Go East, Young Man (Day Six)!

Although it has been almost two weeks since the Scarborough Bronx Expedition arrived at our final destination, I thought that I would provide an account of the last day of our journey. We awoke at 3:00 a.m. on August 1, loaded the truck, and were on the road by 4:00. The drive into New York City was actually quite uneventful. That early in the morning, even New Yorkers are less active than usual. The drive across the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan was pretty exciting, however. It marked the final leg of the journey and our entrance into New York. We arrived at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) at 6:00 a.m. and began the laborious process of unloading the Penske and moving everything upstairs into Julie and my new home. The security guards at the building were extremely helpful; they let us unload behind the building and bring everything in through the basement. It saved alot of time and effort. I also enlisted the help of two fellow BYU alum in the process. We were done by 10:30. This is what the apartment looked like immediately after we finished; I did manage to clean it up a bit by the time Julie arrived!





Dad and I then embarked on a series of adventures in New York over the next week. We went to City Hall and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, visited New Jersey in search of family gravesites, and observed New York City from the top of the Empire State Building. We had a great time and I look forward to many more visits from family and friends.



The final five things I learned from our trip are:

1. Despite the fact that he's known me for over thirty years, my father still calls me "Phil" at least once a day.

2. The Mormon connection is worth its weight in gold; you can always count on instant friends once you arrive at a new location.

3. Julie and I have way too much stuff!

4. Even though I've traveled quite a bit during my life, I still feel like a hick in New York City.

5. Even though he's almost sixty-two years old, my Dad is still fun to hang out with.

Well, the move is over (although we're still trying to find a place for all of our stuff). Julie and I are back together again and we're looking forward to four years in the most exciting city in the world! We expect lots of visitors, so start making plans; an exciting trip to the Bronx awaits!

Go East, Young Man (Days Four and Five)!

Day Four began with the Scarborough "Bronx" Expedition taking a badly needed rest. We went to visit Dad's cousin, Jean Keller. She prepared an amazing breakfast of biscuits and gravy for us and then we talked with her until about noon. We hopped in the Penske and commenced our journey again. The day was a light driving day; we only traveled about 250 miles. There actually isn't much to report. Dad and I split the driving evenly and we arrived at our hotel in Dubois, Pennsylvania early. We had a great dinner and went to bed, preparing for an exhausting 200 mile drive the next day ;)

The Penske Truck count dropped off rather drastically today. Apparently, people move over the weekend. We only saw 13 Penske Trucks, 9 U-Haul Trucks, and 3 Budget Trucks. Here are the top five things learned during the drive:

1. Apparently, July is turtle mating season.

2. Penske trucks have excellent brakes and Dad, believe it or not, still has a decent reaction time.

3. The scenery in the Eastern United States makes the West look like a desert . . . wait a minute! It is a desert!

4. After traveling with someone for 2,000 miles, you do eventually run out of things to talk about.

5. Nothing says I love you quite like a small, inexpensive, memorial pin from each state driven through.

Day Five began at the excruciatingly early hour of 8:00 a.m. We hurried as fast as we possibly could and managed to hit the road at the crack-of-dawn; 10:00 a.m. We then drove for an interminable 4 hours, traveling a mind boggling 210 miles. We then stopped in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania and rested for the final 81 mile push into the Bronx! Dad and I are excited, although the impending unloading of the truck is a dark cloud that casts its shadow over our sunny mood. Regardless, the journey will soon be over. The Penske Truck count was even lower today. We saw 7 Penske Trucks, 4 U-haul Trucks, and 3 Budget Trucks. Here are the top five things learned today:

1. You never get used to the smell of turtle crap.

2. The Appalachian Mountains, while beautiful, aren't really that big.

3. Growing a chin beard is an itchy, scratchy experience (this one is courtesy of Dad).

4. Pennsylvania drivers are really quite nice, particularly when compared to Utah drivers.

5. After taking five days to travel across the country we have come to the realization that our nation is freaking huge!

We plan on leaving tomorrow at 4:00 a.m. in order to punch into New York. Stay tuned for the final updates.

Go East, Young Man (Days Two and Three)!

The continuation of our journey saw us awake at the relatively late hour of 8:00 a.m. and ready to depart at around 9:00. We left Rawlins, Wyoming amid sunny skies and dispositions, eagerly anticipating a pleasant, if somewhat boring, drive across the plains. By Grand Island, Nebraska, however, dark clouds had gathered, both in the skies and in our souls; the weather had taken a turn for the worse and the rocking of the truck was rather severe at every bump. We still had not figured out the problem at this point. By the time we arrived in eastern Nebraska, however, the skies had cleared and both Dad, the turtles, Leo, and I were feeling better. We intended to spend the night in Council Bluffs, Iowa. There were no rooms available, though, and we were forced to drive to Des Moines, Iowa. We arrived there at about 1:00 a.m. and immediately went to sleep, hopeful that the next day would prove better. We did learn several new items of information. Here are the top five lessons learned on Day Two:

1. My damn father has to have his damn breakfast!

2. Turtles do not enjoy riding in a shaking Penske truck cab . . . at all.

3. When annoyed, turtles crap everywhere . . . a lot!

4. Ball pythons apparently have no problem with cross country moves.

5. Moving trucks must have weight distributed evenly or else they will violently rock back and forth at the slightest bump in the road.

The moving truck count has produced some rather remarkable information as well. Despite my previous claim that the ratio of Penske trucks to non-Penske trucks had to be at least 3 to 1, it is apparent that it is closer to 1 to 1. We saw 53 Penske trucks, 34 U-Haul trucks, and 18 Budget trucks, for a total of 105 moving vans.

Our third day began with Dad and I partially unloading the truck and redistributing the weight more evenly. The results were immediate and amazing. No longer did we rock back and forth violently at high speed. Needless to say, Dad and I were extremely relieved that the prospect of prematurely ending our journey with the truck on its side in the middle of the freeway was over. Other than that, the trip was rather uneventful. There's just only so much one can say about Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. We did drive by Notre Dame, with Dad fondly waving from the truck. We stopped for the night in Marion, Ohio, and will visit with some relatives tomorrow morning. The critters are still rather irate, but they seem to be doing fine otherwise.
The top five lessons from Day Three are:

1. Turtle crap stinks.

2. Marion, Ohio is in the middle of nowhere.

3. No matter how fast we try to drive, we can only average about fifty miles per hour in our Penske truck.

4. Semi-truck drivers are the self declared kings of the road. They do what they want and no one can stop them. I really want to drive a semi!

5. Trying to locate natural rocks from each state for a collection is really quite difficult when one can only look near the Interstate. Everything there is gravel.

The moving truck count produced results similar to yesterday. Penske had 69 trucks on the road, U-Haul had 50, and Budget had 16. Once again, Penske received more than half of all moving trucks observed. Stay tuned for more exciting news from the Scarborough "Bronx" Expedition.

Go East, Young Man (Day One)!

This morning at the eye-blurring hour of 5:30 a.m. Julie and my exodus to the Bronx entered its final stage. At that time, my father and I loaded a rented SUV with baggage, soda, and four reptiles and left for Provo to begin the process of moving a family across the country. Arriving in Salt Lake City at approximately 8:30 a.m., we enlisted the help of my brother Daniel. The three of us then picked up the 16-foot Penske truck that I had reserved and convoyed over to the storage unit. The fun was about to begin.

The loading of the truck went remarkably well. I organized the packing inside the truck, while Dad and Dan brought boxes to me. We were done in a mere hour-and-a-half. We then transferred the pet snake and three pet turtles to their carrying cases, Dad took Dan back to Salt Lake City, and I traveled into Utah's nether regions to drop off my SKS rifle with my cousin Scott (honestly, Scott; you live in the boonies). Apparently, the rifle I have proudly owned for the past 12 years is illegal in New York; although I would most likely never even fire the gun, in order to avoid any annoying legal entanglements, I opted to leave it behind. After delivering the rifle, I returned the rental vehicle, joined Dad, picked up a couple of loaned textbooks, and, at 2:30 p.m. the journey began. It has been educational, to say the least. Here are the top five things I have learned so far:

1. There are an inordinate number of people moving in Penske trucks. I will start an official count tomorrow, but the ratio of Penske trucks to non-Penske trucks has to be at least 3 to 1.

2. When you are driving a slow cargo truck, other drivers tend to communicate their feelings by using sign language; it generally involves fist shaking and emphatic pointing with the middle finger.

3. The kitchen staff at the Little America restaurant in Wyoming apparently have
no concept of time as modern society understands it.

4. A loaded 16-foot Penske truck tends to rock from side to side if the driver hits bumps in the road at high speed. Needless to say this is disconcerting. Additionally, large bumps at more than 70 miles-per-hour cause the truck to launch into the air for a short distance; tired drivers and snoring passengers have been known to find the associated adrenaline rush the perfect cure for drowsy driving.

5. When one is tired after being awake since 4:00 a.m., even Rawlins, Wyoming looks inviting.

We camped for the night at the Best Western in Rawlins, Wyoming. While we seem to have made little progress, I would like to point out that my plans called for an initial departure of early Saturday morning. We are, therefore, ahead of schedule and ready to tackle another day of driving. Stay tuned for important updates and more nuggets of information as the journey continues...

P.S. - I really miss Julie.

Lack of Blogging Activity

Julie and I apologize for the recent lack of blogging activity. Our move, coupled with my research and the fact that I inadvertently packed the downloading cable for our camera has hampered our ability to post any pictures and accompanying stories. Rest assured, however, that as soon as we are in New York City the blogging will resume with a vengeance. Only a few more days until the cross-country trek begins!

It doesn't look that delicate!

Honestly. I can't figure out why they named it Delicate Arch. It has to be at least 100 feet tall, and the rocks look rather sturdy. If it was my decision, I would have named it something really descriptive like "Big Arch" or "Upside Down U Arch".

Anyway, I digress. Last week Daniel, Julie, and I hopped in the trusty pickup and drove to Arches National Park for a day of hiking and sightseeing. We had a grand adventure; we even lost the hiking trail for a brief time. However, Daniel volunteered to locate the correct path and, before anyone could stop him, selflessly crashed through the ecologically fragile underbrush. Ten minutes later we were back where we were supposed to be. So much for low-impact hiking! After sightseeing our fill of Arches, we drove into the backwoods of Southern Utah to Warner Lake Campground and spent the night. For those that want out-of-the-way camping I highly recommend this spot. It's in the middle of nowhere! It was absolutely beautiful, however, and well worth the $10 I spent reserving it. Although the trip was short, it was very relaxing; just the thing we all needed. There's nothing better than self-imposed isolation to recharge one's batteries. Hopefully those batteries will last through the next couple of months!

Your name is...

Lunch! At least that was what I named the unfortunate feeder mouse (Mus musculus) that Julie and I owned for approximately twenty minutes. To be sure, I realize that it was a waste of time to name an animal that was fully intended to be a meal for our pet and I acknowledge the lack of creativity in my choice of a name. However, I also felt a vague moral obligation to allow our noble mouse to be remembered for his (the girl at the pet store gave me a male since "it was going to die and the females are more important") selfless sacrifice on behalf of Leo the Ball Python's nutritional requirements. It was amazing to watch. After placing Lunch in Leo's cage, Lunch immediately began investigating his surroundings. This included Leo. It was a fatal flaw in an otherwise perfectly planned and executed operation. Leo remained still, measuring her (I don't know if Leo is a boy or a girl, but we determined our opinion in the most scientific of ways; we flipped a coin) opponent. Before Julie and I had a chance to begin placing bets on who would emerge triumphant and before Lunch knew what in the Hades had just happened, Leo struck with lightning speed and astonishing accuracy. The results were plain to see: Leo - 1 Small, cute, furry, and defenseless mouse - 0. I was once again reminded why I love pet snakes so much; it's a chance to see nature at work from the comfort of your own home! And to think, it all happened in less than thirty seconds from the time Lunch was placed in the cage. I can barely wait until it's time to feed her again; next name for the unfortunate mouse - Dinner!

P.S. - For those who don't know - about a month ago Julie and I were asked by my nephew Cody if we would be willing to take possession of Leo. Given my absolute devotion to pet snakes, I immediately said yes. I've always wanted a Ball Python and I was tickled pink to have the chance to get one for free. I would like to extend my thanks to Cody for letting me take care of his snake and to my parents who brought Leo down to us. We're having a great time together!