Since we've gotten so good at packing and moving....we decided to do it again before our skills get rusty and our backs recover from the last battle at the storage units.
To give you a quick update, yesterday morning we signed the lease documents and today we get to meet the owners and do a walk-through of the house and grounds. We've been told that they used to live in Hawaii and we're anxious to learn more about it, since we've never been there and we have that on the bucket list. They initially didn't want pets, so we're thinking we'd better leave Tuck back at the Inn. The last thing we need is for Tuck to run up and pee by the front porch, or worse yet....get into some mud (he has an amazing ability to find it) and track it onto the brand new carpet (yikes....time to look for another home). So, discretion being the better part of valor...we're going to play it safe. The good news is that we know when they meet him, they will love him just like everyone else does.
We hired a new moving crew who live in the area and we meet with them Friday morning to vacate the storage units for the last time! Keep in mind that we've had furniture and other belongings stored for over a year now...first in Florida when we began staging our home for the sale and now here in California. We've decided that once we move everything and unpack all the plastic storage boxes, we can start a nice side business selling empty storage boxes on Ebay (we have about 100). Actually, we'll have to store them in the new shop, as our long-term goal is to either buy or build a home....so we're going to need them again. Ugh...thinking about moving again is a little like putting a reminder on a calendar that says...."Root canal at the dentist Monday at 10:00". Therefore, for the time being, we're going to unpack them and store them down in "the shop".
The house is in a subdivision called Alta Sierra. By mountain standards, it's a large development with a golf course, clubhouse, small lakes, restaurants, a fire department, etc. The whole area is hilly, so picture steep driveways on both sides of the road....some up, some down. Many would have been too steep for what we need and fortunately the home we leased has a drive that isn't too steep and I'll be able to negotiate the truck with the trailer. Turning everything around at the garage to head back out may be a Houdini trick, but after the cross-country drive, I'm up to the challenge. Stay tuned...if the Weather Channel runs a story about a Ram truck with an attached 12' trailer going downhill into a lake, you might want to watch.
Alta Sierra is South of Grass Valley, the sister town to Nevada City (about five miles South). It'slarger than Nevada City and has a great mix of a historic downtown and newer shopping areas. Both towns sit right in the mountains and getting around is super easy. Each town has four or five exits off Hwy 49, each about a mile apart, but unlike most towns where you exit the interstate and then drive five miles into town....in this area the stores sit right beside the highway. You can pop on and off, depending on what you need to do, or where you need to shop. It's great...even for a guy like me who hates to shop (I'm ready for Amazon Prime deliveries by drone).
That's about it for now. Today will be a busy day meeting the owners and beginning the process of vacating the storage units. I'll post more tonight, or tomorrow morning. Pictures will follow as soon as possible...but first, we have to buy some furniture (remember the giant yard sale?).
Cheers!
Wayne, Claudia & Tuck