The night before last, Mark and I made a list of everything we need to do before we can leave. Yesterday we worked on it all day and only accomplished a little less than half the list. Today we worked on it and got most of the way through the remainder, but there is still some left.
Of what we had left this morning, we decided to prioritize the list. I wish I had taken a picture of it at that point. It was still looking pretty daunting.
So here is our current plan: We think we can have everything but the grocery shopping for the trip done by sometime tomorrow afternoon. Mark is thinking we can head down to Walmart in Sturgeon Bay and do our shopping as soon as we close up the house. If it’s late by the time we finish, we can spend the night in the parking lot there.
Being off our start date by a couple days means we’ll have to make longer days of the days we drive. We usually like to travel only about four or five hours a day because the whole time we are on the road, the cats won’t come out to eat, drink, or use their litter box. However, we have to be in Portland fairly early on the 10th because we will be attending a conference that weekend. The cats will have to hold it!
A praise: We have been trying to find an RV park in Portland that will let us stay from mid-November through the end of December, but nothing has been working out. My older sister, Sherill, has even driven around to some places near her and checked them out for us, but nothing has materialized. I was talking with her on the phone today and said I’m beginning to be desperate. She talked it over with her husband and they decided we can park next to their house the whole six weeks or so and only chip in on their water and electric bills.
She is also in the process of selling me her husband’s car since he can no longer drive. I will have use of the car for job hunting and getting to work when I am in Portland. The car will stay there when we head south and will be waiting for me when we return next year. This way both Mark and I will have vehicles to get to work in.
Furthermore, Mark’s motorcycle is in pieces; has been all summer. He’s been trying to get it working before we leave, but he’s run out of time. Sherill said he can work on it in her garage while we are in Portland.
I am so grateful for my loving family and especially for my big sister!