We hope everyone had a great week!
It has been a month almost to the day since we left
California. We’ve managed to survive the heat and torrential rains while
traveling across the country. We found dog friendly accommodations and were
pleasantly surprised by “Traveling Buddy.” We braved the multiple trips to the
NC DMV and have successfully registered two of our three vehicles, converted all
of our drivers licenses, and registered to vote. We spent two days at Western
Carolina University (WCU) getting “oriented” (not that we were disoriented).
And we’ve settled into our fully furnished ready to occupy
apartment.
Speaking of our apartment, it’s a nice little 983 square foot
two bedroom (http://www.palisadesasheville.com/floor-plans/two-bedroom-homes-the-brant#fp)
unit on the second floor with a small balcony. It’s just big enough to hold the
three of us with the stuff I was able to fit in my pickup. It was set up and
supplied by Corporate Connection, the emphasis on “Corporate.” It’s a nice
apartment but it’s obviously set up to accommodate the traveling executive who
never cooks and most likely spends little or no time at the apartment. And it
wouldn’t have hurt if they had spent a little money on the mattresses. We’ve
been provided with an incomplete set of Corning Ware and a butcher block of
knives that I actually hurt myself with when a knife skidded off a potato that
the knife was not sharp enough to cut through. I didn’t cut myself; it was more
of an abrasion. The knife wasn’t sharp enough to cut me either I
guess.
We’re spending most of our days house hunting. It’s starting
to become a little discouraging. This is the first time that Maureen and I have
consciously set out to purchase a home that was previously owned. Our first two
homes were new tract homes and our last home found us. We were sitting at home
minding our own business, not intending to move, when I got a call from my
friend Cathy who said; “my neighbor is going to sell their house and it’s not on
the market yet, I want you to come buy it”. And so we did! Now, through the
magic of Zillow.com, we are inundated with “new listings”, “weekend shopping”,
“open house”, and “price drop” emails. I will be so happy to “unsubscribe” when
this is over. We did make an offer on a home last week. It’s a bit of a
seller’s market and we couldn’t agree on a price so we walked away. A week
later our agent got a call from their agent accepting our last offer. But by
then we had changed our mind. My mom always says, “things happen for the best”
or “things happen for a reason” or something like that. It drives me nuts
because she’s mostly right. She didn’t say it this time but I know she was
thinking it! Our agent, Kevin, has been great. We started working with him
during our trip last June and he took us around again during our February
visit. Kevin has been making time for us every couple of days to walk through
homes all over Asheville, Weaverville, and the surrounding areas. I think he’s
earning his commission on this one. I have a friend from my AYSO days that
moved to Winston-Salem, NC at roughly the same time. The last I heard from him
I think he was in escrow. Maybe I’ll get with him for some tips on finding a
home.
In the middle of all of this I started to feel like driving
across country was just not enough driving so we took a side trip to Ohio for
the 4th of July. It’s a nice leisurely nine hour drive that took us about
eleven hours to make, each way. Have you heard about the fireworks accidents
this year? Jean-Paul Pierre with the New York Giants lost a finger. Some
knucklehead shot a mortar off his head and killed himself. I’m so paranoid
about that kind of thing I wouldn’t even buy Liam sparklers and he’s 18. So
what do I do instead; I take the family to my brother-in-law’s house where he
has stockpiled sparklers, fire crackers, bottle rockets and mortars for Pete's
sake (Does anyone know who Pete is and how so much gets done in his name?)! I
just had to go to the other end of the bon fire (which was big enough that I
couldn’t see what Liam was doing) and let them do their thing. Ohio is another
one of those states that you can buy any fireworks you want on just about any
street corner, but it is completely illegal to actually fire them off. When you
purchase fireworks in Ohio you have to sign an affidavit attesting that you will
not use them in the State of Ohio. Really? The Ohio legislature believes that
someone is going to travel from a state where fireworks are legal, purchase
their stockpile, and then drive back to their home state to use them! Is it any
wonder that we don’t have confidence in our elected representatives? I mean do
they even read the legislation before they vote? Anyway, Liam had his fun and
managed to walk away with all of his fingers and his head intact and we had a
nice 4th of July!
Today we went tubing down the French Broad River. I have been
looking forward to having an opportunity to do just that for some time. The
French Broad is one of the few rivers in the country that flows north due to the
eastern continental divide. The river is wide and shallow and moseys along at
sometimes what seems like an agonizingly slow pace. One of the first pieces of
furniture I intend to purchase after we get a house is a kayak. I can paddle up
and down the river to my hearts content and I can sit on it to watch TV in the
living room until we fill the space with less critical pieces. Traveling Buddy
went with us down the river as well. Despite Liam’s constantly pestering Buddy,
making Buddy swim, and generally being a nuisance and not letting Buddy relax
and enjoy the sunshine, Buddy did good. I’m going to have to make sure that my
kayak has a nice space for a cushion for Buddy to accompany me. Beagles are not
much as water dogs but Buddy has turned into an easy companion to have around.
Of course Liam got bored and took Buddy way out ahead of Maureen and I. When we
got to the takeout point they were nowhere to be found. After getting in the
truck and driving down river a ways it turns out they were in the vicinity, but
what are the chances Liam would make it easy for us.
A month from now, almost to the day, we will be dropping Liam
off at WCU. Liam gets to move in a week or so earlier than the official move in
day because of his connection with the cross country team. Liam has his
roommate and has been communicating with him. I think the random roommate
assignment is a good thing. I’d hate to have to admit to being responsible for
arranging for anyone to have Liam as a roommate. I’m not saying that Liam is
messy or anything like that, but the world is his hamper! All I know is that I
don’t have to pester him to pick up after himself after the first week in
August. At least not until summer break next year.
Tomorrow is the gun show in Fletcher, just a few miles south
of here. I’m going to wear something kaki, pull out my Tyler Pipe camouflage
hat, and try to blend in. I asked my realtor Kevin to join me but he declined.
This is a bit of a liberal island within the state of North Carolina so I guess
I shouldn’t be surprised that not everyone’s an NRA member. I just thought
everyone here would have an annual pass to the gun shows like everyone in
California has an annual pass to Disney Land. Or, you know, if you live in the
following zip codes you get the residents price on your day pass. I guess if
you can buy your ARs at the local WalMart (see my previous email) you don’t
really need to wait for the next gun show.
It’s getting late and you are all up to date for the moment at
least. We hope this finds you well!
Take care,
Rick
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