The Big Move, Part II (Roadtrip!)
Mom, ready to hit the road, with Tiffany in her lap!
First, before we got to the roadtrip, we had to deal with movers. Let me just say how awful this experience was. Even with all our downsizing, we had a ton of stuff. Movers want an inventory in advance so they can price it, or at least many of them do. When you have entire rooms, floor to ceiling, where you are storing tubs and boxes, this wasn’t easy.
Not only was this going to be hideously expensive, when the day came the movers didn’t arrive on time. They finally called me to say they would be there later in the afternoon (instead of early in the morning). I knew then it would be a nightmare. By the time they arrived and got started, it was well into the afternoon. They didn’t seem all that careful with things clearly labeled ‘fragile’, running up and down the stairs with things. My glass bistro table was sitting right in the middle of the sidewalk, in everyone’s path, until I asked them to secure it. Needless to say, they didn’t get done that day, because they had been so late. So I had them all the next day as well. At the very end they didn’t even fit everything into the truck that was on the list, so a few items were left behind or given away after the movers left. By the time they left, I was having chest pain and was exhausted.
We had decided to stay in a local hotel until after the house closed, since our beds were gone. I still had lots of cleaning up to do, though, so I spent several days hauling things out of the attic, shed, cellar, piling up one last load for the dump and one last monster load for charity. We kept the cats there at the house, because although the hotel was ‘pet friendly’ we figured they were better off in their own home as long as possible. The garbage cans were overflowing with packing materials and assorted pantry and other items we couldn’t take or use. There was a mountain in the alley for the city to take to the dump, and the porch was totally covered with that last charity donation. I was hurting and exhausted.
Finally the closing day came, so I rounded up the (unhappy) cats and snuck them into the hotel through the back door. Yes, me, the compliance consultant, was sneaky, lol. If you haven’t tried moving or traveling with pets much, you may not know this, but they will charge you like $50 a night per pet, or some ridiculous amount. Non-refundable. We had several weeks of hotel living scheduled, with two rooms and three cats. I was already nearly broke from paying all the house repairs, movers, etc., So yes, I snuck the cats in!
My mom kept the cats in her room, because there is no way I would be able to sleep with them running over me all night. Doesn’t bother my mom. So she had the designated cat room, litter box, etc. We stayed in that hotel for over a week, I believe. I think everyone in our section was putting up their ‘do not disturb’ sign because they had illicit pets, they would just pile their trash outside for the maid service. It wasn’t the classiest living we’ve ever done! Plus we had a few very beloved house plants. So our rooms were a mess and the hotel was kind of smelly (a particular sensitivity for me!). Not much fun.
Finally it was time to leave Maryland. Our car was full to the brim! My cat, Tiffany, decided that the backseat wasn’t going to work for her, she yowled continuously. So she made the entire trip in my mom’s lap. Spoiled. We had several plants, a few valuables, all our clothes, some food and dishes, all the cat accessories and food… I packed that car like a jigsaw puzzle, even cramming things in the well with the spare tire.
Our car, when we left Maryland
We had reservations in Palm Bay, Florida, at a hotel but had a three or four day gap to get down there. So we took our time, repeating the cat-backdoor-sneaking routine at each place. Our most memorable night was when we got to Savannah, Georgia. We decided, in the afternoon, to get off the freeway and see historic Savannah, which seemed like a great idea, we had time. It wasn’t as close as we thought, and as we were winding around to get there, we realized one of the cats had an accident in the carrier. At nearly the same time, a storm blew in, and torrential rain started pelting down. We had no idea where we were, couldn’t see very well, and knew that we had to get a hotel. No way we would spend more time in the car with that nasty cat poo! Not to mention the poor cat’s misery. So, I had to get online and find a hotel that was ‘pet friendly’. Of course it wasn’t close, so back to the freeway we went, still pouring rain.
Once we finally got to our rooms, of course we had to do Operation Cat Clean Up. The carrier was beyond soiled and smelly, to say the least, and I gag at even a slight whiff of poo, so my mom, lucky for me, did most of the cleanup while I went to find dinner.
The next morning the cats were traumatized and resisting the carriers. Of course, right? The bed had a metal frame all around the base so that no animals could go under…except at the very head, there was like a 6 inch opening. And you know two of those cats went right under there! They all would have except I managed to catch one. Have you ever tried to get a cat out from under a bed when you can’t reach under the bed? I went out to the car and got a broom that I had miraculously thought to bring, for just such a scenario. But still, I had that very small opening, and the broom didn’t reach. We got one out, finally. But not the other. I was starting to think I would have to call the front desk to get someone to help. And then, of course, would have had to confess to contraband cats! We banged on the metal base as loud as we could, to scare the cat out, which is finally what worked. We realized, after that, what all the loud banging noises we had been hearing throughout the hotel must have been…lots of other cats in other rooms trying to avoid the carrier and the car ride!
Finally, finally, we made it to Florida! I did get caught by a maid, with a cat carrier there, so I did confess to having a cat at the front desk… but we were in Florida at last!