Moving Part 1

So we went and picked up our rental truck Sunday morning 4/15/18 at 8am. We used Budget Rental Trucks simply because they were the cheapest. It was a 16' box truck. They were out of 26' trucks which looking back now probably would have been the way to go. We swung by our storage unit and picked up what we had there then off to the house. I have to thank my kids for all the help. Mom and I couldn't have done it without you. We quickly realize the truck is undersized and we will leave plenty behind for the next trip. Not to mention the vehicles. I have 2 old ford trucks 1 Harley and 2 4runners (Projects) plus my sons Subaru. We get all loaded up and by 4pm we are ready to roll. Ben and Ashley are in the Prius, Mom is in the Sonata and I'm in the truck and we take off for Michigan. Ben and Ashley have a couple things they need to take care of before leaving the valley and will catch up with us down the road. Its a 1650 mile journey if anyone's interested. We actually make it to almost Laramie, WY before the kids "catch up" unfortunately they got a speeding ticket which further complicated issues. None the less we are all back together and heading for Michigan. We end up covering alot of ground and decide that we are gonna get a hotel in Des Moines, IA and relax. We order some BUffalo Wild Wings and sleep like babies. Oh and I think I failed to mention we are traveling with our 10 yr old Black Lab Whitney.

The next morning we all partook of the free breakfast provided and hit the road. All is well and we decide to take HWY 88 once we get into Illinois so Ashley can see the town she was born in. I will never do this again...lol. Hwy 88 urned into a TOLLWAY/CONSTRUCTION NIGHTMARE. of course we dont have cash and so getting back to Hwy 80/94 takes way longer than it would have been had we stayed on 80.

Long story somewhat shorter, we make it to Michigan and to the house. Its early evening and we unpack some of the essential things we need for the night like beds and such. Keep in mind we have electricity at the house and nothing else...more on that soon.

The Move

I failed to mention in my last post that my youngest son (Ben) and his girlfriend (Ashley) will be helping with the move and it's still a bit uncertain how long they will live in Michigan but we are grateful for their help. I'm pretty sure it would be impossible for Karen and I to do it all ourselves.

We will begin Sunday when we go get a moving truck and start loading. We hope to be on the road Monday. We've done a lot of packing and feel like we are ready for the first trip. We will keep you all posted on our progress. Michigan here we come.

The Beginning and an Introduction.

Hi everyone. My wife and I (T.J.) have embarked on what some will think is a crazy unrealistic adventure. Sometimes I think those folks may be right.

In late 2017 we took a family vacation to Detroit, Michigan to see a Detroit Lions football game. Our first ever. We are all big fans. Let me explain...I was born in Michigan and have been a Lions fan all my life. It turns out most of my family are now Lions fans.  My mom was a Michigan native and all of that side of the family is or was from Michigan. We enjoyed ourselves very much and when we got home it didn't take to long for me to start looking at property in Michigan. We aren't wealthy so we were looking for properties that were inexpensive and with usable land of a decent size for gardening and other outdoor activities. We prefer a rural area. We were OK with a fixer because we've done some DIY projects on homes we've owned in the past. I looked and looked. I saw a property in Bancroft Michigan and showed it to my wife (Karen). At first I think we were both amazed that this 1855 Colonial home on nearly 2 acres was a possibility for us. Oh and the Shiawassee River is literally across the street. So we kept going back to the website and thinking about it. We looked at a lot of property throughout Michigan and kept coming back to this one in Bancroft. They had listed the property a year or so earlier for nearly $70k. The current price was $40k. All we had were pictures to look at so I contacted a realtor in Michigan to help. Mark Rutenber out of Pontiac. www.markrutenbersells.com
Mark and I seemed to hit it off pretty good right off the bat. Once we got to talking I told him I was originally born in Pontiac as was he. Mark went to the property which was probably 60 miles away from him and took a video of the property inside and out. This was a huge help. Karen and I looked into the little town of Bancroft and looked into the history of the home. We decided we would come up with the cash and proceed with the purchase.

As I stated before, we are not wealthy. I have some retirement money and that's about it. We decided to tap into that money buy the property and move to Michigan. My wife and I were full time employees. Here's another interesting fact. We live in SLC, Utah and have for about 8 years. Prior to that we lived in Northern California.   

Karen and I took a little road trip in December and purchased the property.

We believe this home to be of Italianate Architecture. Welcome to our journey. Now we focus on moving.