One of my most memorable road trips happened in 2003, when we moved from Texas to Florida. We were heading to Gainesville for The Big Guy to attend graduate school at the University of Florida.
Fortunately, most of our belongings were shipped using one of those moving companies where you pack the truck yourself and pay for the space you use. The Big Guy had a friend who claimed he had worked for a moving company in college and could save us a lot of space—and therefore money. He did save us about $100. Unfortunately, he also caused over $1,000 in damage to our belongings. Lesson learned: if someone tells you they “used to work for a moving company,” ask two questions—what their job was and how long they actually worked there.
We left the following Sunday, each of us driving a car. That alone was an adventure. At the time, I was not used to long cross-country drives. We spent the first night in a backwater town in Louisiana just off the interstate. We had booked the hotel through Travelocity and even called around 6 p.m. to confirm we would arrive around 9 pm. When we finally arrived, the clerk informed us she had canceled our reservation. She explained that she always canceled Travelocity bookings because the rates were wrong and it was not their website. After a phone call to Travelocity, her manager showed up. We were “upgraded” to a deluxe room and given a gift certificate for breakfast at a nearby restaurant. Lesson learned: when booking online, read the reviews and choose a place with at least a 3.5-star rating.
The plan for day two was to drive as far as possible and hopefully reach the Florida Panhandle. We made it to Mobile, AL by around 4 or 5 p.m. After driving past the USS Alabama, we decided to stop for the night. We wanted to tour the ship, but it was too late in the day. We stayed at a much nicer hotel for about the same price.
The next morning, we headed to Battleship Memorial Park to tour the Alabama. When we paid our entry fee, we were asked our reason for visiting. I mentioned that my uncle had served on the Alabama during World War II. From that moment on, we were treated like royalty. They even made an announcement recognizing a crew member’s family. It was an incredibly humbling and meaningful experience. Thank you to all who have served—and who continue to serve—our country.
The rest of day three was uneventful until we arrived in Gainesville. Unfortunately, the rental company had decided not to get our condo ready. Thankfully, we had booked a hotel for the night, which turned into several nights while the condo was only sort of prepared. The handyman explained that he never cleaned carpets or did touch-up painting until after tenants moved in because it was “less work” for him. He also had not made needed repairs, such as fixing a broken closet shelf or replacing the showerheads—apparently, we were expected to handle those ourselves. That should have been our first clue about the problems that lay ahead.
Our belongings arrived a few days later, and so began our very long stay in Florida. What was supposed to be three to four years turned into twelve.
The Dee Zone 