Last week I helped Felicity and Peter move from Tulsa, OK, to upstate New York, to their new rental near Ithaca. This involved 4 airplane flights and driving a U-Haul truck and pulling a car caddy. Here are a few details and photos.

I flew out of Rochester, MN, to O’Hare on my first flight, then a second leg into Tulsa. A mechanical problem had delayed the flight out of Rochester, and for a while it looked like I would miss the flight into Tulsa. However, a weather delay for the Tulsa segment let me make the connection in O’Hare after all. I was about an hour and a half late getting in, but better than rescheduling for the next day.

Thunderhead near O’Hare

My tasks in Tulsa were major: Load the truck and drive it to New York. Of course, it was 98 degrees (with a heat index of 110) when loading the truck. Man, it was hot! Felicity and Peter helped, but they were busy packing boxes so the major loading fell to me.

The Honda was put on a car caddy behind the 20-foot U-Haul. Yes, there were a number of boxes in the car as well as a pair of suitcases. Felicity traveled with me int he U-Haul and we planned for two nights on the road.

Truck, car, and Felicity ready to roll out of Tulsa

Peter flew with Mr. Darcy, the cat, into Syracuse where he was picked up by an old friend and taken to the rental home.

The trip itself was just a long time in the saddle, a distance of around 1,300 miles. The truck did very well and averaged about 10 mpg, not bad for a fully loaded van pulling a car. We made many stops at rest areas, now often called “text stops” in some states.

At a rest area in New York

Some of the roads were in very bad shape, with potholes that really shook the truck. One cannot easily avoid such hazards in a rig like this. Generally speaking, the further east we went the better the roads became.

Once we arrived in Ithaca, it was time to unload the van. The storage area selected was a shopping center that was being repurposed. It was air conditioned, a feature that was greatly appreciated!

We unloaded the car and returned the car caddy first, then drove out to the storage site. There we developed a routine to get the boxes and furniture into the building, first unloading onto the curb, then using 4-wheel hand carts to move the gear into the assigned space. This worked well and we unloaded the truck in about 6 1/2 hours.

What to move into storage next?

Among the boxes were a refrigerator, washing machine, and two mattresses. Easy to pack items went in first, followed by all the odd items like those shown above. A few boxes were taken to the rental, which came fully furnished. I am sure Felicity and Peter will be back, going through a few more boxes to locate necessary items.

My trip back to Iowa was pretty routine. Peter drove me up to the Rochester, NY airport and I flew, once again, into O’Hare. From there my last leg took me back to Rochester, MN, where Pam picked me up.

So that was my week from June 20th to June 27th. I will be back to NY this fall, if all goes well, to help Felicity and Peter move from their rental into the house they hope to purchase and rehab over the next few months. I wish them luck!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

While Himself was gone, I accomplished my semi-annual cleaning of the upper kitchen display shelves, coat trimming on one of the dogs, and application of the second coat of paint in the upstairs bathroom. I also changed-out drapes in the library and washed rugs.

There were no flooding problems in Elma, but the Midwest picked up so.much.moisture this past week. (Hard to remember last year’s early summer drought conditions.)

Happy Trails.