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.