In 24 hours we hope to be on our way north for the almost final leg of the 30-day New Jersey/Colorado wedding tour. In 10 days, on October 27th, we should be on our way headed south on 95 for South Carolina. But a lot has to happen before then. I'm sitting here oncing over the travel planes to Boulder, Colorado, which includes airport parking, flights, rental car, and AirBNB accommodations.
Yesterday we closed down the remaining storage unit we had in Cape May so that's not only good for the wallet but for the mental health as well. It was just a bunch of odds and ends including the third raw seat for the Suburban, which will spend the winter here in New Jersey.
And the reason it's staying is because Theresa and I hit a yard sale in Jackson when we were dropping Luke off when we hit wedding number one a few weeks back. Of course I found a table saw and an electric lawn mower that I had to have....so that's going south on this trip.
In the storage unit was a pair of animated Christmas figures that have been in my family for as long as I can remember. They're older than my kid sister and she turns 40 next week.
When we were getting ready for the move by selling, donating, and dumpster-tossing these two were non-negotiable, they were making the trip south. Why? Are they something I couldn't pick up at Hobby Lobby down there? Do they have some kind of special action never to be replicated over the last four decades? Nope. They'll just family memories and somehow their presence is burned into my brain for every Christmas I can remember. I just wish they got picked up and headed south in the moving truck in July.
And for those of you that may need a little motivation to declutter and downsize I pass this little gem onto you. For some following our journey since January has given you at least the opportunity to question what your own future may have in store. At least maybe you've opened up a bin or have started to go through the garage and see what you really need to hold onto or not. In March I dropped a post, HERE. which kind of tells it like it is.
So when I recently saw the book, Nobody wants Your Sh*t, written by Jessie Condo, I looked into ordering it. When you go to Amazon it's there, as well as several other's dealing with the process
of freeing yourself from the bondage of bins, boxes, and full basements and attics. Even getting rid of the storage unit yesterday was weight-lifting, until I looked into the back of the Suburban. And while I'm 58, my friend group extends from say ages 30- 80. To the younger ones I say this is still a good read and any help or advice you may get from a book like this now can help you out later, trust me.
So yesterday was our last fun day in Cape May. It was beautiful, and late in the afternoon almost hot, as it was the calm before the storm. As I write this it's ben pouring throughout the night. We hit the storage unit, a few yard sales, the Lucky Bones Happy Hour, and then walked the mall and sat in the rocking chairs at Congress Hall. Several times a year we go back and forth with what we should do with our place in Cape May. And then it only takes a few minutes of being there to realize this is something we should never give up. I have heard people say that their grandparents or even parents, "Used to have a place", but then it got sold for whatever reason. And once it's gone not very often it's gone forever. So we're ready to wrap it up for 2026 and will look forward to coming back in late April or early May. God willing.