well, it's been quite an adventure. nothing worthwhile in life every comes easy or stress free and this was no exception.

i first drove down here last fri to sign the lease and get the keys (and hand deliver some of my most fragile chach-kees) they hadn't done their "pre-move-in video taping" yet and so while i poured over the lease, they did that. she informed me they would replace the stove and refridge shelves.

when we brought our boxes up, i was disappointed to see that i didn't have the lovely ceramic tile throughout. the carpet was nice enough, to be sure, but i had this old crappy looking linoleum. i was very disappointed and told the agent in the office i had hoped for ceramic tile.

after leaving here, we drove to charlotte to pick up mark and sergei. mark is not only a moving god (he was an army brat and so has had lots of experience doing it and is not only efficient, but a beast!) i miss my puppy so badly, so it was going to be nice spending time with him.

we left sat morning for the old place. the brown beast struggled to say the least but we made it intact.

that night, since neither of us had ever been to the dog races, we went into orange park to the grey hound track. man, i have to say it was a blast. we only bet on two maybe three races...and after we figured out it was better to walk trackside to check out the pooches, we were better able to make our picks. OMG, they were SO cute! and FAST! lordy those dogs can MOVE.

we got up early the next morning and headed over the the little quickie store where i had reserved the truck. i was told (the day before) that they didn't have the 17 ft one i requested so they were graciously upgrading me to a 26 ft truck.

ok, that was bigger than my whole apartment. and the truck itself was like a 1993 model. the steering was squirrelly to say the least.

chris was kind enough to help us load up (slow as he is) and by 2:00 we were on highway 16 to st. augustine. we stopped and put a quarter of a tank in the truck (it came with a half a tank, but a quarter of a tank cost me...ready?...$75!)

we took off again and had only gone one more exit when, yes, the truck crapped out on us. there we were on the side of busy I-95, with a husky panting hot and heavy from the humid florida heat...and i was pissed to say the least.

after 30 mins on the phone with u-haul's road side assistance emergency guy, who assured me that if indeed they had to give us a new truck, they would send helpers to help us unload and reload...we waited another hour for the repair man to show up.

apparently, there was a problem with the aux brake, which wouldn't release, therefore causing the truck to just die. he told us how to work it and then said that we shouldn't run the air-conditioning, as the belt was loose and to do so would cause it to snap and take out the whole engine.

??????? florida heat...no air-con...

pissed!

luckily (but still sucky) we were only about two hours away from the final destination.

it was difficult, and we were wiped, but we managed to get everything we needed to get inside by about 9 or 10. i still had some stuff that needed to go to storage, so those few things remained in the cavernous truck.

and much to my surprise, when i walked in, they had replaced the old crappy linoleum with pretty new stuff...i was sooo pleased!

the next morning, i awoke at 6:15...i decided i wanted to see just how close the beach was. so i took off walking.

even i was shocked at how quickly i arrived. and really, stunning, beautiful, pristine and fairly quiet.

when i got back, mark was awake and wanted to see how close the beach was. so i walked again. he was shocked at how close it is.

we went back later that day, taking the z-man with us (who is SO pale and white...boy needs some sun)

it stormed like ball-busters later...yeah, i'm really gonna like it here...beach and storms? are you kidding me?

we got up the next day (which is when i took the above pic) went to the beach to catch the sunrise (and was late by about ten minutes...not my fault) and saw all these jelly fish that had washed up from the previous night's storm.

needless to say, lala didn't do her usual barefoot stroll through the water's edge. but i did get some hella shots!

we waited on the net guy to show up and hook me up...he was thirty minutes past his two hour time frame, but i got hooked up nonetheless and it gave me a chance to put away most of my stuff, hang all but a few of my pictures, and get some organization. i have to say...i'm soooo happy with the place.

that night, we went on an excursion into cocoa beach. i found a place, with beach access where i tried the florida state food...conch fritters...yummy! it was raining again, but we sat out under an umbrella in the rain and could just see the ocean from out seats.

we then headed down to "tip a few" and had a pitcher. those folks are crazy in there and we had a lot of fun. z-man is heading to orlando tonight with his friends, so i think i might head down there and have one of their (supposedly) amazing burgers.

we got up the next day, i picked up the rental car (because i just didn't think the brown beast could make that drive again) and started back to charlotte.

along the way we did guerilla site seeing...poodie on the beach, poodie at the daytona track...poodie at the san marcos fort in st. augustine...and poodie being "walked" by the ponce de leon statue at the fountain of youth.

by the time i got up yesterday and had to drive back...i wasn't sure i could make it. i had to stop every hour-hour 1/2 just to stay awake. and it being the day before the 4th of july, traffic was a BITCH!

i hit the hay about 9 last night and when i awoke at 6:30 this morning...i was still tired and sleepy. but i had to take the rental car back. so i did.

and that was moving lala-style.

was it worth it? just look at that picture uptop.

hell yes it was!