The Journey

Our trip from Florida to Utah, 2,500 miles in four and a half days, with Katie driving her car, while John & Keith shared driving our 28-foot rental truck.

Day 1: Saturday, April 30th

Since we didn't leave Loxahatchee until almost exactly noon, and stopped in to briefly say hello to Grandma in Orlando, we only made it to Lake City (FL) that day.

We stayed at a Best Western & had dinner at Bob Evans Restaurant. Although exhausted, we enjoyed the friendly service and homestyle food at the restaurant.

Day 2: Sunday, May 1st
Lake City, Florida to Paducah, Kentucky

We got an early start, hitting the road around 6am. In Georgia, 2 or 3 times we saw where a tornado had crossed the Interstate. The trees were shattered and broken, several feet above ground level, in paths that were on both sides of the highway. Still new, the destruction had occured only a few days before. We struggled to get the heavily-loaded 28-foot truck through the mountains of Tennessee, then had to deal with the rain in Kentucky. It rained almost the entire time we were in Kentucky. We didn't encounter any flooding on the road, but the fields around us were quite underwater! Between the mountains and the rain, and the constant bouncing of the truck, it was a nerve-wracking & exhausting day for the two truck drivers. Katie, on the other hand, was enjoying the scenery as she listened to books on CD - in total comfort during a SMOOOOOTH ride! :)

Katie snapped this pic with her cell phone as she followed John & Keith near Atlanta. It shows some of the tree damage from the tornadoes the previous week.

What it's SUPPOSED to look like!
(This pic was taken from the truck.)

Day 3 : Monday, May 2nd
Paducah, Kentucky to Lincoln, Nebraska

Today was an easier day although we were still tired from yesterday. We breathed a sigh of relief to get away from the rains in Kentucky, and to finally start traveling west. Crossing the Mississippi was notable, as was seeing the "McDonalds" Arch in St. Louis. :)

Exit to the site of the infamous Liberty Jail.
Traveling in Nebraska was very boring. We really looked forward to stopping a little early this day and having a country dinner at Cracker Barrel. We were NOT impressed with Lincoln.

Day 4: Tuesday, May 3rd

Lincoln, Nebraska to Rock Springs, Wyoming

This was Katie's BIRTHDAY! She got several phone calls from well-wishers. That, along with listening to some good novels, helped the day to go by quickly.

It was also the coldest leg of our trip. Although wearing a light jacket, I thought I'd freeze when we made a pit stop at a rest area in the middle of nowhere.

WYOMING'S GENTLE HILLS

Then...Keith noticed it first...in the distance....The Rocky Mountains!

From Katie's cell phone. You can barely make out the Rockies,

AND the dozens of huge windmill turbines on the crest of the hills. These things were fascinating! Graceful, beautiful, and mesmerizing, too! We spotted many of them throughout western Nebraska and Wyoming, taking advantage of the plains and the constant winds. LOVE MOTHER NATURE!

Day 5: Wednesday, May 4th
Rock Springs, Wyoming to Saint George, Utah

(with stops in Bountiful & Provo)
We met Kendra, Alayna, Jack and Janese at their storage unit in Bountiful, Utah, around 11am. We had several boxes of Kendra's belongings in the back of the truck which we unloaded, working as rapidly as possible because we were on a tight schedule.

Next stop was Keith & Stacia's apartment in Provo, to unload several boxes of Keith's belongings. I also lost my co-pilot here. Keith & I had traded driving all the way from Florida. Now it was up to me to finish the job....

From Provo, it was "pedal-to-the-metal" all the way to Saint George.

We had arranged, through our new bishop, for several church members to meet us at 5 p.m., and help unload the truck. Katie went on ahead to sign papers and get the keys to our apartment. I arrived at 4:30 pm. Our help started arriving about 15 minutes after I opened the back door.

Every box, sofa & dresser had to cross the parking lot, go around to the other side of the building, go up 5 elevation change steps then up 16 steps to our apartment.

We finished unloading around 8:30 pm.

Kudos to those wonderful men (and one young boy) whom we'd never met before, and who helped us haul an incredible amount of stuff up to our new place!!!! (At least we didn't bring a PIANO!!!)