We arrived in our new destination, Richmond, Virginia, on Sunday evening after having a Saturday afternoon farewell meal with Sarah and Jay. I fed Al, the cat, several tuna treats, and then we hit the road. The move out of New Haven was very easy because other than our personal toiletries and clothes, we used all of Sarah's stuff. We still managed to leave the crucial cable that connects the TV and the computer attached to Jay's TV. Oh well, I'm sure they will be able to use it.
Sunday afternoon on the way to Richmond we decided to take the heavily traveled I-95 just south of Baltimore down to the infamous Washington DC Beltway (which actually is just the western freeway loop around DC), then reconnect to I-95 and come into Richmond. Simple, straightforward, and overwhelming. It reminded me of the new Southwest Freeway through Houston with six lanes on each side, and HOV lanes, and separated lanes that got on and off at every exit. We breezed right through, and realized we never wanted to push our luck and drive it again. Observing the northern traffic, (we were driving south, of course) on the same route, with the same number of lanes (numerous) at one point there was a 20 mile long bumper to bumper traffic jam. Mind you, this was Sunday afternoon. Chatting with someone when we arrived in Richmond about the I-95 route, she laughed and said it was almost always horrendous, and you had to know both the college and pro football schedule on Saturday and Sunday to make sure you don't try to drive anywhere you can get caught in standstill traffic.
Richmond has surprised me. It feels a little like Tulsa - rolling hills, but much more heavily forested. Trees grow naturally here - there's thick forest of mixed deciduous and evergreen everywhere. I think the autumn is going to be breathtaking. It's also rather comforting to be in a part of the country where I recognize most of the vegetation. This town seems to be the crepe myrtle capital. They are a bit faded now, but in July there were undoubtedly gorgeous. They march in well trimmed rows around the various shopping centers. They have signage ordinances here, and it's maddening to try and find a store by peeping through the crepe myrtle branches since low profile signs are suffering from vegetation encroachment.
Anyway, we started house hunting on Monday morning. We decided that after New Haven, we have had enough 'downtown living'. It's fun in that there are lots of individually owned restaurants that are walking distance, and lots of cool shopping, but it's also constant noise. This time we are opting for suburban living with broad smooth streets, right turns on red, and left turn lanes at every major light. The bitter is that most of the eating choices are fast food or chains in the part of town with the smooth, wide, well marked streets.
It took us about two days to find an apartment. We signed the three month lease on Tuesday, and moved in on Wednesday. On Thursday we did blitzkrieg shopping driving all over Richmond and beyond looking for the additional stuff we needed - like chairs and a table - to get set up. We found almost everything, as well as got the Fios set up. Speaking of Fios, (Verizon's TV/Internet/Phone), guess what? You can't just pick up your cables and box after you get signed up. No, they MAIL you the box of equipment. It was supposed to come on Friday, but we got the 'box' a day early. That's why I'm on the Internet.
We also discovered on our trip to the Post Office to get our 'mailbox' key, that it will be 7 to 10 days BEFORE WE CAN GET THE KEY. I guess some blacksmith is going to have to devise it, and then get it blessed and finally, finally, deign to give it to us. Our new address is: 9409 Brightway Court, Henrico, Virginia 23294. Apparently we live in a town that only the post office cares about. Everyone else who lives here thinks they live in Richmond. According to anecdotes, you could address my mail to the address above except put Richmond and it would get to me. I asked what happens if we get mail before we can get the magic key. The postman answered, "Oh, it will just pile up in the box." SWELL.
I also have ANOTHER library card. New Haven was very generous with theirs - I will using it for another three years. This Tuckahoe (another mysterious town) library is new and very nice. I was trying to figure out how many library cards I've acquired. I think I have nine. I should have a nice collage soon.
So, tomorrow is the final furniture quest - a chest of drawers for Drake. Oh, and did I mention the apartment features? It's a 2/2 that's been newly remodeled with new floor coverings, counters, sinks, and appliances including a Maytag stacked washer, dryer IN the APARTMENT. We also have air conditioning, which now seems 'cold' to me after the New Haven hot box, a dishwasher and a garbage disposal. High cotton. It's also in the back of the complex, so we look at trees rather than parking lot. Absolutely perfect except for one tiny thing...it's on the second floor. I can walk the stairs - did that in New Haven, but Drake is insisting that I help carry the furniture up the stairs. Well, I did it, but my back hurts. The recliner bottom (one of the pieces we bought) was just awful as was the big mattress. I'm contemplating throwing the pieces down the stairs and seeing what survives when we leave.
We are all unpacked. I've made the four hour re-set up the household and kitchen store run while Drake was getting the Internet set up with the equipment we couldn't be trusted to carry out of the store, and doing the laundry. After we get the last chest, AND manhandle it up the stairs, it's two days of rest for me. I'll be raring to go after that. Lots to do here.
