Curti's Delivery Service
As you may be aware, I am no stranger to traveling over many miles of road. A few months ago I volunteered to help a friend relocate from Northern California back to Southern California. A simple enough task, get my ass to Mars North and then drive. I booked my flight out of SNA to OAK due to convenience and cost. My main concerns included not being able to make it or the move being reschedule when I landed. In either case someone was going to have to figure something out. I planned to take BART which would have included a couple transfers; however, my friend said they could pick me up instead.
The day of my flight was supposed to be standard operating procedure (SOP): transportation to departing airport, locate terminal, go through the lovely security checkpoint provided by the Transportation Security Administration (that does not seem to have its own SOP between airports such as what can stay in a bag or must be removed in a separate tray), find your gate, and patiently wait. Everything was fine until it was time to go to my gate, it was not available. Fortunately SNA is a small airport so I would not have to wander far once it was available. Unfortunately for me my flight was delayed (55) fifty-five minutes due to our pilot being stuck in Denver due to weather or something. I was part of the boarding group A which might have been a first for me and it was not a full flight. I picked a window seat and no one decided to sit next to me, winning. I put on my Sony headphones with active noise cancellation paired to my Walkman for the duration of the flight.
I deplaned, grabbed my only carry-on, and made my way outside. My friend arrived with a passenger in the front seat, so naturally I went in the back, like a weirdo, until it was clear we could both sit up front. We went to Lazy Dog, not for either of us, but for the dog. A quick order or so we thought turned into an ordeal for my friend. There was an error with their payment processing system, but they said initially blamed it on my friend's card. They proceeded to read the error to my friend as well something something spool error. So empty handed back to the car and now an attempt to order online for pickup. I do not remember how long we were waiting but I remember a leg being hot from the sun. They eventually brought out both orders and indicated it was an issue with their system, not the card. On our way we passed Danzig Plaza and finally arrived at the home. Everything mostly packed and ready to be loaded by movers (highly recommend if you can afford it as they are likely more efficient and experienced).
While my friend was finalizing some other things in the house I settled down on a comfortable chair, watched some television, and took a nap for a few hours. The original plan was to pickup the U-Haul the morning of the move. However, according to customer service it would not be available in time if we picked up the day of so we would have to pick it up today. We would just be a little late for dinner in Berkley with this side quest. Not a problem or rather what should not have been a problem because it was reserved, right? Wrong!
As we drove over to pickup the truck in El Sobrante, a section on the other side of the freeway had (2) two fire trucks and a long line of cars behind them not moving so our way back would be slow. Onto the (horrible) experience with U-Haul. The first one we stopped at was at a gas station with a single visible truck which I thought was unusual and it turned we were not at the right location. The clerk there directed us farther up the same street over the hill to another rental location, Windy Flat Inc. This location had a few more trucks and storage as well. My friend provided their information to the clerk and it was not good news. The clerks were annoyed with U-Haul as this was not the first time they have sent someone over to pickup a vehicle reservation for a truck that does not function. The clerks were very helpful though and sent us to another location just a couple exits up the freeway which should have a truck. Are you stressed yet? Maybe third times a charm.
At the third U-Haul there were plenty of trucks in the parking lot. A person was getting propane tanks filled so we queued up. As we were waiting I regretted not having my hoodie as the temperature dropped a bit from Concord and the clerk even made a comment about it. Another clerk came to help us while the other person went to help another customer with something and prepare our truck. This new clerk made a comment about do not drink too many energy drinks or you can see what happens if you do while talking about the other clerk. This U-Haul almost had everything...except they only had (6) six of (12) twelve moving blankets available, an acceptable loss. I provided my information as well so I could be added as a driver for the truck. Finally, we could sort of relax. Now to get back with all that traffic and then head to dinner.
As you may know I am used to riding a motorcycle or driving my (discontinued stateside) Ford Focus ST. I am not accustomed to driving vehicles that require me to be mindful of height clearances or risk of toppling. I just need to keep reminding myself that I am not in a vehicle designed for speed or quick maneuvers (RIP). Not that I can actually handle a vehicle designed for that like that, but I like to pretend. I just need to remember this vehicle could roll?
I should have brought my cellular telephone charger and now I could only hope it would not die while navigating me back. I did not think it would be an issue initially because I could just follow the leader, but traffic made that more difficult as I took a couple detours. My other concern was the route with all the twists which would have been great with any of my other vehicles could be a disaster in this truck. I just need to be especially mindful of any street sign warnings for oversized vehicles. I decided to send it anyways and listened to a local EDM radio station. I pulled over once when it was safe to do so to let a queue of vehicles pass me. After about an hour on the road I made it back and without depleting my battery while using navigation.
We loaded a few items into the truck to drop off at Goodwill, but drop-off hours had passed. Not too surprising considering the rest of the day, sad trombone. Well off to Berkeley for dinner at Jupiter Pizza. My friend met with a friend there and I was getting pizza. A win for everyone! It was delicious pizza at a quaint little restaurant. After dinner it was back to the house to finish off some minor maintenance things before sleep.
The following day...
I woke up and gathered the few items I had brought with me. The movers arrived and assessed the items to be moved. They were quick and efficient with loading the moving truck along with securing the items. After the truck was loaded we added a few fragile items to my friend's vehicle. We also added a couple loose items into the truck for a drop-off at Goodwill and drove a few minutes. I made the mistake of parking to avoid queuing it up in their coned off section as we were told we could not walk over the items for donation. What an odd limitation but I guess they treat it like drive-thru? So back out the parking lot and around the street to queue up to make the donation.
Finally around noon I was on the road again, hopefully on the leap road back home. Although before any good road trip begins there is one last thing to do, queue up the jamz. All Rush, all the time, no exceptions! Not really, but you get the idea.
Bluetooth radio paired with my Sony Walkman in my Zune case, take me home. If my Zune HD had Bluetooth I would still be using it. The long mostly boring drive back to Southern California, many familiar sights, but from the inside of a cabin this time instead of a motorcycle helmet. I only stopped for gas and one snack stop for Pringles and Gatorade. I also checked on the cargo once and everything was still in place.
My friend eventually caught up to me as they had to finish some other things before they departed earlier. We cruised together until they dropped me as we ascended the Grapevine. Traffic was not too bad, until it was. My friend called me to let me know Google Maps routed them on State Route 138 to State Route 14 through Lancaster because of an accident on Interstate 5. The phone call was just in time so I could make the same exit or be trapped in perpetual traffic. Arrival time slightly important or we would miss the movers at the destination to unload cargo. Longest detour, ever, with the rest of the cars either going to their destination or avoiding I-5 as well.
So close and still so far at (10) ten miles away there was more traffic. I arrived around 1930 and helped the movers so we could all eventually go home. Real wood is deceivingly heavy. I was rewarded with my choice of In-N-Out. 4x4, fries, Dr Pepper, and a vanilla shake! Worth it. After dinner my friend dropped me off at home.
The day following yesterday
A (mutual) friend visited from out of town and a group of us met up at another friend's house to meetup. We spent the day hanging out and eating food. It was a good day and another busy weekend.
Another very delayed post, this weekend took place over 2023-08-04 through 2023-08-06. Although this post was drafted for months I clearly did not save and publish.