11/14/2023
Our first move with Stevie part 1
So let me go back to Friday 10/27, that morning Hans called me around 10am and was officially given notice that he was to be in Newton, Mississippi Monday, November 13th for work. Give a week or so prior to this moment, he had been told he would be in NC at this current build until the new year, an additional 3 whole pay checks more to plan sounds nice right? This little of notice literally gave us roughly two weeks, better yet 10 days, to figure it all out. Mind you I had already made plans for the pay check that hit that same day and not knowing what the next week a head was going to bring I followed thru on all the financial obligations I had arranged.
That Tuesday is when I took Kaia to the vet and learned the devastating news. At that point we hadn't cancelled our trip to Gettysburg for my cousins game and quick visit with my grandmother in Philly in hopes that we'd get one last visit before heading to Mississippi. This short trip to Philly meant a lot to me and Hans as he hasn't visited with our family in almost 2 years and the only thing we were certain of was that we could not afford a trip back to PA for the holidays after such a quick move.
So, we gave it a few days and decided it was time to lay Kaia to rest. We cancelled the trip, or so I thought, and Hans took the 30th and 31st off. We both decided Monday 10/30 was the perfect day to say our good byes to Kaia. It was sunny and in the 80s and we soaked up all the rays with her until her nose turned pink from sun burn. Y'all saying good-bye to such a beautiful soul was such an unimaginable task. Something, weeks later, I'm still struggling to grasp.
After that day my emotions and thoughts were all over the place and let's be real, running away when things get this somber and turbulent seems like a good idea. So, that Friday I realized I hadn't told my cousin about everything going on or that we wouldn't be attending his game, mind you I thought my air b n b reservation had cancelled, so I decided me and the kids would wake up early the next day and go! I wasn't going to let him down and if I drove that far I might as well drive the extra 2 hours and go see my grandmother for a day.
Well as I'm pulling into Gettysburg the air b n b host messages me and tells me how to check in. Ever pay $270 for a decent air b n b then realize you can not follow through. You then cancel said reservation and then close out the app not realizing it needed to complete the transaction before closing out!? Well, I was so busy with the move, kids, Kaia and life that I NEVER followed up and my cancelation was never completed. After roughly an hour of debating things with air b n b and several days of messaging back and forth the host refused (several times) to return any of our money and chose not to up hold the reservation but stuck to his guns and kept our money. I had offered to stay if I couldn't get a refund but apparently he felt it was a better deal to refuse and keep our money.
Anyhow, after the game the kids and I drove right to Philly and I'm so incredibly glad we did! We had such a great time with mom mom. She had been suggesting this Lego place in Plymouth meeting for some time and there's no words to express how magical that day was for our kids both spending time with mom mom and playing with legos, pure bliss! After such a fun and tiring day, I decided it was best to drive thru the night back to NC so I could begin to pack up the RV for our move to MS.
Now, up until this part I had no idea if the kids and I were actually going to make the trip to NC. 3 hours into our 4 hour drive to Gettysburg my transmission began shifting hard and slipping and then finally threw a code. This is something I had been battling for months and for the life of me couldn't get solid feedback on. I took the car to multiple ford dealerships one even tried to charge me $1,600 for a rear suspension rebuild which was a red flag to me because I just just had breaks, rotors, tires and full inspection done before leaving AR, I knew that didn't sound right. So when the code was thrown I was both happy for an answer but my stress levels increased!
Any how, the kids and I made it safely back to NC and the next day I called a Ford in Virginia that unfortunately was under staffed and couldn't get me in, in time. At this point the RV was being picked up in 3 days and we had to make a decision. So we planned to have Hans follow me if anything was to happen he'd be the buffer for traffic behind us and I'd take my time and get us to Mississippi because in our heads we couldn't afford to be living in two different states and then have him take off to fly him back to get us and I couldn't handle packing up the kids, dogs, rv and ship it, alone. Ultimately, we decided staying behind wasn't an option and since we couldn't get a rental without the car being looked at we'd barrel through and pray it all goes well.
Now let me jump back to the day we found out Hans was expected in Mississippi. We own a 44 foot 5th wheel with two decks and most of the places Hans visits are in very small towns with limited options on where to place Stevie (camper). I immediately began calling places and within a few hours I found a place where we'd fit and they could have us there for 4-6 months. Then I started working on getting the rv moved. Ideally, the more notice you give gives you a better chance at getting a reputable and affordable hot shot. Well, I had 2 weeks and everyone I spoke with was saying they were booked or didn't hold a CDL or experience so I finally found a company that dispatched their loads! Great right? Being new to the situation I didn't fully understand the process but I kept checking in with the company to ensure someone could indeed tow our 44ft 20k (estimated) 5th wheel with an upgraded goose neck hitch. I was comforted every time with a response that they'd get it done!
Now let's jump forward to moving day! The kids thought it'd be nice to get up at 5am which in the end actually worked out because they all needed baths, fed, dressed, and I needed to finish the inside of the RV before pulling in the slides and closing up the side deck. The dispatch company and I had discussed pick on Thursday between 9-10am but Hans and I anticipated a much later situation and that would be okay, why you ask, because we'd be doing this together not alone like we've both been doing for the last year. Around 8:30 am dispatch reaches out to me and says this "Hi Maranda I hope you're doing well, I just wanna let you know that I'm working on your order, and is taking me more time that I was expecting, mostly because is a power only and I need to check first the driver before to give the load, some drivers have a fifth wheel instead of a goose neck attachment and others doesn't have enough experience to move it, so I'm thinking probably I will need another day to pick up the load (November 10), I will understand if you don't want to work with me anymore" I kid you not I read this and then looked over at Hans who was blissfully eating his cereal and thought 'it's to early to f**k up his day, I'll wait until he's done his cereal.'
When I say my head was spinning I mean I didn't know which way was up or down. If we didn't leave NC together there was no chance I was driving alone, so me and the kids would have to wait a few weeks if not a month or more before we all moved, not knowing when or if he'd get time off before the holidays. Any how, I wasn't willing to risk driving multiple states away with a potentially bad transmission and three children, alone. At this point, there was more unknown then I'm usually comfortable with! Chance wasn't something I was going to play with 😂
Follow for part two, it gets better
