Loaded, Locked, and Ready to Roll

Here we are, the day after Labor Day, and U-Haul was still busy. Renting trucks, not people turning them in. I just never would have believed it.

Here's the behemoth I rented - a 17-footer, clean, dent-free and complete with a cracked windshield. Neither Owen nor I noticed it at checkout when we picked up the vehicle. I called U-Haul and reported it to them. They didn't seem to think it was any big deal. We'll see when we check it in down in LA.

Our Road Wagon

Here's a couple of shots of the windshield. If you double click the left image, you can see the crack.

Windshield Crack - Missed it on the Pre-Flight Inspection

Little Better View of it

Now, the important stuff. Remember seeing all the boxes and odd-shaped packages in the basement room... Well, Ta Da! We got it all in the van.

A Place For Everything and Everything In Its Place

Actually, Owen and I felt when it was all done that we could have done it with a 14-footer, but we probably would have been stacking stuff a lot higher. As it is, I think we did a pretty good job of packing and stowing.

We even made a last-minute command decision and put in the kitty scratching post. Now the wee ones have no easy way in or out of the duplex. The start of their becoming indoor kitties.

So, we're ready to roll. Owen and I will be leaving at 7:30 AM for Californ-i-ay! I'm going to take my PC and camera along to document the journey as we go and the delivery to Roy and Son down there.

See you on the road Good Buddy, 10-4!

Ok, Here's the Plan

I've got a 14' U-Haul van reserved to pick up on May 29th. We'll get it packed up that day with Owen's help too. He's also going to help me drive down to Los Angeles. We'll head out the morning of the 30th, planning to arrive Friday, June 1st in LA. We're staying overnight there at a Ramada Inn, then in the morning heading over to Roy and Son's container yard and dropping off the household goods. After that, we drop off the U-Haul close to LAX, take a cab to the airport, jump on the 11:30AM, Alaska Airlines to Seatac and arrive back up here at about 2:30PM.

On Sunday, the 3rd, Owen and Sandy are holding a "surprise" going-away open-house sort of thing for us (Oops, maybe we weren't supposed to know) at their house from roughly noon to four. Should be fun.

We visited a travel agent this morning (Global Express Travel in Lacey) and made our final travel reservations, leaving here the morning of June 10, flying Alaska Airlines direct to Cancun. Then, a 4- or 5-hour cab ride ($400US) to Corozal with Menzies Travel Services (they're based in Corozal). Menzies will deliver us right to the door of our house in Corozal.

We wanted to make sure the cats weren't too stressed out so they'll have air conditioning all the way from Cancun. Our only hassle should be at the border into Belize. If our paperwork for the cats from Belize Agricultural and Health Authority (BAHA) gets faxed to us in time, crossing the border should be just as easy.

I had like around 80,000 miles with Alaska and we cashed in 60,000. The net result was that the flight for both of us cost about $65.00! So, really, the cab ride will be a wash in the end. Can you imagine flying from Seatac to Cancun for $65?!?!? Heck, taking the Aeroporter shuttle from Olympia to Seatac Airport costs $45, and that's a van!