Adios Tejas and Prelude
…And we’re off!!
As I am writing this from a friend’s couch in Denver, it is nice to take a look back at the last few weeks and breathe. These weeks have been bittersweet, filled with celebrations and goodbyes, early mornings and late nights, and excitement and stress.
We had a going away shindig at Saint Arnold’s Investors Pub (one of our favorite places on Earth) with a good portion of some of our favorite people on Earth. The day was filled with great conversations, delicious beer, silly pictures, and hugs goodbye. We were both so thankful and happy to see everyone who was able to make it. There isn’t much else to say about the day other than thank you, thank you, thank you, and we love you all! Oh, and here is our Spotify playlist we created for the party in case you have a hankering for some excellent jams.
Who doesn’t love packing and moving? I know I sure as hell DO NOT. Since we do not know where we will be living once this gallivant is over, we decided to put our stuff in U-Haul storage containers and have them stored in a warehouse somewhere in North America. Once we have an idea of where our roots will be placed, we will have our containers shipped there. (Free advertising aside) U-Haul containers are a very cost effective method of storing and shipping your belongings. The containers are about 8x5x7, so I would definitely recommend downsizing as much as possible or these containers don’t come out to be quite as cost effective. We were almost able to shrink our belongings down to one box, but our dag-blasted footboard could not fit in the first container. The silver lining is we were able to fit our bikes and a few other knickknacks in the second container and did not have to worry about getting rid of even more last minute things. Some other not so great things about U-Haul is they have the world’s worst customer service. Long story short, the containers arrived 7.5 hours late, causing us to reschedule our movers. The movers (Prolific Movers) were fantastic and we would definitely use them again if we were ever returned to the Houston area.
The prelude of the trip was us traveling around Waco and Dallas before our departure to Denver. We dropped off our backpacking equipment we will need for the second portion of the sabbatical at my dad’s house (thanks Dad for being awesome enough to let us take up attic space and for letting us borrow your truck for the move!). While in Waco we were able to spend some extra quality time with loved ones, and we also made a slight stylistic change to my hair. After a couple of days there, we dropped our car off at its new home and hopped on a bus headed for Dallas. Once there, we were picked up by our amazing friend Amy who was gracious enough to let us stay at her place and crazy enough to take us to the airport at 4:00 in the morning.
We are now hanging out in Denver babysitting a very sweet and very giant mastiff puppy named Lilo. Visiting more friends is on the immediate horizon, plus more hiking in the Garden of the Gods, and then onto the international portion of this trip!
Catch you all on the flip side.
Love,
Jeff and Sarah
