David and I had a very busy weekend of running errands, doing laundry, mowing the lawn, cleaning the bathroom (Thanks Babe!), packing, and preparing extra litter boxes for our three cats, Padre, Panda Bear, and Meerkat (AKA The Furry Bambinos). To read what Padre, Panda Bear, and Meerkat were up to in our absence, check out the Furry Bambinos blog.
On Monday morning, July 28, David and I set off to pick up the rental car. After considerable debate concerning the pros (space) and cons (cost, gas mileage), we settled on renting a mini-van. I was worried that after our own suitcases were packed into the car, there would be little room left over to help transport Patty and Chris’s cats and valuables not traveling on the moving van.
We loaded up the mini-van, kissed The Furry Bambinos good-bye, and told them to be good for “Aunt Deb”. Deb is a close friend of ours who would be checking in on The Furry Bamabinos while we would be away.
We set off for Pittsburgh at 1:00 pm. The mini-van was brand new! Only 336 total miles on it when we picked it up!
Our first state crossing was from Ohio to PA at about 2:00 pm Monday:
We arrived at Patty’s apartment in Pittsburgh at 3:00 in the afternoon. The movers had already loaded up Chris’s apartment, and were busy loading up Patty’s place.
We helped Patty pack some of the last remaining items into boxes. Patty’s cats, Rainbow and Muse, were safe in their carriers while the movers carried furniture and boxes out of the apartment. Rainbow is a calico kitty:
Muse is a tuxedo kitty. Both are girls, and Patty believes that Rainbow may be Muse’s mother. Patty adopted the girls several years ago from a Pittsburgh animal shelter.
In addition to helping pack, we helped by taking Patty’s dog, Bruiser, for a walk. Bruiser is a beagle and basset hound mix.
Bruiser is a bit overweight and has a tendency to walk slowly and deliberately. Furthermore, whenever he runs out of steam and has “had enough”, he usually just stops moving until prodded repeatedly!
We eventually made it back from our walk with Bruiser. He collapsed on the front lawn of the apartment building and refused to go any further.
The movers finished up at around 7:30 pm and drove off.
The four of us, Patty, Chris, David, and I went into Oakland for dinner at “The Original Hot Dog”, known locally for decades as simply “The O”. The specialty is their french fries, so, of course, we had a big basket of fries to share. The last time I had been there was with friends in high school back in the mid-1980’s.
After dinner, David and I headed back home to stay at Mom and Dad’s Monday night. On Sunday, Patty and Chris had brought Chris’s cats, Cinnamon and Toast, to my parents house for safe keeping while the movers were at Chris’s apartment. Cinnamon has a reputation for “exploring” so they didn’t want to take any chances that Cinnamon would escape. When we got to my parents house, Mom and Dad were hanging out with Cinnamon and Toast. 🙂
Patty and Chris stayed at her empty apartment, with Rainbow and Muse, who were upset that nearly all of Patty’s possessions seemed to have been “stolen” while the cats were confined to their carriers. So, all Monday night, Rainbow and Muse kept telling Patty and Chris that they really needed to call the police and file a report.
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