Wilmington, NC, 2010

Elizabeth resigned her professorship at Armstrong Atlantic University to accept one at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. She and John found a house that they really liked--beautiful, near work, and in a pleasant neighborhood.

Fortunately, when the big day came to move, they were lucky to have some enthusiastic assistance from one of Elizabeth's students and her husband. The four of them loaded a 26-foot van on Jul 3d, 2010, and Elizabeth and John were ready to head out on the big adventure early the next morning, Sunday. Unfortunately, John became ill overnight and thus I was greeted the first thing on Sunday morning with the status via email. Of course, I was happy to help, so off I was to Savannah. Some paperwork was required for me to be able to drive the van and that delayed our departure by some hours. In the end, we started our trip about 1030 Monday, the 5th; I drove the van and she, her car. We had an uneventful trip (though I was a little uneasy driving this vehicle), keeping in contact via cell phone and getting updates on John's conditions.

Sunday the 4th was a lost day as far as moving was concerned, so we were a little stressed for time and decided to unload what we could after the trip. For about an hour, everything went south. The street was very narrow, her driveway likewise, and the turning radius of the truck, annoyingly large. I made an error in judgement and thought that I could allow the front tires of the truck to swing over onto the common area of sod across the street from Liz's so I could back onto her driveway. The ground looked ok, but unbeknowst to me had recently been disturbed to install irrigation, and--to cut to the chase--I darn near bogged down and embarassed myself (and Elizabeth) royally. . . . not such a good impression to destroy common property the first day. Anyhow, the home-owners' association could not have been nicer. I paid for the immediate repair, but only time can heal the soil and sod. Quickly following were two other mishaps, and then we hit our stride and unloaded much of the truck that evening, indeed two beds were set up for our weary bodies. It was a hard day, but Liz is a real trooper, working beyond her native endurance. . . . nice to spend so much time with her.

As a means of keeping our memories of this eventful day fresh, I have posted a few images of the move-in.

Houses across the lake from the Crawford Home

Dining Room