our loaded U-haul truck in Portland, Oregon ready to go.
People thought we were nuts. My sister-in-law’s response upon learning that we were moving to Alaska was, “Why?” “Why not,” my husband Bill replied. Now that we were packed up and heading out, that “why not” attitude was stronger than ever. And indeed, it did seem as though a force was helping us along beyond our control. It felt right to be going to Alaska. It was clearly what we were supposed to do. Everything fell into place far too easily for us to think otherwise.
We had sold our house in a matter of days to a guy who paid cash and agreed to let us stay in the house rent-free for a month and a half after the sale. With the money from the sale of that house, we were able to take a trip to Fairbanks to look for a place to live. We found a house within a couple of days. The seller was willing to finance, so even though we had no jobs, we had a house, and we knew we could live off of the money from the sale of our Portland house until we had other income.
When we got back to Portland, we needed to get a cap for the back of our truck so we could transport our animals. A friend said her boyfriend had one he wanted to get rid of. She called him and asked what kind of a truck it would fit. “Ford Ranger,” he said. In a daze, I made plans to bring the pizza and beer on an upcoming Friday night. We had a nice visit while Bill and Randy put the cap on the back of our truck. We had also brought some floor tiles that we had bought for our house but never used. Randy was doing some home remodeling and they turned out to be just what he needed. It was serendipity all around.
Now one last task remained. We had to find a way to get our stuff from Portland to Alaska. Moving companies gave us an estimate of $7000! Ouch! We wouldn’t have much room in our truck because our three cats and 130-pound dog would take up that space. We threw around the idea of renting a U-Haul, but I am a nervous driver and in any case, never learned to drive a stick shift, so there was no way I’d be able to drive our truck. And frankly, the thought of sitting behind the wheel of a bigger truck terrified me—and probably Bill, too!
Once again, our dilemma was solved quickly and unexpectedly. A friend came to visit and told us he’d been laid off work for the summer, but he was feeling OK about it. Even though money would be tight, he’d get to spend the summer with his 11-year-old son. “How would you like to take him on a trip to Alaska?” we asked. His eyes grew wide as he asked if we were kidding. “No,” we replied, “you can help with the driving and we’ll buy both of you a ticket to fly home from Alaska. You can take your son on a cool trip and we can save several thousand dollars. Everybody wins!” The next day he called with the news that his ex-wife had given permission for the trip. We were all set.
The text is written by Shari and the photos were taken by me.
