At the end of May, Tanner flew to Cincinnati to join me on the 18 hour drive home to Texas. I'm not sure it ever felt like I was *really* moving, even after we were driving away with a car full of my possessions. I purposefully didn't make a HUGE deal about leaving because I was already sad about it. My roommates and I had a little Sunday afternoon party that was a great chance to spend time with friends before moving but it all felt more like a 'see you later' than a 'goodbye forever'. I fell hard for Cincinnati and the people that it brought into my life and I know that I'll find my way back for visits in the future!
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| My snow covered home. |
I moved from Texas to California and from California to Ohio with only that which would fit into my car. I did have some things still in San Diego with Connor which made the second trip a bit more do-able but once again I found myself with just enough overflow that I needed reinforcements in moving my possessions. I weighed every option. Shipping on Amtrack. A moving Pod. Renting a truck and pulling my car. Burning everything and starting new. But each of these options cost much more than I was willing to spend. Much much more. In the end, I left a few furniture pieces behind, shipped 5 small boxes, and stuffed every square inch of my car to make things work. I was sad to leave the furniture behind, especially a fantastically cool headboard that was given to me as a gift (thanks Mike!!) but in the end, its just stuff and life goes on. To ensure that everything would fit just right, I made Tanner do a 'practice pack' the day before we moved to make sure I had mailed the right amount of boxes. He was a good sport. And if you ever need an EXPERT packer, he's got the tetris box packing game down to a science.
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| I became an amateur expert in Cincy Beer offerings |
The drive itself was rather uneventful, which when your car is pushing 180,000 miles is a very lovely thing. There were lots of stops for gas, lots of pod casts, and lots of snacks consumed. We stopped in Memphis for a late lunch/early dinner on Beale street but found it to be rather unimpressive (and a bit icky) in the harsh daylight. I'm sure in cover of darkness, its a fun place to bar hop and listen to music when you become distracted by the glitz of the neon lights. About 60 miles from the Texas/Arkansas border, we found a last minute deal on a $35 hotel room for the night with the magic of technology and happily rested hour heads from the long day. We continued on in the morning, happy that the sketchy inhabitants of the hotel did not decide to raid my car for glitter or size 9 women's shoes. The most tedious part of the trip was hitting every small town in Texas but when we saw Buc-ees in the distance, I knew we were almost home. I also got very excited about following a Blue Bell truck for a while because, as my out of state friends know, I have an unnatural attachment to and pride for to the best ice cream in the country. But finally, we made it home and I was able to revel in the homey-ness with a Shiner Bock Beer on my parents back porch.
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| I made Tanner take this photo on our road trip. He rolled his eyes but complied to my crazy request anyways. |
I've been gone for almost three months and I still think about Cincinnati almost every day. I had a good life there and wonderful friends to share it with. I miss knowing all the great restaurants and bars, I miss my running group, and I miss the familiarity of my home of two years. We're settling in to Houston slowly but I'm not sure any city will every have my heart the same way Cincy did.
