, but everything still seems pretty alien to me.  I'll admit that I felt more comfortable in the hardware store in Gallows Bay (part of the white ghetto) than at our local grocery store.  (Although both seem awfully expensive).

Jean seems to like it here and her volunteering with the Botanical Society is already building relationships.  We went to church at Kingshill yesterday and the service wasn't so strange -- and they need somebody.  Even getting health insurance through the church would help us financially.  So I need to be patient, take time to get settled in, start networking.  Who knows what the future holds?

8/19/04  I think we're settling in.  Most - but not all - the boxes are unpacked and out of the house.  I've arranged for a slip and SCUBA lessons.  We're going to a dinner dance sponsored by LSS on Friday as part of our anniversay celebration -- an opportunity to see and be seen!  We've been to beaches twice and I feel like I'm getting used to the heat.  Some things, like getting phone and internet service, seem easier than expected, while others -- getting an insurance agent to call back -- are surprisingly difficult.