Moved out of the house

We're officially living in the RV now!  Sunday we got almost everything out of the house and into the RV.  Sunday night we went to a friends house for a fun BBQ and to say goodbye.  Monday we got the last items out (there's always more than you think there will be) and took a couple of hours to clean the house before we hand the keys back over to the rental agent (sometime today or tomorrow).  It was hot and gross and I've never been so happy for a shower as I was last night.

Around 1 pm on Monday we drove the RV over to the campground where we'll be staying for three nights.  First, the RV was so packed you couldn't move anywhere inside (that'll change soon - thought the picture above is AFTER we organized a bit).  When we got to the RV park we took an hour or so to plug in, turn on the AC, and rearrange so that we could move around inside.  It's not perfect but it is better.  We left Irv with the AC running, hoping it would cool off enough to be comfortable by the time we came back.  We had very unusual weather for Charleston in the summer on Monday...it was overcast with on-and-off showers all day, and the temps were only in the 80s (maybe even low 80s).  I didn't think we'd have too much trouble getting it cool in the RV.  The Oak Plantation campground is very nice, we have a mostly shady spot not too far from the bathrooms (which are very nice and clean!) and the staff there have been very helpful.

When we finally got back to Irv at about 7:30 pm last night, this time with a very freaked-out Seca in tow, the RV was freezing cold inside (well, it was 70 degrees, way colder than we kept the house in the summer).  It was raining and thundering and it was all a bit stressful for the dog.  She's better today, and I think feeling more comfortable inside. 

This morning it was really foggy when I took Seca outside. 

So, we're officially mobile!  Fun.  :)

Redneck Riviera

Saturday we took a day off of packing and cleaning to have some fun with friends in Bluffton.  There's a sandbar on the May River that's exposed at low tide for a couple of hours and every weekend in summer it's a hang-out place.  There were about 25 of us in our group.  We had great food and perfect weather for relaxing in the water and tubing.

It fits!

Last night we pulled the truck topper off, loaded up the V-Strom, and put the topper back on.  We couldn't have done it without help from Beth (who had previously offered to help) and Julie (who, fortunately for us and unfortunately for her, happened to stop by to see Irv and was wrangled into helping).  The truck topper is HEAVY - and even harder for me to lift alone on one side because I'm short and don't have enough leverage to get it up over my shoulders by myself.  We have awesome friends.  :)

The motorcycle just barely fits.  We had done a test run a couple of weeks ago in the garage, taking lots of measurements to make sure it would be ok.  The front wheel, windshield, mirrors, and a few other parts need to come off for it to fit under the topper (and we need the topper for the kayaks).  I don't have a picture of the truck with the bike in it and the topper back on yet - it was too dark by the time we finished.  We're going to loaded for fun - RV with hitch-mounted bicycles, truck with motorcycle in the back and two kayaks on top.  We're also probably going to be getting near-record-low fuel efficiency for the trip!

Tonight: clean out and load up everything from the garage that we're keeping (except kayaks).

Massive relief

Today I was able to track down the new owners of the RV park in Juneau where we were hoping to stay and verify that yes, they do have a spot for us!  Their old phone number is out of service and we were getting (very) nervous, so we're very happy to know that we'll have a place to call home when we arrive. 

We move out of the house for good one week from today, and you can definitely tell.  We have no furniture left, are sleeping on a borrowed inflatable mattress, and most of the rooms are now empty.  We still have the stuff in the garage to clean out this week, and a few odds and ends in the house. 

Tubing

We went tubing down the Edisto River today, with a group of about 47 other people.  It rained the last 45 minutes, but it was still a really fun trip.  The photo doesn't even come close to capturing everyone, since we were in the middle of the pack.  It was a crazy scene on the river, with so many people.

Fun comments

Nineteen days until departure!  I've started loading some household items into Irv...some dishes, bathroom stuff we don't use every day, and some of the things we're taking with us to keep but not use often or put out (wall photos, travel gear, etc).  I'm hesitant to really start loading because of the high heat and humidity - I don't want things to get funky while it sits.

Some random things about Juneau:

• It's at about 58 degrees north latitude (for reference, Charleston is about 32 and Madison, WI is 43)
• The longest day is about 18 hours of daylight, the shortest, in December is about 6 hours and the sun is only 8 or 9 degrees above the horizon.
• Apparently, there's a pretty big swing in high and low tide - full moon tide may swing 16-23 feet between high and low.  On the lower end of the tides, 8-14 feet difference from high to low is common.  (Charleston is usually around 3-7 feet, depending on time of the month)
• Winter water temps are about 36 F and about 52 F at the peak of summer warmth.  Don't fall in!
• The population of Juneau at the 2010 census was ~31,000 people.
• The record high temp was 90 F and the record low was -22 F.

Some of the fun (and odd) comments and questions we've gotten when people learn we're moving to Juneau:

• 'Oh wow, I couldn't handle complete darkness all winter.'  and ' How will you take it if it's dark all the time?'  (it's not) 
• 'I'd love to go, but I don't have a passport.' (Really??  Come on, people!)
• 'Don't they have fisheries programs around here?  Why do you have to go there?'  (Yes they do, but AK is a better program.)
• 'But it's cold there!'  (Yeah, I know.  That's one of the big draws for me!)
• 'Will you have paved roads there?'   (Um, yes.)
• 'Ooooh!  I love Deadliest Catch/Ice Road Truckers/Gold Rush:Alaska.'  (Who knew there were so many reality shows about Alaska?)
• 'Will you be able to see Russia from your house?'  and 'Maybe you'll get to meet Sarah Palin!'  (no comment)
• 'I hope you like salmon!' (we do!)
• 'Don't get eaten by a bear.' (said with complete sincerity)
• 'I hear it's really expensive to live there.'  (yeah, we hear that too...)

Happy/Sad

Steve sold his FJ 1200 today.  He's had that bike since 1998 - longer than he's even known me - and he loves it.  But, we can't take it with us, and with only three weeks until we leave, we were both getting a little worried about what we'd do with it if it didn't sell.  I'm sad to see it go too - it was fun to ride.

Movie on the beach

Wednesday nights in summer, the Tides hotel puts up a big screen and shows movies on Folly Beach.  Last night it was City Slickers, which is perhaps one of my favorite movies of all time.  We met up with a friend from the gym and her husband, kicked back on a blanket with some low chairs, and had a fabulous time.  What a great idea!

Ugh...Monday

A tree branch fell on our truck this morning.  I heard it fall, but was getting ready for work and didn't go look.  Steve saw it as he was coming home from the gym (he showers there, I shower at home, works out pretty well).  While I'm glad nobody was hurt and the damage is limited to the access door only, it still sucks.  The (huge) tree is our yard looks like crap - it's clearly not healthy and has been losing branches for a long time.  It's only a matter of time before a really big branch falls and takes out part of the house - I'm glad we're leaving!

Shifting plans

The plans we've made for moving to Juneau have been fluid since day one.  That's because there's so many things to do and decide, lots of unknowns, and we've been just rolling with it.  Originally, (Plan A) we were going to sell the motorcycles and buy an enclosed trailer and pack everything in that, towing it with the truck.  Then we bought an RV and we going to tow the truck with that.  On to Plan N or so (we're certainly not at Z yet, that would denote some finality)...On Saturday we spent several record-breaking HOT, humid, sticky hours in the garage working on Steve's V-Strom, trying to figure out if there was any way to get it into the bed of the truck, under the topper.  It will take some finessing, but we think we have a way to do it.  Because the bike's a bit too long for the bed, it will hang over the tailgate just a bit, meaning we have to leave the tailgate down.  That, of course, means I need to change the ferry reservation for the fourth time and note the new truck length (which means more $$ to the AK Ferry system, I think they aught to name a vessel after us at this point!).  I do hope this is the last time I need to do that...

We head off down the road exactly one month from today, August 2.  We've finally sold the tow bar and the collapsible dog kennel.  Still need to sell the FJ 1200, fish tank, futon (though there's someone hopefully coming tonight to look at that), the bed, and a few other minor items.  With the exception of the FJ, it can all get donated at the last minute if needed.  I'm not sure what Steve's plan is for the FJ, since it currently won't start.

I'm slowly packing up the few items that we're planning to keep (probably with us in the RV) but not use - our dishes (too big and heavy), our wall art (not really any walls in Irv), and the 'momentos' box (wedding photos, photo CDs, etc).  We'll probably start moving items into the RV about two weeks before we leave.  We don't want to do it too early since we're using a lot of it still, and it's bloody hot and humid in the RV and don't want stuff to get funky.

On an unrelated note, I am living, breathing proof that people can adjust to just about anything.  I HATE the heat.  But honestly, today's high of 93 with 80% humidity doesn't feel that bad.  Sure, that's in comparison to the weekend's 103, but still.  And, when we'd come in from the hot garage (which was probably hotter than 103), the 78 degree house felt cold!  I'm hoping the reverse acclimatization works too...When I checked the weather in Juneau for the weekend, they were having highs of about 48-50 degrees!

31 days...we'll be ready, one way or another.