Well packing was quite an adventure in itself. For a moment we weren't sure we were going to make it. After feverishly packing for days, I (David) was quite tired, but determined to leave. Warnings of a freezing storm blowing in from California were looming. We had finally packed everything (leaving behind all of our furniture), but poorly balanced the weight despite it. If we drove over 30 miles per hour, our trailer swayed like the wagging tail of a dog. We noticed that the tires were uneven and stopped at Les Schwabb to find out why. Sure enough, one of the tires was a thinner non-trailer tire, but neither were the best option for our trailer. We got brand new tires in the hope of solving our balance issues. However, it was to no avail. At this point, I was very tempted to drive there at 30 mph the whole way and arrive in South Carolina 3-4 months later if I had to.
We prayed for guidance and within moments the director of the Cause, Chuck Mervyn gave us a call. Chuck has more experience packing trailers than Laurance does freediving for Ling Cods. Amazingly, as he was in the middle of decorating a tree for Christmas, he felt the Lord tell him to give us a call. He encouraged us to repack the trailer, and if all else fails to get a sway controller. Well, we drove 15 minutes back into Monmouth and went to work in front of the Rogers' house. Donna graciously gave me some dark chocolate to calm my nerves, and within 2 hours we had the whole trailer completely repacked.
And so, on Thursday the 10th of December 2009 (Arrow's five month birthday), we embarked on our epic journey to California and ultimately to South Carolina to join the Cause. We started driving; we were a little nervous at first, but the speedometer steadily climbed past 30 mph. We made it all the way up to 50 mph until the trailer began to sway a little when we crossed the threshold of 55. I could live with that. In fact, we would all be more likely to live thanks to that! Praise God for His love and guidance!
I will post more updates describing the rest of our 10 day journey down the Oregon and California coast as time allows. . .
