PROLOGUE - 6. DECEMBER 2021

DECEMBER 2021, 5 days after Thanksgiving, we drove back to Virginia for our closing day on 12/3, with a Penske rental packed with bee keeping materials, a few household items (including beds) and pulling a trailer loaded with the John Deere 4300.

Packing of the trailer took longer than expected. Tim had to rig the auto trailer to accommodate the John Deere. It took well into the night with the final strapping down near midnight.

I drove behind in my Subaru loaded to the top with more stuff. We started out later in the morning than expected and arrived at our hotel in Eden, NC, very late. The next day we caravaned to our new home, dropped the Penske and tractor in the yard and headed to closing. By the afternoon, the property was ours. We unloaded, stayed for a night, then drove back in the Subaru to finish packing for the final move on December 28th.

Then a second trip with son, Nat, driving a 26' rental truck and Tim driving a 16' rental truck pulling the 16’ trailer loaded with tractor implements. I drove my car again loaded to the top. Unfortunately, we hit a major traffic jam on that trip extending the normal 13 hour drive to 19 hours.

Because I was only driving the Subaru, I was able to take a detour that allowed shorter and narrower vehicles to cross an old bridge. I had beds made and food ready when Tim and Nat finally arrived around midnight.

Grateful that Jeremiah had poured a concrete pad for a 2-car garage, we immediately ordered a metal 2-car garage to be built, as there was not enough outbuilding space to house what we needed to move and had far too much stuff to fit under that one carport in the woods.

My sister, Barb, drove with me to VA to help me paint the interior of the house . What a wonderful Christmas present for both of us. She even put lights on the house for the holidays (see first picture). Wow!!

Our “official move” was December 28th, with a rental truck, F250 pulling the 16' cargo trailer. Both sons and movers assisted with the packing and unpacking the truck on both ends. Very grateful for Nat and Billy’s assistance. And yes, all barn cats were transported to the new place. I am still not sure how Tim got the wild one, Calli, into the carrying cage. All I know is that it included multiple scratches, bites, blood and hair flying. I took the other 3 after having dosed them with tranquilizers so they would make the 12-hour journey quietly.