APRIL 29, 1999- Gerald A. Polley decided we should move to Valley City, North Dakota from Portland, Maine, USA! Are we crazy or what? We're going to stay with our best friend Felix J. Torres there, at his house, until Gerald gets a job. Then we can determine where we're going to get an apartment. We will even be able to use Jesse's second car if it works, while we're there. So far, we've thrown away tons of stuff we've had for years and sold our TV., VCR, microwave, coat rack, telephone stand, and two file cabinets since Saturday when we made a poster and printed it up from our computer. Still have the couch, twin beds, bureau, typing stand and lamp left. Can't wait to leave!

Got more stuff done here. Gerald brought home a stepladder from work to use a couple of days, played a record before Gerald went to bed.

Was sick today with sinuses from pine cleaner. Slept most of the morning. Didn't clean because Gerald was tired, but the lady from work came and bought the CD player, typewriter, and old air-cleaning machine. Gerald took all of our mixing bowls and canister set down to the catholic thrift shop near here. We played computer games, Gerald put up newspapers after taking one pair of the living room curtains down to cover the window. We listened to The humble Farmer show on PBS radio which we won't get in North Dakota. Our best friend Jesse that we're staying with there sent us a Valley City newspaper and it looks great. But smaller than the Ellsworth American! No restaurant jobs for Valley City though, and that's where we want to stay!

Felt better today. A lady at work bought the couch and standing fan. I'm sleeping on the couch but want to keep it nice. So I asked Gerald about putting my bed back together. He's not happy about that but will do it. We had my room all empty except for the card table. I hope things will be o.k.

What a great weekend! Cleaned Saturday, Sunday had a visit from Gerald's youngest sister, Ester Curtis, from Ellsworth, who wanted to see us before we left and her oldest daughter, Cindy, her daughter Jessica, and Cindy's boyfriend, David who helped us when we moved to Portland. Also, our great niece Tiffany who we hadn't seen since she was around 12; now she's driving!!! They're on the honor roll too! Esther stayed then David brought the girls over. A great visit!

Only a week to go! Gerald demolished our beds because the second hand store didn't want them- springs bad. A neighbor watching him out the window kept saying "He'll never get that in the Dumpster! There's no way!" Then when he was taking it apart, "Oh, my God! He's bending it in half!" (The bed springs.) And, "Oh, my God! He's bending it up and putting it in the trash!" Like he was the Hulk or something! HA HA!! We have scheduled the phone to be shut off the 24, able modem the 22. We're going!!! Jesse sent the keys registered mail. I hope he's home when we get there, though. Shut down P.O. box Friday. Ack! So much to do, so little time! It looks like we're not getting the security deposit back before we leave. Don't know when we'll be back on line with our magazine, VOICES FROM SPIRIT. Sigh! But can't wait to get there. Should be SOME trip! Hope the weather holds.. So far it's been great but cold.

ONLY THREE MORE DAYS!! YAHOO!!!!!! Got everything packed and mostly in the hall ready to head out the door. Jesse called and gave us his work number in case of emergencies. He called to see how we're doing then e mailed his number. Can't wait! I found the credit union on the Internet. Looks better all the time!

Well, it's official! We've cancelled our P.O. box and are having the mail forwarded to Jesse's house! We walked downtown for that. Got some travelers checks after I met Gerald's former boss when he picked up his last check from work. Went to the credit union, then the library to say goodbye-to our good friend Joanne Whitcomb the audio/visual librarian. It was a gorgeous day! We bought ice cream cones at The Irving Store at the corner, and ate them in front of the house. Had the chat room at night, but only two of our friends came. Listened to our last The humble Farmer show and sent him a note, and, Jesse too. We had a great day. I was tired!

Had my chat room at Yahoo all right, even closed half an hour late and just in time! The Road Runner man came to disconnect the internet. We used the computer to play games a while to rest up, then did more packing. Decided to clean the kitchen today instead of tomorrow and get food out so everything would be done. I cleaned the sink after doing the dishes. Gerald washed the floor. We put boxes in there to load last. We were upset we had to throw away opened food, but no one would want it. I had defrosted the refrigerator and Gerald cleaned the oven earlier. Went to Rite Aide.

We gave the margarine we had frozen and a recently opened huge bottle of ketchup to a neighbor. Went to bed early but didn't sleep very well. Aches and pains!

A great day! Beautiful weather! Finished the main part of the packing. Went downtown for lunch. Nothing was open! Finally found the Victory Deli. Had a delicious Rueben with dark bread, pastrami, cheese and coleslaw on it, and Russian dressing with a large soda.. Gerald had something else. Both great! Came home, got some stuff done, listened to the radio, the oldie station. Have the stereo and computer all packed. Took my last bath in Maine. Read Gerald part of one of his stories, "Outcast". Tomorrow's the big day! We can't wait. Supposed to rain in the afternoon. Hope it's that and not early, and, hope the guy shows up to help load the truck! We went to the pizza restaurant for supper before bath. Not as good as it used to be. Had a cold cut Italian. Bread too big and hard. Brought some home. Ate filling, Gerald ate bread! Tomorrow! Got to get to sleep. Will write next on the road...maybe New York! Woo hoo!!

6:25 A.M. The day we've been waiting for two weeks is here! At last.... And IT'S RAINING!! The weatherman says it should end early. Gerald has gone to get the U Haul. 7:55 A.M. Got everything loaded in no time, thanks to the guy at the Irving Store, Shawn! We couldn't believe it! Three or more tomato boxes at once!! Got all loaded by around 10:30 a.m. and almost the whole trip was rain and thunderstorms!! Really bad in Massachusetts! Hail, the rain blowing back from the cars ahead made it hard to see. We went to a toll both in New York. They all said they took automatic zip passes. We went through one that didn't say it. There was a sign in the window saying 'No more tickets! Go through!' So we did. Later we stopped at Burger King and they had an information booth there. They told us that if we didn't go to a nearby exit and get a ticket we'd be fined $100 - 250! We had to pay $4.00 but better than the other fee! The guy was deliberately ripping people off. It was an old sign. Now we're at the Motel 8 in Syracuse, New York. I think that's where the Three Stooges grew up. Hmmmmm. Been seeing ravens all day especially here. A sign from Odin we're doing the right thing? And perhaps the thunder and lightning a blessing from Thor? We'll see!

More rain and wind all day. Had a wonderful night's sleep at last and felt much better. We drove by Watertown, New York, again, and sang the song that goes with my "Spirit Lad" book, as it takes place in Watertown, New York! We ate donuts for breakfast and I had tea from the hotel. We stopped at a place in New York but all Burger King had had sausages in it. Made great time! We put in about eleven hours. Ohio was beautiful and, Indiana. Missed some good scenery due to fog. Our radio didn't work. We found out it was for a CB, so we sang a lot. Had a great lunch at McDonald's in PA... Big Mac's fries and shakes - then super at Hardee's in Indiana. Now we're in Indiana at a Knight's Inn like we stayed at coming home from Florida. Oh, almost forgot - we saw a statue of a huge Native American wearing a headdress! Lots of horses, cows, and a few sheep, feed corn growing and a huge vineyard. Can't wait 'til tomorrow! We pass Chicago after rush hour, then, St. Cloud, Wisconsin, then to FARGO! I don't know if we'll get there tomorrow, but we'll see what happens. Had great weather in Ohio and Indiana. The SUN! But it was still windy, making the truck have terrible gas mileage. Got pretty sore sitting for so long today, but this nice comfy big bed will help. See you tomorrow! Forgot! We saw a Dysart's truck from Bangor, Maine! Gerald used to work at their truck stop years ago! They're way out here! Wow!

WHAT A DAY! It started off great with a free continental breakfast from the Knight's inn. Then we waited to leave so we'd get passed Chicago after rush hour. Beautiful view...but in South Bend, Indiana, we got caught in a traffic jam...and wouldn't you know it? We had to sit there for an hour with everything shut off, beside a truck taking pigs to a slaughterhouse! Had to keep the windows shut. We sent songs having the window open just a crack, and talked until it was over. Great weather too.... But we were shocked to learn a big truck jackknifing and smashing the rear end of a car caused the problem! We saw the little black car on the tow truck. I was shocked! It looked worse than Princess Diana's car! We drove and drove. Chicago was very tricky! We saw subway trains. I waved to people waiting for them, and they waved back! Wisconsin was beautiful. But we drove and drove trying to find 94 north. At first we didn't know if we went the right way. They we stopped at a rest stop and sure enough! Very long roads, lots of farms, lots of sun. We got the sunscreen out.. It was HOT!! We tried to visit some of our friends and went down a huge steep hill to find them, but couldn't. It was scary! Then we got to Minnesota. Kept stopping to find a room out of the setting sun. No one had any where we could see the van. Finally we found a nice place to stay but we couldn't eat in the restaurant because it was after 9:30 p.m. and it was closed. We walked over to McDonalds's and got stuff then brought it back. I'm going to take a shower and get to bed. Free breakfast tomorrow. Fargo and Valley City TOMORROW!!! We'll see what our new home looks like. Six hours...CAN'T WAIT!!!

P.S. Later on I learned Gerald found out the only way you could eat at that restaurant after 9:30 p.m. is if you were drinking at the bar. We are still irritated about this.

Had a great free breakfast, real eggs and French toast for Gerald. It was a pretty dull trip from there, compared with what we've been through! Ran into a few brief showers after buying gas. Got A & W root beer and wild cherry Pepsi. Kept falling asleep. It was just open country most of the way. Lots of road construction! Too many bumps! Made our pit stop then it seemed we'd never get to Valley City! 22 miles.... 10 miles!! Then we went through Fargo.. I wasn't impressed. Finally around 12:10 p.m. we arrived in Valley City after a confusing mix up with street names. Too many avenues and streets!! We LOVE the place!!!! I hope Gerald can get a job so we can stay. We unloaded the van after having pizza at the Italian restaurant downtown, and tried to find The Broken Spoke restaurant, but it was hot and too far to walk. So we decided to wait until later. Took about 2 1/2 hours to unload the van, with the help of Jesse's handcart we found. Cleaned out the back then went to take it back. But we couldn't find the office. So we decided to wait and went to eat at The Broken Spoke. DELICIOUS!!! But there was no HELP WANTED sign in the window. Gerald asked the waitress if they needed a good dishwasher. She said she'd ask but we never found out! We did see the sign Welcome to Valley City like in the picture Gerald drew. We stayed up until after 11 p.m. waiting for Jesse. He was thrilled to see us! He figured we'd get here that day. Talked for a while then went to sleep. What a challenging trip, but well worth it. Oh, we met the Mayor! After Gerald went in The Chamber of Commerce to get a city map, he came up and shook our hands and welcomed us! That was a first! We also stopped in a great second hand store, and printer shop. LOVE this place and hope we can stay!

That's all for the Log. Hope you enjoyed our merry adventures, and that I won't have to write another one for years to come!