Wish Me Well!

[gyrafoam]

Best wishes to you!
Yeah, the Atlanta I grew-up in is truly "Gone With The Wind" in a BIG way!
There are a lot of things and people I miss, however I have never regretted "'movin on".
The crime and traffic are just madness!

 

[appnut]

Best sand safest wishes and journey Sandy!!

 

[circlew]

I wish you a safe trip and contentment in your new home.

 

[danemodsandy]

Thanks, Everybody!

I'll be leaving Atlanta early this afternoon, and will arrive in Iowa early tomorrow afternoon. I should have email access a couple of times along the way, so I'll check in and see what's going on here at AW.org!

See you all later.

 

[kqkenmore]

Travel Mercies and the best of luck on your move.

 

[goatfarmer]

Good luck in the Hawkeye state, Sandy!

 

[frigilux]

Yay! Another upper-midwesterner in our ranks! Have a safe, comfortable trip.

And now, the big question: Have you ever experienced a northern winter? Add a parka, heavy gloves, big boots and a snowblower to your Truman-era list.

 

[westingman123]

It's raining in Missouri

I thought of you on the way to church this morning. Hope the weather north is better than ours today!

 

[charbee]

Enjoy your new-chosen home, Sandy! Best of luck settling in...sometimes small towns can be tough to "move to". My honey was born in Waterloo (in '51) but grew up in a small (TINY) little town about 60-70 miles to the west of there...she left in 1969 and never looked back. She has *always* said that Waterloo was MUCH friendlier of a place, even back then, so it sounds like you picked the right spot!

That odd little town she grew up in wasn't really very friendly to anyone from "outside"...kinda reminded me of "Harvest Home" or "Children Of The Corn" when we had to go up there for her parents' funerals a few years back. The people would just stop their cars in the middle of the street and stare at us as we tried to walk our dog in the mornings...like we were from outer space and they just didn't know what to make of us! But then, her mom and dad lived there for 52 years and were still treated as "outsiders" to the end of their lives.

Please know that none of this is meant to be discouraging, but to be helpful. As someone who was born and raised in Texas, I've gotta say I found my first experience of the Midwest and Midwesterners to be a bit of a culture shock in general. I'm used to a big smile and a "Howdy" when you meet a stranger, and we ended up getting mostly stares and blank faces. Again, I think this had to do with the "smallness" of the smaller towns...the larger towns we visited on our trip weren't nearly as closed-feeling and unfriendly-seeming as the really tiny ones.

And to all you Midwesterners on here, please untwist yer knickers, if they're a-gettin' twisted by what I'm sayin' ;-) This is NOT a dig, I'm just trying to prepare a fellow "Southerner" for something he might encounter that could be disconcerting if he's not prepared for it.

In other words, dear brave Sandy, be strong and happy in your choice, and if you encounter the sort of unpleasantness I'm talkin' about, know that it more than likely isn't about you!

 

[swestoyz]

I'm HEEEEEEERE!

Well...

A day later, I'm here! Ben is a great guy, his house is nothing short of wonderful, and I'm loving every square inch of Iowa I've seen so far - and trust me, it's a lot of square inches. Coming from heavily built-up, super-dense Atlanta to real wide-open spaces is a treat - eye candy of the first order. I have never seen so many fields in my life as I did along the highway from Chicago!

More later, but I'm here and in good cheer. Thanks to everyone for all the good wishes along the way.

Sandy

 

[swestoyz]

Oops!

I'm typing this from Ben's computer, and he's logged in under his I.D.; I just noticed that the previous post has his I.D. and not mine. I'm me and he's him, 'kay?

Sandy

 

[tlee618]

Hey Sandy and Ben,
I'm glad to here that you made it safely!! I am sure those corn fields were strange for you to see. Have fun guys and have a cold one for me!!! Terry

 

[toggleswitch2]

I wish you well!

I found Nebraska, specifically Omaha to be gorgeous and had a greet "feel" to it. Of course having met met all the AW club members there, both visitors and natives/residents at the 2005 convention definitely skewed my opinion for the better.

How did you come to choose Waterloo, IA?
How are you transporting kitty?

Much luck and success for a stable, happy, fulfilling and joyous new beginning!

 

[danemodsandy]

HI Toggles:

Tony (my cat, who is actually named H.R.H. The Prince Tony Tuxedo von Katt) is coming up via a highly recommended uShip shipper.

I chose Waterloo because I love the Midwest and Midwesterners, and because Ben Swestka recommended the town highly. He did not steer me wrong! I'm having a blast and cannot wait to finish getting settled. I bought a Sable wagon today, to replace the Taurus wagon I had in Atlanta - I'll need it to transport furniture and other finds. Ben took me to the house of the guy who was selling the Sable, and led the way back, through the most incredible rain. My heart was in my mouth the entire way, because what Ben did not know was that I have never driven 65 mph on two-lane blacktop in my life - in Georgia, that kind of road is usually posted for 45 mph. So, I'm trying to keep up with Ben, it's raining UP, it's raining so hard, and it feels like I'm in the Indy 500! Wild.

More adventures to come. I ate enough for three people today - portions are huge here and the food is delicious. I need to watch that!

 

[danemodsandy]

Oh, Charbee:

I have found people here to be super-friendly. In fact, I had a little incident today that will give you an idea of how nice people are:

I mentioned I bought a car today. Well, it was a used one, so I was buying it from a very nice couple named Monaghan, who had owned it since new. We did the deal, and I drove off in my new baby, title in hand - and then...

About two blocks away from the Monaghans' house, I saw Mr. Monaghan's truck behind my car, then he pulled up alongside me and motioned for me to stop. I rolled down my window, he rolled down his, and he told me, "You forgot to pay me!" I checked, and indeed I had - I'd had the money out at their house, but somehow when we were signing paperwork, I'd slipped it back into my wallet to free my hands. I paid him and apologised, he said it was fine, and we shook hands and parted.

In Atlanta, the guy would have sent the police after me at the very least. Mr. Monaghan handled it by treating it as a bit of absent-mindedness that was best corrected by a polite reminder. Pretty damn decent of someone who'd just realised he'd seen his car and its title leave his driveway with no money to show for it!

 

[westingman123]

So glad you like it

Hey Sandy, what is going on in Georgia? You departed and the hurricanes came. Glad you didn't look back like Lot's wife. lol I think you'll be well pleased in the midwest. Thrifting is an adventure.

 

[toggleswitch2]

And the flooding. My Gawd, the flooding!

 

[polkanut]

Having been born and raised in the upper Midwest my entire life I can honestly say you will love it. What I love most is the changing of the seasons. And BTW, driving above the posted speed limit, especially on 2-lane roads is the norm here, lol.