Let’s Roll!

House is sold. Two inspections, minor repairs done, Agonizing over appraisal and repairs potentially required by the VA.  Stressed doesn’t BEGIN to describe  how we were feeling, living and breathing on a daily basis. There wasn’t enough White Claw on the planet to satisfy me. 

Did we make the right decision? Are we crazy for moving across the country? Probably, but who cares? 

After a long year of virus, lay-offs, hand sanitizer and masks, we were ready for a change. At least a geographical change. As if moving to California would make the virus go away. It won’t cure Covid, but it will make living with it more palatable. I mean, would you rather be quarantined in snow and ice or sunshine and palm trees??  Exactly. 

So the day we planned for, stressed and waffled over is finally here. IT IS MOVING DAY!

Packing a Hyundai Tucson with enough to get us through a five day schlep across the country is no easy feat. We packed light, or so we thought. We didn’t realize packing the car would be like Jenga!  Don’t pull THAT bag out or the whole pile will crash down around us! And then of course, there’s Red. Red is the perfect  passenger. His muffled snores were softly wafting up towards us from the very back of the SUV.  Sooo, after goodbyes were said, neighbors hugged, it was time to hit the road.

Day one of our 5 day trek had begun. 

We decided to take a side trip to Shanksville, PA to visit the Flight 93 Memorial.  Eerily, today had the same bright blue sky as did that fateful September day in 2001.

We were among a handful of visitors at this somber site. Surely, the only humans with a dog.  Red respected all areas off limits to him while enjoying sniffing and playing with anyone who gave him attention.

He didn’t realize how surreal I felt here. Trying to wrap my head around the sheer terror the 34 passengers and 6 crew members must have felt. Standing on the flight path that ended in a horrific crash into the ground at 563 mph. 7,000 gallons of jet fuel exploding like a bomb in a rural Pennsylvania field. The names are all there. White marble adorned with each name.  A lone boulder marking the crash point. A debris field/ gravesite cordoned off by black granite. Sad. Peaceful.

Tower of voices in the background. 93 foot tall monument housing wind chimes, singing in the gentle breeze.

Red had no clue where he was, but I thought I heard Todd Beamer shouting “Let’s Roll”! as the passengers rushed the terrorists in a last attempt to save their lives. 

As we walked towards our car, I had an overwhelming desire to yell “Let’s Roll” before we piled in and hit the road.