After a late night, we woke leisurely on Saturday in preparation for a weekend of packing and moving. Around noon we drove down to U-Haul, first stopping at a diner for breakfast, then picking up a van. We got the in-town moving rate ($19.95/day + 59¢/mi) which may not have been that smart given the 55mi distance between Santa Rosa and San Francisco.

The cargo van was nice, much easier to drive and with much better visibility than the 10ft truck I’d rented last year. That and it was brand new. Only 250 miles on the odometer.

Drove it back to the apartment and started packing. I’d already brought down my books and pottery during the week, so I worked on the living room, dusting shelves and preparing furniture. Stephanie packed the kitchen in paper grocery bags using some neat perforated cushion foam from U-Haul. Along the way she kept discovering things she didn’t know I had. Like a salad spinner. And a roasting pan (with rack). And a glass measuring cup with a fat-separating spout (which incredibly has managed to survive several moves).

We packed the van with my couch and matching armchair, a leather desk chair, CDs/DVDs, everything in the kitchen except food, 5 foldable bookshelves, coffee table and end table, two occasional tables, a stool, a kitchen utility table, and two lamps.

Stephanie drove the way down. We parked in the leftmost of three lanes on Pine Street, put the blinkers on, and started bringing things up. For Stephanie, this was the first time she’d seen the apartment since our appointment to view it 3 weeks ago.

She happened to have the brilliant idea of bringing some fingerless workout gloves to ease the strain on our hands. I admit I was unconvinced at first (I’m a boy!), but after using them with the couch and other large items, I’m a convert. They definitely reduced the wear and strain on our hands and wrists. Plus they made us look tough.

It took about an hour and a half to unload. Nothing got set up in the new place, we just set all the furniture by the bay window and all the bags of kitchen supplies in rows along a kitchen wall.

We stopped at the grocery store around the corner to refuel (and explore) before beginning the hour drive back to Santa Rosa. Even though we were tired, exertion of this sort deserves to be celebrated, so after a quick change of clothes we walked over to Russian River for some beer bites (think pizza cheese sticks), chicken wings, and beer.

The plan Sunday morning was to unload Stephanie’s storage unit and bring her things over to my apartment to consolidate for packing and moving next week. She also wanted to photograph some things (futon, kitchen table) for selling on Craigslist. All this before returning the van at noon.

Of course we woke up a little late, threw on clothes in a rush (day #2 sans shower), and drove over to load up the van. Miraculously we got everything in (minus a metal bookcase and some artwork), but it was clear we weren’t going to be able to unload everything and get back to U-Haul by noon. At that point we both realized, eerily in sync, the van’s already packed. Why unload it today only to reload it all again next week?

It became pretty clear. Drive down to the city. Unload the van. Bring it back with the futon. And that’s just what we did, for the second day in a row. Listened to NPR on the way down. Unloaded in under an hour. And drove back to Santa Rosa, getting here with a half hour to spare before Stephanie’s 6pm Bye Bye Birdie rehersal.