Packing, half a country drive, & recovery time

Your guide to everything under the moon, the Amber Moon, 7/14/2024

As promised, this is a week late. I had a good reason: Mom decided she wanted to move closer to either seester or myself. Wisconsin it is! It was time to start packing her up.

And sorting 20+ years of accumulated stuff.

Her new mantra: I will not be a pack rat! I will not be a pack rat! I will not be a pack rat!

So a flight to Raleigh on July 3, pack for 2 days (#cousinAmy & I got all but the “essentials” for the her remaining 2 weeks packed), then start the 2 day trek home in a one-way rental mid-SUV (Buick Envision) with stuff I was inheriting.

I will say my passenger area was a bit more compacted than I like, but I managed. All the LHS since Knee #2 has really helped stabilize my SI joints so I really didn’t have major issues as long as I wiggled every few miles, and walked extra every rest stop. YAY for lifting heavy s*** (LHS).

After figuring out the correct key words, “state rest stop”, to get them to show on Google Maps, we had a plan. The Buick got 500 miles to the tank, so only had to be refilled a total of 3 times. We used the rest stops, drove thru Starbucks for breakfast & coffee, packed our own lunches & snacks. A quick dinner in a non-moving restaurant was a needed change of pace, and we made good time.

I used to drive these the first 5 states – NC, SC, GA, AL, MS – when going to Winthrop & UT-K, working for AFAA, and when I lived in Oxford MS (Fitness coordinator at Ole Miss), so it was a stroll down memory lane for me from Raleigh to Mississippi. Then getting home before Beryl so we could complete a couple 2-person projects before Amy flew home on Monday.

She made it home, on time.

And I remember why I schedule myself a day off after traveling. I didn’t have it this time. So when I finally crashed for a nap Saturday, I had plenty of company.

Blueberry reads

All that flying time to Raleigh (a 2.5h flight) gave me lots of book listening time. I even bought ear plugs, of which I’ve never been a fan. These were tolerable!

The last Wednesday in June a local book store started a book club for Walkable City. Since one of my goals is to get people moving, this sounded interesting, and very timely for all the stuff happening in Taylor right now. So I switched over to this, and finished it this past week. Our culture is built around the automobile, and I see it. I know the more I have to drive, the less good I feel. It physically hurts to sit.

I did my junior year abroad in England, a very walkable country. Public transport is far superior to Austin’s. I remember how that felt – good! I could get anywhere I wanted easily.

It has gotten me thinking about how walkable Taylor is, how walkable my previous neighborhood really was, and what choices I am making. If I wanted to bike to HEB, can I do it safely? How would I need to adapt my mountain bike to carry groceries?

We’ve got another related book coming next, but I’ve got a little time to keep going on Why We Sleep.

The bookstore owner also educated me – Audible just rents us the books. If I go thru Libro.fm, I actually OWN the books. I’m transitioning as I finish up my Audible list. Plus, her book store gets credit for my Libro.fm purchases. I’m all about supporting local!

Summer group programs

We have started the last month of Masters Swim. You can still register for thru the City of Taylor.

Viniyoga, Pilates Mat are online & thru the studio.

Friday’s Mindful Pilates will be continuing after this test run!

Track will resume Sept 3 with our 5k/10k program. For those in The Quack Pack, we may have one more local bike, then we’ll look at fall programming.

Taylor & virtual updates

Openings are subject to change. These openings are a reflection of this exact moment in time.

  • Thurs, 7/18, 215-4p
  • Tues, 7/23, 230 or 3p
  • Thurs, 7/25, 315p (30 or 45 min only)
  • Tues, 7/30, 2-4p

Austin updates

Openings are subject to change. These openings are a reflection of this exact moment in time.

  • Wed, 8/7, 1 & 215p
  • Please ask to be put on the wait list if you’re wanting something earlier.

Thank you!