Moving (again)

Hal writes:

Sorry that we haven't had very many updates. Our computer is broken and we don't have the connections here at PLU to find someone to help us out. Our big hope is that we haven't lost all the pictures, music, and personal files that were on the computer.

Here is a quick rundown of activities over the past few days.

*Hal attended the ACUHO-I conference in Orlando and his presentation was received very well. (He may have lined up a couple of speaking engagements through the presentation.) During the trip Hal connected with some friends and even got to go to the Magic Kingdom for a special late night conference attendance price. Seven rides (including the new Monsters, Inc. ride and updated Pirates ride), fireworks, and the parade in four hours.

*Our car has been at the mechanics since last Tuesday. We currently have a rental car (which unfortunately smells like smoke). Each day the car "will be ready tomorrow". We'll see...

* After several mistakes from the state of WA, Anna was finally approved for her temporary license. Too bad they sent it to WI and not the WA address we gave them. Looks like she has a couple more days before she can start work.

* We have painted the new apartment (except for the bedroom, they gave us the wrong color). But we have the guest bedroom, living room, kitchen, and both bathrooms painted. Today is cleaning the apartment (previous owner had a cat) and starting to move boxes from temporary housing to our new apartment.

* Mt. Rainer has been out almost every day and is a beautiful view. We went to a BBQ on Friday night and met several of Anna's new coworkers. From the view of the house we were at, we saw Mt. Baker which was 120 miles to the north of us. And I thought seeing across Lake Superior over to WI from MN was a long way!

* Yesterday we went to the "Taste of Tacoma" and had some delicious food and got some free information from a number of venders. This next weekend is the "Tall Ships" gathering in the sound. Yar...

We hope to send out our new contact information soon. Until then, you can e-mail us, but we just don't know when we will be able to check it!

Pray for patience for us...

2000 miles of I-90

Hal writes:

We have arrived in Washington! We had a late start on Friday (leaving at 4pm instead of 9am) but after we got through the flooded areas of Southern Wisconsin, we had a safe drive through the remaining states. Here are some official stats.

Overall time: 70 hours (left 4pm Friday, arrived 4pm Monday)
Driving time: 30 hours
Number of states visited: 7 (WI, MN, SD, WY, MT, ID, WA)
Miles traveled: 2000 miles
Gallons of gas purchased: 219
MPG avg (UHaul towing car): 9.13 mpg (don't they make UHaul hybrids?)

Prior to leaving there were a few tearful goodbyes. But also some joy. Here is a picture of Anna with Holly and bride-to-be (now married) Brinni.


You might not be able to see my "get tough" pose because of the wide shot, but I feel that I am striking the proper arm cross for standing in front of my big rig.

Hm, if I'm smiling, it must be early in the trip. ;) The night before we only made it as far as Jackson, MN for our first night before staying at an awful hotel. But, it was good motivation to wake up and start driving early the next day.

CDL experience for Anna has come in nicely.

Behold! The exciting view of South Dakota!

Anna learns about SD history at a rest stop.


After seeing the miles and miles of signs, we decided to stop in Wall, SD at Wall Drug for a break. Anna makes nice with a buffalo.

Hal makes friends with a Jackalope.

Montana was absolutely beautiful. We enjoyed the scenery around Butte, Bozeman, etc. Here is Anna in front of some of the first mountains we saw in Wyoming.

Some more mountains in Montana.

Scenes from I-90.

We kept our suitcases and cooler with food in the back of the Cruiser.

Poor Anna, she ran out of Wisconsin Cheese curds along the way...

But the mountains make her very happy!

Cardwell, MT. Named after Anna's family.


We spent the second nice in Sheridan, WY. It was a much better place than the previous night, and with the change to Mountain Time Zone, we were able to sleep an additional hour. The next night we stayed with my friend Ali in Spokane. Before tackling driving the UHaul the the mountains, we stopped at the Columbia River overlook. We eventually drove over the bridge in the background. Amidst the plains of the Dakotas, the mountains of WY, MT, and WA, and finally this river, I continually asked myself, "How the heck did Lewis and Clark do this without paved roads and a car?" I'll have to read up on that more because I have no idea how they stayed motivated day after day to continue their voyage.

Mt. Rainer came out to welcome us to western Washington. It was a beautiful day and "the mountain was out" on all sides.

Driving through the mountain passes at 40 mph in 3rd gear. Good thing there wasn't any snow!