Kennedy to Turnpike to Beltway

Alright, this blog is back in action.  So, please spread the word.  But don’t tell people I told you to tell them.  Just bring it up in conversation like, “Hey, have you been reading George and Michelle’s blog?”

“I didn’t know they had one”.

“Oh yes, it is the greatest blog ever.  You should really check it out.  I’ll send you the link asap”!

Let’s make this really grassroots.  Here we go:

Goodbye Chicago.  But not goodbye forever.  Just long enough so we can more objectively affirm your superiority to the rest of the country’s second and third rate offerings.

Let’s start from the very beginning, September 4th, 2009.  The very best place to start.  The Kennedy.  It was 4:30 am.  Dad ran out of the house after Michelle and I got up to prepare for what would be one of the longest days of our life.  After we were finally ready to jump in the Uhaul, my father had a smorgasbord of Dunkin’ Donuts laying out on the counter.  A dozen donuts, a box of munchkins, 2 everything bagels, and a full pot of coffee.  The bagels were the only thing we requested after the insistance of a run to DD.  It was a kind gesture.

We woke Jack up to say goodbye, hugged my parents and jumped onto the road.  I drove the 14′ Uhaul and Michelle drove the non-air conditioned, radioless Lumina.  I had packed the Uhaul the previous day as we said goodbye to all of Michelle’s family at her parents house during another huge eating festival.   As we drove in the early morning on my favorite roadway in the country, I stared at the best view of the skyline in the dark fog of the morning.  I remembered having the same feeling as the previous summer when we drove to New York.   At the merge, the city rises up next to the El which lines the left of the periphial.  I later looked at the mural to the right and was  sad that I wouldn’t see the annual marathon painting finshed.  As I passed Ogden I was hit with sadness that I wouldn’t be exiting the ramp this season to park at Big Top parking on Paulina to walk down Madison Avenue on a cold and windy Blackhawks night while wearing my shiny red jacket and screaming about how warm it is.  The tears hit while crossing under Jackson and looking at the always and forever Sears Tower.  What a city.

The Skyway is the most disgusting “way” in the whole country.  I was happy to exit the ugly route as we neared Michigan City heading for the amazing and crazy Bill Carrera family labor day celebration at 6:30am.  Tim being the guest of honor there gave us the opportunity to surprise him with a goodbye before we left.  When driving up to the house with too many Carrera’s to count under one roof, I saw Tim sleeping in a hammock on the poarch with a smile on his face.  Rach walked out and I parked the loud truck  and walked up to Tim with an annoying dolphin keychain that squeeked to wake him up.  Ha!  He knew pretty quickly who it was when he opened his eyes.  I later gave the keychain to Tyler, just to add fun to the house.  I don’t know how quickly it was taken away.  We stayed for around an hour to see the house gear up to full swing.  What a sight to see.  It would have been nice to stay later.  Thanks to Liz for encouraging us to stop by.

After saying goodbye, we drove to Norte Dame so I could get cash for the drive.  Luckily, we got out of there before the game that Saturday.  By 11:00 am, Michelle already wanted to stop and call it a day.  That was not the plan.  No, we were driving the whole way.  At one rest stop we pulled off and took a nap because the last thing I wanted was a car wreck just as we started our new life (Michelle – “Actually, I made him stop”).  I like driving through Ohio because they have the best rest stops and the terrain is still flat.  Once you hit the Turnpike the tolls and hills annoy you.  Our problem was that Michelle was not happy about driving at this point.  So the rest of the trip was a struggle to keep going.  She would call, I would say we’re not stopping, she would get frustrated, I would agree to stop, she would agree to keep going, and then we would keep driving.  An hour late the cycle would start again.  My goal was at least to get through Pennsylvania.  At that point there was no more fighting and when we hit 70-S I thought we would stop for sure,  we were two hours out.  To my great surprise, Michelle said she could endure it.  The only issue was that we were not making good time and we needed to get there before 10:30pm to get the keys from our neghbor before he left for the night shift.  So we raced and made one quick stop at Subway on 270-S before hitting the Beltway.  Once we hit the Beltway, Michelle couldn’t take it anymore.  She would call every five minutes and test to see if my time framing was a lie, not that it mattered, no time would be quick enough.  (Michelle – “I was crabby”).

Finally, we exited  on East Capitol to see RFK rise above the street  much like the city does between Montrose and Irving.  I’ll take a picture of it one day on my drive back from work.  We drove around the stadium to C St. and followed it to our neighborhood, Capitol Hill.  We live 1 mile from the Capitol building.  Luckily our neighbor was still home at 10:15pm and we entered into our new home.  We brought in the stuff from Lumina so we could leave it on the street as we decided to stay in a hotel for the night.  We drove over to Virginia and stopped at the Iwo Jima monument before finding a room.  I love the statue because it looks over the Mall beautifully.  I wanted to show Michelle our new city from a good perspective as a welcome for us.

After that we drove near the Pentagon to a Radisson.  We got an amazing rate and were upgraded to a suite because I was a former employee.  We were tired as it was almost midnight.  What a day.  Then I hear the toilet flush; and Michelle say “Geeeooorge”!  “What?” I stated frantically.  “Your phone just  flushed down the toilet”, Michelle said while laughing hysterically (Michelle – “I couldn’t help it…it just fell out of my pocket and was sucked right down, I couldn’t believe it…I was just so amazed I had to laugh”).  This is when I freaked out.  My phone was in her pocket and as she flushed the toilet and as she got up, the phone fell out and jumped into the toilet.  It went straight down the tubes.  I wasn’t that angry about the phone.  Sure, losing the numbers stunk, but I was far more irritated with Michelle’s lack of concern and face of laughter.  I didn’t know what to do so my outburst of frusteration was to throw the pillows off the bed in a very childish manner.  After that, Michelle and I were angry with each other until we cooled off and laughed about how long the day really was.  We never would have made it without each other.

The next day we unpacked our truck by ourselves, which took about four hours.  She was a great help.  After the unpacking, we looked at our disaster and realized how much stuff we had.  We knew the next weeks would be rough.

Finally, we were in our new home.  We had waited for that day for a very long time.  I could feel immediately that this was exactly where God wanted us to be.

-George and Michelle the Drivers

If you have been trying to call me, now you know why I haven’t answered.  We will now be using Michelle’s phone for the both of us.  Please email me for the new number and address.  gcarreraiii@gmail.com.