I had expected that after getting rid of most of our possessions in the prior nine months, the last week of preparations would be easier. Maybe I should have remembered my working days where those final project details seem to take way more effort to complete than I had anticipated. It seemed like every time I walked into a room, I got distracted from what I had been doing and started something else that needed to be tackled. Even though we are too old to pull all-nighters anymore, there were a couple very short nights of sleep in order to get things done. My stream of consciousness cleaning style may not have been the most efficient method, but it eventually worked.
Many of the things that weren't good enough for donation to Goodwill seemed to disappear as we set them at the curb. Sometimes I wasn't even halfway up the driveway when the car would stop to grab some treasure. And for those things that were suitable for Goodwill, the lady was impressed with our organizational skills - apparently she doesn't get many donations from a couple of former engineers!
The highlight of those last days had to be when we disabled that damned CraigsList account. No more calls, texts or emails asking if it was still available, or if we would take $25 for something we just posted at $100.
For others wanting to tackle this same process, we have a word of advice: set your move out date 1 or 2 days ahead of the actual date, and stick to it. We managed to get everything done, but ran out of time to say proper goodbyes to some of our friends. We were just hitching up the Jeep in the driveway when our lawyer called to say the closing went off without any issues.
Our first planned stop was in the Cincinnati area, but the reservation wasn't until Friday, so we had Wednesday and Thursday night to kill. It worked out fine given how drained we were. The first two nights were far from glamorous, but they were just what we needed. A Walmart stop near Erie and a Cabela's near Columbus. There were even a few geocaches at each stop that allowed us to get out and stretch our legs.
An added bonus in Columbus was the Skyline Chili only a mile walk from Cabela's AND a newly opened Graeters Ice Cream within walking distance. They still had their "Grand Opening" signs in the windows. Of course is would have been better if it had been a 6 mile walk instead of 2 miles.
Here's a picture of our celebration on our first night being homeless. Champagne and chocolate has been a favorite choice of ours going all the way back to our college co-op days. We made sure our dog Shelby got in on the action, even if it was just in spirit.
Part of the time we spend in Cincinnati will be to figure out what we plan on doing for the 2 months before needing to come back here for a mid September wedding. The rough thinking is a loop around Lake Michigan, but normally we would have planned out all our stops by now. It will be interesting to see just how free form we allow ourselves to get. I guess being the consummate planners is one of the bigger "ruts" we need to get out of.
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