Arriving in Durham

After four grueling hours of loading the truck and 12 long hours of carvanning down I-77, (Nicole leading, myself and the cats dutifully following) we pulled up to our new home in Durham. The drive was mostly, and thankfully, uneventful. The occasional inquisitive cry from Cessna, our calico, and the jamming road trip tunes emanating from my speakers were the only sounds to be heard as we coasted by small Ohio towns and winded through the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia where we saw signs for "Jesus' Camp in the Hills" (quite different from Jesus' Camp in the Desert, I'm sure) and "Outdoor Drama" (thanks, but I like to keep my drama indoors...)

Eventually we crossed the North Carolina line, where at that VERY instant, my iPod rang out with Melissa Ferrick's "North Carolina." I'm not making that up. Just one of many signs that we took as proof that we are where we are meant to be.

"...a mile and a half off the tracks in Raleigh, North Carolina, with my foot all jammed up from driving 14 hours and my body can't sit upright..." I know how Melissa feels...



With just enough time to get the cats and our clothes inside the house before dark fell, we sat cross-legged on the hard wood floor of our new living room, feasted on burritos and tacos from Chipotle (one of the only places we knew how to get to that was open so late on a Sunday night) and grinned at each other in disbelief. Are we really here? After months of fears and worries, of laughter and tears, of second guessing and excitement, we did it. Holy crap, we actually did it!

With the magnitude of the move and the work yet to be done not quite sinking in, we blow up the air mattress and camp for the night in this undiscovered wilderness that is our new home.