Backed the truck right up to the porch, and started carrying out boxes.

The Uhaul folks made us a deal we couldn't refuse on this 24 foot truck, when they couldn't produce the 17 foot we had ordered a month ago. So we had plenty of extra space. The 17 foot would have been pretty tight. It is a good thing I didn't know this ahead of time, or I'd never have been able to throw out as much as I did!

Getting near to the end. I never did take a picture of it when we were finally completely loaded. It was full to about half way up, and to the back. The 17 foot would have been full to the ceiling and to the back.

Thanks to these stalwart folks we were able to get loaded and back to the rental place to load the Saab, AND back to Dad's, before rush hour. And in time to load another twelve or fifteen boxes in the daylight. Plus my computer and a few odds and ends. But when we closed the truck up, we were ready to go!

Adam and Evelyn double check that we have left nothing behind in the kitchen. We took the vacuum.

Adding the last few things, parked in front of Dad's.

Ann and Evelyn added a festive touch for valentines Day. This was Saturday morning as we said our last goodbyes.

And off we go!

The balloons were a tad worse for wear at the end of the first day. We had driven through four states, making it into Iowa for the night. I had learned how to parallel park the truck and trailer, out of necessity.

Each morning Evelyn would note our vital statistics, start mileage, time, location, weather, etc.

Part of the routine, check the oil every other tank of gas. It did use three quarts across the country, a quart every thousand miles, mostly in the mountains. I'm not complaining.

We developed a routine for our overnight stops, so that we were able to get in and out of the hotels with only one trip each way, usually. We used the back of the truck as a changing room in Colorado, to put on our wedding duds.

We were very lucky all the way across the country. A huge storm hit Iowa and Nebraska (on it's way to paralyze the east coast) the day before we drove through. We counted fifteen cars and trucks in the ditch in ONE MILE, and hundreds all told. Our luck held through all four mountain passes, as well.

Evelyn and David pose by the truck. We ate Continental breakfasts in the hotels. Took time for a sit down lunch or dinner, and sometimes snacked through one or the other. We probably stopped four of five times a day, minimum.

The beautiful town of Glenwood Springs, CO. We arrived late on Monday, Presidents day. Called the courthouse early Tuesday and found that the Judge had just had a day long trial cancelled, and was free to marry us! The hardest thing (as alway in the city) was finding a place to park the truck.

Evelyn is already in bed, and David is posting a picture to the web page, from our hotel room, in Glenwood Springs. What else does one do on their wedding night?

Because of the time of year we frequently found that we had the highway to ourselves. Since we stayed to the freeway our scenic views were mostly majestic panorama's. Several times we took the 'Scenic Lookout's' just to stretch and see the view. Majestic. Lonely, too.

The mountain pass in Idaho, or maybe Oregon. The highest passes were in the Rockies. Next highest were the Cascades, and in between the truck did a little better climbing the grades. At no time was there any question of getting over, just whether it would be at thirty miles per hour, or a more comfortable fifty.

We finally drove out of the Cascades at three in the afternoon and there was Seattle. By five we were back in Anacortes, and by seven we were unloaded and the truck returned.

Six days and three thousand miles later, we are home.