First Bike Ride

After perusing the Internet, talking with people at a local bike shop and reading a local bicycle periodical, we decided to check out a local group ride. It took us about 15 minutes to get there (mainly because we got lost several times on the way). When we got to the parking lot it was like OCRR, with lots of colorful, lycra-clad spandex geeks pulling bikes out of their cars or riding into the ride. The group numbered about 30 people and we learned that there were at least two rides. A 55-miler with lots of young hard bodies who averaged 19 mph and a 22-miler with people who looked more like us.

We introduced ourselves to a woman who was parked next to us. She was short, had short dark hair and a wonderful smile. She was real friendly (like most Southerners) and when she told us that her name was Lisa, Michael and I just looked at each other and smiled. We immediately felt right at home.

At Nancy's urging we opted for the 22-mile route since we have been off the bikes for a month and definitely not ready for all the hills around Atlanta. We got our butts kicked! We rode with a smaller group and they were so patient and full of information about cycling in Atlanta, politics and weather. The scenery was magnificent. Lots of blooming trees and flowers. Several times we crossed over wide rivers. At one point Nancy asked what river we were crossing, and someone said "Oh, that's just a creek". To top off a great ride, we all went to lunch afterward, not Taco Pablos, of course, but a good pizza place where we could sit outside.

All in all, we couldn't have asked for a better first ride in Atlanta. We're hoping to join the group again tomorrow, but the forecast is for thundershowers . . .

Hard Work

Well I really misjudged things. I thought a day or two after our possesions were delivered we would be completely unpacked and settled in. WRONG. Based on how things have gone we will be unpacking for weeks. Probably will be completely unpacked and settled and then have to move again. We are doing the third or fourth purge of items. We really miss a garage where one can put miscellaneous items. Check out our new bike room, a converted breakfast nook.

Nancy spends her days unpacking and arranging while I sit in an air conditioned office and try to get up to speed with work. So many things are swirling in my head after four days I really need the weekend to relax, maybe even do a bike ride.

One factor making the move-in more challenging is our air conditioning is broken. Normally not a real bad thing with the temperatures being what they have been, just open a window. Well, they have something here called pollen which is not your average everyday pollen. It is everywhere and lasts about 3 weeks. The day we moved in the pollen count tripled causing numerous maladies among a large group of people, Nancy included. Not only does this stuff cause allergy sufferers a lot of grief but it covers everything with a coat of dust. It is so prevalent people do not wash their cars because they are immediately covered again. Funny seeing thousands of cars covered with green/yellow dust.

So we can not open windows to let the air in and with the air conditioning broken it is HOT in the house. We take a shower before going to sleep each night . The good news is that a new AC unit is being installed Friday morning. Once the pollen invasion is over then we can open windows. Just hope that we will have some time to enjoy natural air before it gets hot and humid.

Well that's all folks...........

One Down and ? To Go

My first day of work at the new job went really well. It is definately a change in work environment. Very nice facilities, equipment and the people were extremely welcoming.

Nancy spent the day opening bank accounts, ordering newspaper delivery, confirming delivery of our household goods for tomorrow and opening a library account.

Things are going well. Now that it is the work week the separation anxiety is not as bad as during the weekend. We found a great bike shop nearby and spent about an hour talking to them about cycling in Atlanta. They had good advice and suggestions. Think our first ride here will be on Sunday.

Weather today was real nice. Much cooler than the weekend. Spring is very beautiful. Kind of forgotten how spectacular the renewal of nature can be.

Our kitty seems to have adjusted. She now spends most of her time asleep on a shelf in a closet, much as she did in Encinitas.

Oh, one thing we have noticed is that Atlanta seems to be behind the times with recycling. I asked someone at work where the recycle bins for paper and aluminum were and she just looked at me as if I had asked the oddest question. Will have to work on that. At least the condo has bins for plastic bottles, aluminum and newspaper. No mixed paper or cardboard. We found that that made up most or our refuse in CA.

Hope everyone reading this is doing well.....

End of Vacation

Today was the end of my vacation from work. I start my new job tomorrow. All of this activity lately has been leading up to this. Somehow I feel like I am going to my first day of school. Sure hope I like it and they like me. Nancy will drop me off and pick me up after. Now that really feels like the first day of school. Since our possesions have not arrived yet we ironed the shirt and pants I had packed and brought along in the car. That too makes tomorrow feel like the first day of school. Should I take an apple?

We went to Target today to buy furniture! Seemed a bit odd since we have so much coming on Tuesday but we could not go any longer just sitting on the floor. We seem to be too old. We picked up a little patio table and two chairs. They will end up on the balcony but for now they are our dining, living, kitchen and office chairs. Should have gotten the ones with wheels on them.

This might be the last daily entry for a bit. Maybe not. We will see. Thanks for following it.

Home Sweet Home

My turn. Michael has been great at keeping the blog current, but he's exhausted tonight so I volunteered to type for a change. Sorry there's no photos with this entry, but we were so busy we forgot to take any.

We met our property manager at 10:00 this morning and did a walk-through on the condo. Fortunately it still looks inviting and spacious and we're excited about living here. Right now it's more like camping, since our furniture doesn't arrive until Tuesday. We have an inflatable bed, a laptop and (thank goodness!) an Internet connection. The carpet is new, so we're able to sit on the floor. However, at our ages getting up and down is a challenge!

We found a nearby Target store, replenished our cleaning supplies and spent most of the day cleaning the unit top to bottom. Really made me appreciate Lola, our cleaning lady and next-door neighbor in Encinitas! Around 7:00 we decided to walk around the neighborhood. We were surprised to discover a lake, complete with geese and ducks, behind our building. Everyone we passed, in a car or on foot, waved or said hello. People are so friendly here!

Atlanta is beautiful and in the midst of Spring. The dogwoods, redbud and tulip trees are spectacular. The azaleas should bloom in a few weeks. We're looking forward to experiencing the change of seasons again after 25 years in California.

Tomorrow we'll relax and do something fun, since Michael has to start work on Monday. Traffic here is a nightmare, and that just reinforces our decision to live in the center of the city. Still haven't found any decent roads for cycling, but we'll continue the search once things settle down.

A big Happy Birthday to our buddy Richard Burkhart who turns 55 tomorrow. Richard is a treasured friend, and not just because he's married to Carol! Richard is the guy who first got Michael into cycling. It's funny to think that we used to make fun of Richard for wearing brightly colored spandex outfits, and now we have closets full of those same jerseys.

Miss all our friends, particularly on this Saturday. Felt strange to be on the other side of the country instead of at the OCRR parking lot. But it also feels good to be in our new home for the first time tonight.

Final Lap

We took the checkered flag at 4:30 pm when we drove up to the hotel for our final night before moving into our new place. We woke up leisurely this morning in Bessemer Alabama and took the scenic route into Atlanta. We experienced Friday "rush" hour and are so glad we decided to take a place close to where I will be working. We were going against traffic and it was extremely slow. Just too many cars, and SUVs, for the small roads.

Before leaving Alabama we stopped off at Talladega Raceway where NASCAR has one of its biggest races each year. This was the one side trip we took this week. Probably due to the influence of the movie "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby". We thought it was a crack-up. Who knows, we may become NASCAR fans since there is no Formula One around these parts. It was a huge place. We could visualize all of the RVs and campers in the wide open fields around the track.

Tomorrow we get the keys to our new home. Finally we get into the Winner's Circle.

Sweet Home Alabama

Lynyrd Skynyrd may have sung the lyrics and called Alabama home but for us it is home for only one night. We are outside of Birmingham. Can't say we have ever visited these here parts. Tomorrow we invade Georgia and take Atlanta!!!! It has been a long slog but one without any major pitfalls. We did have to deal with a car problem. Somewhere in Texas (or I should say in the last two days) the car was dragging and pulling to the left. It wasn't until we stopped for gas in Marshall Texas that we noticed we were missing a wheel cover from the rear drivers side. Losing that essential piece of equipment no doubt upset the aerodynamics of the automobile. The air rushing around the exposed lug nuts created excessive drag on the wheel surface thus pulling the car to the left. This morning we made an emergency landing at a VW dealer in Boosier Louisiana, near Shreveport, and inquired as to whether they had the part. Expecting it to be a typical dealer we were stunned when the response to our question was not "we can order it" but "sure, we have one in stock"! We were so happy that we didn't really comprehend the price of the piece of plastic. Oh well, we were so happy to get it and once we slapped the orb on we were on our way again and the car ran straight and true.

We are about two hours from Atlanta. We have driven 2005 miles since Monday afternoon. The topography continues to change and amaze us. We are now traveling in very green countryside with tall pines, bayous, rivers, wide open grazing areas and more golf courses than I expected. Crossing the Mississippi River was exciting. The interstate is two lanes each way but often has a median of woods between the traffic directions. Compared to Texas we seemed to fly through Louisiana and Mississippi and into Alabama.

Friday we will not be in a hurry to get on the road. We will time our arrival in Atlanta to avoid the rush hour which on Fridays starts at 2:30 or so. Looking forward to getting the keys to our new place on Saturday and if all of the utilities work we will stay there with our inflatable bed. I am dreaming that Sunday will be somewhat relaxing before starting the new job on Monday. We shall see.

Texas Is A BIG State

We woke up in Van Horn Texas and 10 hours later stopped in Marshall Texas, a distance of 700 miles. Still in Texas. We are 30 minutes from Shreveport Louisiana. Sure will be nice to enter a new state.

The things we noticed the most today were the amazing changes in topography, the wind, the speed semis travel, how big Texas is and how many plastic bags there are. We started in desert and ended up among pine trees and rolling hills. The area around Odessa & Midland was extremely windy. It looks like they have gotten a head start on Christmas decorating. Many of the bushes and scrub whatever were adorned with plastic bags flapping in the wind like flags. Tons of bags. Sort of a sad comentary on us. The sight was broken up with oil pumps and discarded oil equipment along the road. The speed in west Texas was posted 80 mph and folks were cruising 85-90. In east Texas the speed limit dropped to 70 mph but everyone kept the same speed. The road became a bit more crowded and full of semis. They just get on your tailgate and blast by when you change lanes. Mind you, I was going 80 or so when passing another car. Guess they have places to go.

We kept thinking about people who ride across the country. Sounds romantic and challenging but a day like this, with the wind, would make is frightening and definately not romantic. I might be able to stay upright but Nancy would have been blown to Oklahoma.

The only mishap so far on the trip is we lost a wheel cover somewhere, probably while on a section of road that was being worked on. Quite a few miles of that today.

We are still having loads of fun. But my butt hurts about hour nine each day.

Michael

Great Day

We left Yuma this morning and drove through Arizona and New Mexico into Texas to Van Horn. We pretty much went 80 mph most of the way. The posted speed limit in Texas so far is 80! So you can imagine what some are doing. The weather has been very pleasant. We had a real good tailwind that I am sure helped us with the gas mileage. Then we sucked wheel behind some ramblin' trucks to make it even easier. Not really but some trucks sucked our wheel. Can't believe how fast some of those beast cruise. We were able to do 600 or so miles today. Not bad.

The scenery is very impressive. At first it sort of looks the same but the subtle differences are very apparent when you really look. It is a lot of fun watching the landscape unfold slowly. Hard to imagine people walked or rode horses across all of this. Makes us feel like wimps.

Definately not a wimp is our kitty Lucy. She is just the best traveller so far. She slept about 550 miles today! She likes to hang out in her little cat carrier. We thought she would roam more but the quickly passing scenery seems to disorient her. She looks out a bit then retreats into her carrier. We have a litter box available to her but she does not use it. When we checked into the hotel she found the box and used it, really used it. Can't believe she kept it in all day. Very glad she did though.

Looking forward to tomorrow.

And They're Off

While I went for my last dental appointment in California at 8:00 am the movers came and started loading up the house right on time. The car was scheduled to be picked up between 8:00 & 10:00. Watching the movers pack the van was pretty amazing. What professionals. The husband & wife team (Vic & Diana) driving the van gave us a tour of their tractor/cab. They had a bed, shower, satellite TV, washer/dryer, cooktop and microwave. They spend weeks on the road at a time. So the loading was going well.

The car was scheduled to be picked up between 8:00 & 10:00. The loaders were done about 12:00 and after completing some paperwork they rolled out about 12:30. The car was scheduled to be picked up between 8:00 & 10:00. Nancy then took the internet cable modem to our internet provider (BTW our adelphia email address is defunct now). I proceeded to move everything we were going to take with us in the car on our trek into the garage to pack up upon Nancy's return. The car was scheduled to be picked up between 8:oo and 10:00. As you might surmise our car was still sitting out front of the house. At 3:45 pm someone finally came to pick up the car (after repeated phone calls, some of them more forceful than others.)

We hit the road at 4:30 pm and made Yuma AZ our first stop. Feels good to be under way.

Final Goodbyes

Today, Sunday, was a day to finalize everything in preparation of the moving van coming Monday morning to load up all of the 65 boxes of possesions and furniture. After three weeks of "purging" items we have collected all of our lives we still ended up with 65 boxes! Plus what we are taking in the car for the drive.

Over the past two days we have said goodbye, see you later, so long, to our friends. Today Nancy said goodbye to her dear friend Carol who, along with her husband, were the first people we met in California. For a couple of years we were next door neighbors in Solana Beach. We have shared so many experiences such as "the flying garbage disposal", "stealing the TV", "Sheriff's helicopter buzzing topless sunbathers", "burrito toss", "Thanksgiving with 20 people in a 700 square foot house due to rain" that the memories will last forever. Their son Ben played a very important role in our lives also. Whenever we wanted to borrow a kid to have fun with Ben was always there. Very special people.

I had to bid farewell to my friend of 25 years Duncan. Duncan has always been a role model for me for how to work with and have a positive affect on youth. There is no one with a more pure soul than Duncan. Duncan was the first person I worked with at a Boys & Girls Club and we worked together on and off for 25 years. I think we both had hair when we met. We will miss the dinners at Tony Jacal's in Solana Beach with Duncan and his wife and soul-mate Irene. I bet the Mariachi band still remembers Duncan's inadverdent $20 tip for two songs.

Now the adventure really begins. At dinner tonight we thought we should try to figure out the best way to get to Atlanta.

Great Friends

We just had a very wonderful going away party thrown for us this evening. Lisa Ruby and Joe Riel opened their home to a gaggle of North County Cycle Club friends so Nancy and I could say goodbye, or, so long. It was great to see fellow cyclists with whom we have shared so many enriching experiences with. We will miss seeing everyone on such a regular basis.

We hope to hit the road on Monday the 19th provided the van gets loaded by early afternoon.

Day after tomorrow eh? Better get some sleep..........

Thank you all.

Our New Digs

We are moving from a 2,000 sq. ft. home with a 3 car garage to a 2 bedroom condo with no garage. Should be interesting. The apartment looks like it is roomy. We will see early next week.

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Peace & Tranquility

These pictures are of the Chattahoochee River just about 8 miles from our new home. Amazing, the rivers in Georgia actually have water in them! And no concrete banks!

All Packed Up

The movers came today and packed up the house. They were in at 8:00 am and done by 1:00 pm. Pretty amazing. We put the things we will need for the rest of the weekend and our drive to Atlanta in one room with Lucy, our cat. Three guys came in and went to town. We now have 65 boxes stacked in the house along with the furniture. On Monday morning the van comes with another crew to load our lives and cart it off. If they are done by 1:00 then we will head out on the road at that time. Somehow I hear Willie Nelson in the background.....

As we were flying back to Encinitas on Wednesday Nancy kept saying "we really have a lot to do on Thursday". I suggested we go for a quick bike ride early in the morning and then do the few things that needed to be done. Nancy just looked at me and I knew there would be no riding on Thursday. Oh well, I thought to myself, if it makes Nancy happier then I can give up a ride. So when we awoke on Thursday I was expecting a somewhat leisurely day. After all, we had been going pretty much full tilt for two weeks. We got up about 5:00 am. Somehow the excitement of our adventure is prompting us to wake up early. That is excitement for me but a mixture of same plus anxiety for Nancy. Since in my mind most of the stuff for the move had been completed and it was so early, surely there would be time for a bike ride. But before I even was able to verbalize my thoughts, Nancy, being on a mission and obviously more in tune with reality, started giving directions. Go through the house again and cull more unnecessary items for either donation, give to friends or dumpster. Then on to another task. Before we knew it night had fallen and we were rolling into bed at about 10:00 pm. Good thing Nancy knows how to organize an operation of this magnitude. Left to my own devices I would probably just be getting started on finding a place to live in Atlanta. Nancy calls the things she is organizing "administrivia", I call it a lifesaver.

So now we sit in our boxed up house with our somewhat freaked out cat waiting for Monday. We have plans to get together with many folks on Saturday and Sunday. It will be difficult to say good bye. Better to say "later, ya'll"

Back in Encinitas

We returned to Encinitas this evening. Sure was great to see Lucy (our cat) again. We will be doing a lot of work tomorrow to get ready for the movers on Friday. Will be shutting down the desk top PC & packing the stereo. Getting very real now. We are beginning to think about the drive across the country. Will try to enjoy the ride. We can get the keys to our Atlanta apartment on Saturday the 23rd.

Explorers

Since we had settled our living situation on Monday we just wanted to tool around and check out our new city. Little did we know we would walk 1.3 miles up Stone Mountain (a huge hunk of granite towering 1.3 miles above the surrounding area, spend time next to a wonderful river full of trout and canadian geese, find the closest grocery store to our new home and then cruise up and down the city on MARTA (the mass transit train). Boy are we exhausted!

The closest grocery store to our apartment is accessed by going into a multi-level parking structure next to highrise buildings. It is how you get into Target also! Definately a first for us.

Nancy is really excited about how to use the MARTA as she thinks it will be how she will get to work either downtown or midtown. The station is four blocks from our apartment. There is a bus stop right in front of our place we can take to the MARTA station. Very convenient. In bad weather we can drive a car four blocks to covered parking and catch the train.

Our trip to the Chattahoochee (yep, that's how you spell it) River Recreation Area was unbelievable. It can not be more than 8 miles from our house. When we were by the river side it was like being in the middle of nowhere. If we listened real carefully we could hear a banjo playing.....There were a few folks doing fly fishing. Who knows, that may be our new recreational activity. As we were driving around we kept looking at each other sadly as we realized that cycling is going to be difficult near our home.

On Wednesday we return to Encinitas. On Thursday we have to do some more purging of our possesions to prepare for the movers on Friday.

The most amazing thing happened as we were walking back to our hotel this evening. Two businessmen stopped us to ask where a certain restaurant was located and.......we knew where it was and could give them directions! Guess that makes us neo-Georgians.

Abode Search - Day 3

Success! We signed a lease today. Both of us will sleep so much better tonight knowing that we now know where we will be living. We had two distinct choices of location and type of dwelling. We chose the first place we actually checked out on Saturday! The one with the picture of Nancy in the living room. Just liked the layout of the place better than the other. It is farther from work for me by five miles and about 10 minutes of driving. This morning we got up early and drove to the condo. We parked across the street and waited until 7:30 am and then did a test drive of the commute. Figured 30 minutes would be enough time. Well, it took only 12 minutes! Less than I was driving in San Diego. We feel quite happy about this because everyone we have spoken with comments on how long they spend driving. Even talked to one person who works at a Starbucks (we just bought a paper) and she spends a little over an hour each way. We did ok.

Now that we know where we will be living we can proceed onto the next phases with a bit more ease. We actually should not whine about any of this move when we compare our "problems" with the realtor who helped us out. She left Russia in 1989 as a political refugee with a 5 year old son and $90 in her pocket! We have things so easy.

Another pretty day in Atlanta. Since we do not have to do any house hunting on Tuesday, we will just spend the day exploring. We have already started to look at streets for cycling potential. Not much really in the city of course. Now we know what cyclists in San Diego city are dealing with. We have been so spoiled by living in North County for so long. But we will do our best and find out where we can get our fixes (weather permitting). Have we mentioned that Atlanta is a big city?

Will try to send some pictures of the place later. For some reason we can't add them with this post.

Abode Search - Day 1

As Nancy said to a friend (on the phone) this evening, we have an idea of a price and an image of the dwelling and so far they are not meshing. But it has only been the first day.

The first place we were taken to was a definate no. The neighborhood is in transition. Lot's of rubble and graffitti.

The second we actually liked. Kind of older but seemed very quiet. Compared to some of the other places we looked at it was the most spacious and best floorplan. The picture is of the living room. Hard to see but outside the windows on the left is a stand of really tall bamboo. This unit actually has two balconies. The more we think about it the more we like it. But it was pushing the envelope price wise. Maybe need a bigger envelope.

Day started out grey and drizzly but then the sun came out and it was very pleasant. Oh, and we found an intersection with both streets named Peachtree! Who ever laid out the streets must have been really stoned.

As Scarlett said in "Gone With The Wind", Tomorrow is another day.

Long Day

After leaving San Diego at 9:00 am we arrived on time in Atlanta at 6:30 pm, EST, (3:30 Encinitas time). We successfully got the rental car and took on the infamous Atlanta traffic in the dark. Nothing like driving in a strange big city, in the dark, for the first time. Of course Nancy freaked at every brake light tapped in front of us. First argument in Atlanta completed. Found the hotel and checked in. We are in the city for sure. Since it wasn't cold out we went for an exploratory walk to get somewhat oriented. We found two of the 50 or so streets named Peachtree. We were not the only folks out. Many tall buildings with dramatic lighting.

Tomorrow morning we begin our hunt for living space. A realtor that we connected with will show us some possibilities. It will be nice to see things in the daylight. Sure would be convenient to find something close to where I will be working. As long as we are doing this major move we might as well try to live like city folk.

Wish us luck.

ps Saw our first cyclists! Two young guys on single speeds, no helmets, no lights, no bike lane. Future organ donors.

What Is Left Behind

3/8/9

Today we finalized the dates of the movers to pack the house and moving van. Looks like we are on track to leave Encinitas on Tuesday March 20. Said good-byes in person to Dan, Denise, Cella & Anya Root. Nancy turned in her CA Notary items at the county office in San Marcos. Since we were in San Marcos we had lunch at Taco Pablos, the regular lunch place for our after bike rides with the gang. Said goodbye to owners Paul & Betty Vogel who we have known since the late 80's.

The Move - Prologue

Last day of work for M was today. Off to Atlanta on Friday to find a place to live.