We were a little weary about driving 2,000 miles with Hudson, but with the help of my dad, it was pretty painless! Jesse and Hunter rode in the truck and my dad, myself and Hudson rode in my car. It worked out perfect. I pumped in the back seat and then gave Hudson a bottle the whole way so that we didn't have to stop every other hour. He did great everyday, there was no real crying until 6pm every night...that's when he hit his limit and was done with the whole road trip thing. So everyday we drove until 6pm. It worked out perfect, it was time to stop, eat dinner, and get settled in a hotel.
The first day, we drove from Snoqualmie, Washington to Yreka, California (505 miles!). Then from Yreka, California to Fresno, California (429 miles), with a stop in Roseville to have lunch with some friends of ours. Day three was Fresno, California to Holbrook, Arizonia (681 miles). Holbrook was a cool town! We learned that a lot of the Cars movie was modeled after it. We even saw the Wigwam Inn and the tee-pee hotel rooms.
The last day was from Holbrook, Arizona to Altus, Oklahoma (618 miles)! We drove into Altus after dark, but the last couple hours I was full of anticipation. We were driving to the place that would be home for the next four years and I had never even set foot into the state! What does it look like in the light? What little towns surround it? Like a completely geek, I wikipedia'd all the small towns leading to it for the last hour of the ride (while my dad drove). I looked at their population (most under 1,000), the trends in population, their businesses, any famous people who came from there, etc. My dad so patiently listened. Ha!
We stayed in temporary lodging from that night (Thursday) until Tuesday. It was a two bedroom duplex, it worked out great during that time. We found our new church that Sunday, Jesse finished up the duck hunting season on Saturday and Sunday with some local guys, my dad flew back home Monday, and we got the keys to our new house on base on Tuesday.
Tuesday was a disaster. We signed the lease in the morning and the movers were supposed to be there between 8 and 10am. Jesse met them at the gate and one of them failed the background check, then another one did, and then they finally got someone else by around 1pm. Really?!
They finally started unloading...the first thing off the truck was the top of our desk, with a big hole in the middle. Things got worse. Big scratches on our foot board, a dresser, a nightstand, Hunter's table, etc. The icing on the cake? A rat had got into the crate they made just to move the two paradise ducks from New Zealand that Jesse had just had mounted. The rat had chewed up the ducks. Jesse was almost in tears. So we have filed a claim for the damages and someone will be out on Friday to assess them. How will they put a value on those ducks?!
They got everything in the house and a couple pieces of furniture put together and then left until the next morning. The next day, one guy came back and unloaded every box into piles all over our house. It was awful! It took us a couple weeks to get the house somewhat organized and unpacked.
