This is it! The last photo of me taken in my totally vacant apartment at 2025 Broadway. *sniff* Lots of good memories here, but it’s reassuring to know that Asli, the new owner, totally rocks and that the apartment will be well taken care of. :-)
Packing the whole place up was definitely a challenge, and of course I had to up the ante a bit by wearing dress shoes for the entire move. Since we had to park our Budget Truck rental on a snow bank outside my building, I slipped more than once getting in and out of the back of the truck and slid clear underneath the vehicle with all the requisite theatricality. Good times.
But we managed to get it all done, and as soon as I closed on the sale on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 20, Christine and I took off for greener pastures. I felt a bit like St. Nick, making pitstops at my parents’ place in New Jersey, then at my sister’s, then at Christine’s parents’ home in Virginia, dropping off all sorts of goodies along the way: a couch here, a table there, etc.
Christine in the back of our truck…
Note the fastidious organizational system in place.
Once we were in Virginia and had lightened our load a bit, we swapped out the truck for a bad-ass Jeep Commander SUV to carry the rest of the stuff to Naples, Florida.
Me and Christine about to leave her parents’ home in Virginia.
In the spirit of stopping to smell the roses and all that, we decided to take the scenic route south through Virginia and drove nearly the whole length of the Skyline Drive.
It was really scenic and very relaxing, as there were very few other cars on the route, though it was obviously off-season, as all the rest areas were closed along the way and the trees were bare for the most part. But we still had great views and there was a rather stark, otherworldly beauty about the place that grew on you after a while. :-)
After finishing the Skyline Drive, we then drove a good part of the Blue Ridge Parkway until around sunset, when we switched to highways to finish our drive to the motel in Fort Mill, South Carolina where we would be spending our first night. We couldn’t retire, however, without first popping out to the neighborhood watering hole and bonding with the locals. The front desk person at the Motel 6 knew there was a bar called “Flamingo’s” nearby, but recommended asking the guy sitting on a bench near the motel for directions, etc. I think Christine will mock me forever for walking up to a total stranger (who apparently has no affiliation with the motel and is perpetually sitting on that same bench on the street out front) and asking, “Pardon me, but are you the gentleman who knows about flamingos?” The important thing is that we eventually found the place and totally loved it.
I think I missed this shot (despite my amazing form).
Christine on Biker Bitch Drive
Packing the whole place up was definitely a challenge, and of course I had to up the ante a bit by wearing dress shoes for the entire move. Since we had to park our Budget Truck rental on a snow bank outside my building, I slipped more than once getting in and out of the back of the truck and slid clear underneath the vehicle with all the requisite theatricality. Good times.
But we managed to get it all done, and as soon as I closed on the sale on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 20, Christine and I took off for greener pastures. I felt a bit like St. Nick, making pitstops at my parents’ place in New Jersey, then at my sister’s, then at Christine’s parents’ home in Virginia, dropping off all sorts of goodies along the way: a couch here, a table there, etc.
Christine in the back of our truck…
Note the fastidious organizational system in place.
Once we were in Virginia and had lightened our load a bit, we swapped out the truck for a bad-ass Jeep Commander SUV to carry the rest of the stuff to Naples, Florida.
Me and Christine about to leave her parents’ home in Virginia.
In the spirit of stopping to smell the roses and all that, we decided to take the scenic route south through Virginia and drove nearly the whole length of the Skyline Drive.
It was really scenic and very relaxing, as there were very few other cars on the route, though it was obviously off-season, as all the rest areas were closed along the way and the trees were bare for the most part. But we still had great views and there was a rather stark, otherworldly beauty about the place that grew on you after a while. :-)
After finishing the Skyline Drive, we then drove a good part of the Blue Ridge Parkway until around sunset, when we switched to highways to finish our drive to the motel in Fort Mill, South Carolina where we would be spending our first night. We couldn’t retire, however, without first popping out to the neighborhood watering hole and bonding with the locals. The front desk person at the Motel 6 knew there was a bar called “Flamingo’s” nearby, but recommended asking the guy sitting on a bench near the motel for directions, etc. I think Christine will mock me forever for walking up to a total stranger (who apparently has no affiliation with the motel and is perpetually sitting on that same bench on the street out front) and asking, “Pardon me, but are you the gentleman who knows about flamingos?” The important thing is that we eventually found the place and totally loved it.
I think I missed this shot (despite my amazing form).
Christine on Biker Bitch Drive
We played some pool and chatted it up with the mother/daughter pair working the joint (mom as short-order cook, daughter as bartender). Well, actually the mom was already off shift and downing one beer after another and sharing with us her fantasy that one of these guys pulling up on a big motorcycle every few minutes in front of the bar would finally sweep her off her feet and drive her off into the sunset. She was actually a riot – up until she had to be cut off and then stumbled out of the bar, presumably to go home. We left shortly thereafter, so we could rest up for our drive the next day to Hotlanta!
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