Last August Moving Trip

I knew that I would make the last August trip to seminary by myself.  I planned to leave at 5 a.m. so that I could get to the area in the early afternoon with enough time to have lunch with my sister and to unload the car.  

As is usual for me, I had trouble sleeping the night before.  I got up to make coffee and to check the weather.  We'd had a string of foggy mountain mornings in the last week, but yesterday, the reports were clear.  I decided to go ahead and get on the road at 4:30.

It was fog free, but I had forgotten how dark it gets with very little ambient light.  It's been a LONG time since I felt the need to turn on my bright lights.  Happily, I was one of few cars on the windy interstate, so I could use my brights.  Later, the fog rolled in over the Virginia mountains.  I felt like I was driving alternately through a bucolic watercolor painting or a Halloween movie set.  The sun was rising by then, so the fog didn't stress me as much as it would have at 5 a.m.

My sister and I had a delicious lunch and figured out how to use Google maps on the phone.  I don't have an app downloaded that would talk me through the navigation, but that was fine with me.  Knowing that I could figure out my way if I got lost was the key thing.

I made my way over to the seminary campus.   I got a bit turned around; I drove by the Target where we shopped after the first moving in, but I couldn't remember the cross street that would take me to seminary. Happily, I just kept going, hoping that the street would intersect Massachusetts Ave, which I knew it had a good chance of doing--and it did!

I worried that the parking lot might be completely full, but there were only a few more cars there than there were when we first arrived with carloads of stuff.  I unlocked the apartment door and took a quick check before unloading the last carload of stuff.

I did a bit of setting up, but it will take more than just a Sunday afternoon to get completely unpacked.  I'm fine with that--it's my moving in style, and I have only myself to consider.  I thought I would go to bed early, but I was too wound up for that.  Eventually, I drifted up, but I did wake up very early--just too excited to sleep.

I want to make sure that I am intentional while I am here, that I don't waste a minute of my time in DC.  I really want to see the new African American history museum, the newest Smithsonian museum.  They are still using timed entry tickets, so I thought I'd sign up for Wednesday.  Ha!  The next available Wednesday is Sept. 14, so I signed up.  I did some strategizing.  On Wednesday, I'll go to the Renwick Museum, which is close to the African American history one, so it will be a test run--finding the Metro, getting myself there.

This morning, I'll walk over to the Wegman's off Wisconsin Ave.  I'll buy a few things, like some butter and some parmesan cheese.  I bought some non-perishables at the end of last week, plus some tomatoes at the farmer's market and a loaf of bread.  I brought the leftover bakery bread from last week's adventure which will be better with butter.

I may forgo an afternoon walk--we've got heat advisories.  Or maybe I'll take a leisurely walk and expect to sweat.  And then, tonight is my first class--it's an online virtual class.  I don't have my first in person class until tomorrow night.

I can see the beginnings of daybreak out of my east facing window--how beautiful.  Let me wrap up this writing and get ready for this first full day on campus and in DC.