Road trip!

The road trip from Newberg, OR to Rochester, MN was pretty epic, I must say. My 20-year-old brother and I split the driving of my car, with our two younger bros in the back. And our parents drove the truck - well, my dad did while my mom kept him awake (my dad's affinity for sleeping at the wheel is legendary in our family).

We drove through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Minnesota. I have to say that the speed limits in Montana were pretty nice; my bro and I drove like vampires. ;-) South Dakota was the most unfriendly, and Idaho was the most beautiful.

Along the way, we...

Played with our food

Toured the Lewis and Clark Caverns

Met some bison in Yellowstone National Park (This one's name is Bill, and he said he's not responsible for any of the people-goring that happens in the park.)

Saw more Harleys than any one person could ever fathom (there was a rally in Sturgis, SD)

Snapped a family pic at Mt. Rushmore

And got very well-acquainted with the open road.

The day we arrived in Rochester, it was triple-digit weather with double-digit humidity. Everyone who showed up to help us unload the truck (the whole church, basically) took showers in their own sweat. Eeeeewwwww.

But we're glad to be here, done driving, and settling in. Somewhere in the midst of last-minute Super Target runs, assembling furniture, and job-hunting, I've not had time to take pics of the house; it's a bit of a mess anyway, really. You're not missing anything, trust me.

Life Lessons - Moving Time

Things I learned whilst moving:

• It's kind of a bad idea to have ANY wasted space; if you do, your mom will make you repack, and your stuff may just not make the cut.
• It's good to be a girl:
• Boys carry things for you.
• You can balance things on your hips. Honestly, I don't know how guys carry all that stuff using only their arms.
• I didn't know everything about my family. On the road trip, I learned that:
• Jeremy is afraid of heights.
• Josiah is unable to sleep at normal hours.
• My parents can be tourists (albeit American ones).
• My mom still thinks that "pee" is a bad word, and she disapproves of going 10 miles over the speed limit. In Montana. Where there are no other cars. Or turns in the road, for that matter.

We arrived safely in our new town of Rochester, Minn on Tuesday. Road trip and new house pics in the next post!

Pre-move processing

Someone asked me the other day what I'd miss about Portland. Fortunately, my list-making brain had already started a list. Here is what I said, plus a few other things in random order:

• The Max. I love trains, and I love that I live within walking distance of the Portland metro area train.
• Powell's. 'Nuff said.
• The absolute crazy addiction to coffee. I've seen espresso shops attached to more businesses than is remotely reasonable. The other day, I even saw an espresso shop/tanning salon. Yay for P-town.
• The downtown bridges.
• No sales tax.
• Not having to pump my own gas.
• My church.
• Of course, my friends.

And here's what I'm not going to miss about Portland:

• My crazy loud neighbors with screeching children. That's right, screeching.
• Living alone. Technically, I have a roommate, but I see her about once every two or three weeks.
• Driving downtown.
• The dreary "summer" mornings.

 I'm sure I'll have similar lists about Minnesota pretty soon.

Moving craziness

It seems like the last four months or so have been full of good-byes, so I'm pretty eager to get to Rochester, Minn. and start my new life there.

Between today and next Sunday (the day we get out of Dodge), though, I have to get everything on my to-do lists done. Moving as an adult is a lot of work! I have to shut down utilities, arrange roommate move-out schedules, make sure every person moves out with the right stuff, figure out what to do with my plants and fish...and the list goes on and on and...

Just thinking about it makes me tired. So excuse me - I need to rustle up some lunch and keep on labeling boxes.