No, I'm not excited yet...

Days -30 to 0

New Westminster - Osoyoos

567 km

I thought we'd never leave New Westminster. It took days to pack our stuff. Moving is always a pain in the you-know-what, but this was worse. We had to decide what to sell, what to store, and what to take with us. We had to clean the co-op unit we lived in--and when you're neighbours are gonna see how you left your house, you tend to do a really good job. I spent some time with friends and saying "see you later"--I wonąt admit to good-byes--was a constant pass-time.

I (well Brent, and even then it was his landlord that did the dirty work) sold my car (and yes, for those of you in the know, the little yellow Monza I have been driving since I was 16), we gave furniture to Brent (the elder of my two younger brothers) and mom and dad, sold all of the remaining furniture, held a garage sale and sold most of our general household goods, and took what we didn't sell to the Salvation Army. All that we have left is ten boxes of books, a stereo and CDs, photography equipment, pictures and art, the computers, our clothes, and our camping equipment.

Ralph and I spent a week in Osoyoos before our departure date. Blake (my "little" brother) and my dad helped Ralph outfit the van we bought last summer (a 3/4 ton panel van) with a stereo, cruise control, lights, an inverter, and an RV battery. Ralph spend several days installing a ceiling (with insulation) and building shelves in the back above the wheel wells. I spent my time doing our taxes (groan), and sorting, consolidating, and packing items for storage and the journey. Mom kept us fed--she even sent us off with fresh bread and cookies (yum!)--and she also kept calm about the chaos we were creating in the household. Even Brent was dragged into the fray--he transported boxes of books from Vancouver for storage. Erica arrived on the Saturday before we left, and she spent her time helping out and recording all our CDs to cassette.