Southern Values

For those of you keeping track at home our departure date is just 8 weeks away. There are quite a few mixed feelings that go along with that statement so we'll just leave it at that for today.

On a different note I've been reading another book about the south (thank you Powell's Books). This time Mississippi. Written by a gal who lived most of her life in New York and LA the author shares about her nine years living in and married to a man from Mississippi. I'm only halfway though the book but so far I'd say we are moving to a place similar to Africa. And since some days I miss Africa this move should be great!(I, of course, am operating on the assumption that Mississippi and Alabama are similar just like Washington and Oregon are similar).  The author's description of values in Mississippi sound very similar to what I experienced in my two years overseas.

1. People valuing relationships over time and money- always more time to be had but you, my friend, are important.

2. The authors explains the whole front porch concept (which I still think is odd, especially since I've seen only a handful of people who actually use their adirondack chairs or padded rocking chairs they put out front). Apparently in Mississippi people use the chairs they put out. Allowing them to escape the heat of the house and the rays of sunshine and the best part, they get to engage with their community. After all community is the key to happiness, to pleasure and to the life of a Mississippi native. And also to a my friends in Africa.

3. Still learning about community and the ways of the south the author pitches the idea to her husband that they should fence off their yard and create some privacy for themselves but he squashes the idea telling her it would be considered "unfriendly". Sound familiar to anyone else? Putting a fence up around your house or your property in Nigeria would also be considered unfriendly- trust me, we considered it but knew it wouldn't sit well with our neighbors. Their houses and yards are, for the most part, open to one another because what's mine is yours and a fence doesn't express openness.

I'm wondering what else Mississippi culture has in common with my overseas travels.....

The Mighty Columbia

When I finished the 8th grade my grandparents took my brother and I on a camping trip to Grand Coulee, WA. I don't remember much about the trip, 8th grade was a while ago, but I do remember we went to a light show at the dam nearby. I seem to remember a fight with my brother, throwing shoes at one another and most importantly the narration during the laser light show. The voice kept repeating the history of "The Mighty Columbia", think deep and powerful voice now. It has become a joke between my husband and I, every time we cross over it or drive to it (which is often living in the Pacific North West) he somehow gets me to quote "The Mighty Columbia" in my deepest voice. Today we went to "The Mighty Columbia" to take some pictures for the blog. Imagine, I didn't have any-shocking I know. This part of the river separates Oregon from Washington- pretty cool huh? As opposed to East Wenatchee from Wenatchee. The one at the top of the blog will stay for now but here are a few others I'll share with you today. We came at just the right time as two tug boats were leaving after having directed their cargo safely to the port nearby.
 

Trash to treasure

Our neighbors our infamous for throwing out what seem to be perfectly good items. I've seen mirrors, fans, BBQs and even couches leaned up against the trash can, cast aside by their owners.  It seems odd to me that you would throw away decent items, why not sell them or donate them? Especially when 250 of your neighbors drive, walk and live by the trash receptacle. How could you just spread it all out there for everyone to see?  But today we scored a treasure! More like 10 treasures actually. We found 10 cardboard boxes (undamaged by the rain) laid out next to the bins. We were coming back home after a walk and  in quiet whispers we plotted our move. We grabbed three and kept walking, hoping no one saw us pillaging the recycle pile. As we got closer to our place I began to think of how little space they would take up in our place and how lucky we were to find them, we didn't even have to buy them from someone in town- how great! While these thoughts were going through my head I quickly ran back for more. To the new neighbors who just moved in I say welcome to the complex, and thank you for your donation to our cause of moving cross country.

Undecided

It's been decided that we will drive to Alabama this summer. What hasn't been decided is what route we will take. This is going to be one of the most exciting parts. I've been to Montana, Idaho, Oregon, California, and Arizona but the rest is uncharted territory. So.....we get to choose. The difficult part is that it generally takes the same amount of time (30 + hours) no matter what route we look into. If we travel through North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and down it takes the same time as if we traveled through Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri and on to AL. We could even cut through Utah, Colorado, Kansas and Arkansas in the same 30+ hours. We ruled out the southern route, something about Arizona and New Mexico in August that just doesn't sound quite right to the sensible side of travel. And so here we sit discussing our options. Where to go, what to see? What route would you choose?

How to become educated

When we first started exploring the idea of moving I'll admit I didn't know much about the place we'd be going. But thank goodness for internet! We've been doing our homework and soaking up as much info as the day will allow. I went to the library and checked out travel books, history books and stories of other people's adventures. Right now I'm reading "Travel's with Charley- in Search of America" by John Steinbeck. Yes, the man who wrote "Of Mice and Men." In Steinbeck's book he realizes that although he is an American and lives in America he doesn't know much about the rest of the country outside of the state he lives in. Sound familiar? So he sets out with his dog and his typewriter (it takes place in the 60's) in an RV he has custom made on the road trip to 'discovery'. Not quite an adventure from 2013 but still interesting. We've also been watching movies about the South, I'm hoping they've been dramatized for Hollywood but nevertheless they are entertaining. I'm sure people from Alabama would just roll their eyes at us: trying to prepare for "life in the south" through a movie. Silly I know but we've been watching them anyways: movies from the 60's and the south's love of football, movies about southern pride and even a few episodes of Duck Dynasty. I'm wondering what folks would watch if they were moving to Washington- Frasier?  If you were to choose a movie to help you prepare for a move to Alabama what would you watch? 

Spring Cleaning

I've started going through our belongings. Reaching under the deep abyss of the bed, and to the tops of the pantry shelves. We have some great parents who have agreed to store our stuff for us, at least some of it, the scrapbooks and winter wear I'm sure we'll do without in the humid south. What doesn't go into storage is being donated, sold or taken on a very long road trip. The items that make the cut have to be pretty special in order to be hauled around for miles and miles. We contemplated a yard sale but seeing as we have no yard and no garage it would be more like an open house/come buy our rejected belongings day. And since we have no tables to put said rejected belongings on we pitched the idea just as easily as we are pitching yesterday's treasures. What I'm amazed to find is that my priorities have changed. What I once thought was essential to have or to hang on to is now being cast aside. Some of my things I rarely used or held on to for several moves thinking I may someday need it. Like this great little DVD player that I bought at Wal-Mart for $20 six years ago and have moved three times now and not having used it in 6 years now is being donated next to the canning jars and custom made dishes I bought in Malawi- they were actually pretty fantastic but now seem a little unnecessary. It feels good to clean out and divide, to pear down to the essentials. We are selling items on the famous Craigslist, hoping that someone out there wants to buy our lightly used furniture. I think we are at a good place in our lives to be making the move- not that there is a wrong time but we have no house to sell, no kids to pull out of school and no big commitments keeping us here. Yup, I'd say it sounds just right. We are down to 11 weeks now, that may seem a little early to be cleaning out our stuff but it felt like the right week to start. One thing I will miss, one thing we can't pack up and take with us is our view from our back deck.

We sit on a golf course, which is a little like having a movie play in your backyard. There is always some sort of activity happening- golfers, someone mowing the lawn, birds and animals in the pond. It can be very entertaining, especially when the golfers have to go digging in the pond for their lost ball. If only I could somehow find a place to pack all of that into the trunk...

Little Red

We're selling my car when me make the trek to the land of Dixie. I'm about to get a little sappy.....this last year I got married. Marriage has been a great adventure but at the start of our marriage I found myself in a new town, making new friends, finding a new church, shopping at a new grocery store, living in a new house and working at a new job. Did you catch all the NEW. There was one teary night when I just couldn't handle any more NEW and I found myself really thankful for my car, it wasn't new at all. We've been on many trips together, my brother has borrowed it, my dad has borrowed it. It welcomed me back from Africa many times. We've spun out in the snow together. I've taken it to camp and to college and to visit my then fiancee. We've been hit by a deer together and listened to loud music together. My brother and sister in law have driven this car before and would probably disagree with my respect and attachment to said car but I would disagree with them. Yes, it's not the best or the coolest, but it runs well and its not NEW! I'm thankful that it was consistent to my pre and post married life. But now we are leaving. Goodbye little red car-you've been faithful. On to the next season of new. 

Prepared

I don't know about you but it really helps me to be as prepared as possible (I think I missed my calling as a boy scout). Confession: before I got married I went to the library and checked out at least 20 books that pertained to the topic, if I'm gonna do this I'm gonna do it right. Sadly there are few books that talk about traveling from Washington to Alabama and as you know- not many resources online either but that didn't stop me from researching. I've been 'googling' like mad. All about trips and moves and southern lifestyles. And yes, I even went to the library too. There is something about knowing ahead of time what I'm getting myself into that makes the process so much calmer. Praying for a prepared heart and mind helps too. My husband is what we like to call "a free spirit", he is much more inclined to fly by the seat of his pants, you couldn't pay me to approach life the way he does but that's what makes us so great. He is ready for this adventure, ready and willing to take it as it comes, to travel and move and try something new. I'm ready too but with a little more hesitation. I'm ready to create spreadsheets of all the phone numbers we'll need upon arrival, I'm ready to find a place to live once we get there and hopefully within the next 11 weeks I'll be ready to move. I don't think my stack of books from the library can bring about the attitude my husband takes to all of this but maybe with a little prep I'll be one step closer to ready.

To the south

Well.... we are moving....to the south. Never been to the south before, at least not to the deep south. There is an adventure calling our name and we are sure not going to miss it! In an effort to prepare, I do love to prepare, I looked long and hard to find fellow Americans who had a journey similar to ours (packing up and moving, selling everything, driving, discovering new) but I found just two experiences that were shared on the web. JUST TWO! So I'm thinking either not many do this (that thought makes me cringe when moments get stressful) or they are too stressed during the process to write about their experiences (moving is stressful enough, not to mention moving + new job + new town + new friends....trust me I did that already last year) In an effort to combat stress (blogs are very therapeutic) and share with others (now there will be three cross country moves to read about) I'm writing it all down. The process before, during and after- you'll read about it here. My mother will love to hear that we're still alive! And hopefully you'll love to gain a little insight on what it means to live outside of the Pacific North West and in.....ALABAMA! Roll-Tide!