Social Distant Moving

Day 1

My new job is in the Seattle area so Devin and I started to make plans to move to Seattle. Then COVID-19 hit the United States. Prior to the epidemic we had been on a house hunting trip to Seattle to find a place to live and found an apartment that we really liked in the First Hill district of Seattle. We put down our deposit and started the process of moving.

Originally we planned to fly using multiple trips to haul cats across the US but the relocation service and my new company did not want us to fly given the epidemic. This was totally understandable but we were left in a difficult position. It’s very difficult to live with an impending move but uncertainty of when that might happen. Your house is partially packed, you’ve gotten rid of stuff, and the added stress of the entire process.

We made the decision to drive to Seattle two weeks after we were supposed to fly. We worked out the details with the relocation travel agency, apartment property manager, and our movers. On March 24 we would start our journey.

Cat Van

Our cannonball run chariot was a Dodge Minivan and the great thing about this vehicle is all the seats in the back fold down into the floor. Allowing us to put cat beds, a litter box, and even a cat tree in the back. When you are going to be in the car for several days you want to test every configuration possible.

The Big Day

On Monday the packing crew showed up and put all of our stuff in boxes. They were fast and I couldn’t keep up so I’d forgotten to keep a jacket out for the trip. The moving truck showed up Tuesday morning and started loading our stuff into a tractor trailer.

The driver of the moving truck was super nice but he did keep calling Devin “Little Lady”. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t using it in a condescending manner but it certainly was not well received by Devin. However, you do not piss off the person who is driving all of your stuff across the country so we let go without mention.

The Smell of Cat Vomit

After the movers had left we waited in an empty house for Carvana to pick up Devin’s Honda. We were selling it and downsizing to a one car family. Carvana arrived and after a little bit handed us a check and put the car in the truck. With the house now empty we loaded the cats in the van and hit the road.

Our first stop was to drop off some stuff at our friend’s house. On the way Monster vomited while in his carrier. We were planning on letting the cats free range in the van but on this ~20 min trip we were keeping them in their carriers. Our friends were generous enough to give us some paper towels to clean up the mess. Hopefully this was not an omen or sign for the rest of the journey.

Kansas City here I come

Hitting the road our first stop was Kansas City which is roughly 600 miles from Nashville. We released the cats and they explored but eventually settled down.