Everything Must Go

Let’s see…

Where did we leave off…oh yes, phase one. If you recall phase one of our transition from Florida to the Midwest was all about rest, relaxation, and catching up with family. Chrysa and I slept in, ate fantastic food, visited aunts, uncles, mothers, and brothers, and lounged poolside. All the while knowing that the next phase of our transition would be much more taxing.

In the last post I mentioned a side trip to North Carolina. What could possibly tear us away from our leisurely life in Georgia?   Only two things. The money saving prospects of selling off our storage unit, and the joy of visiting some dear friends. So we packed the Jeep, said goodbye to pools and the easy life, and set off to Raleigh, NC.

We got to Raleigh too late to do anything particularly productive so we decided to catch dinner with some friends. We called up Chris and Leigh and met them at one of Chrysa’s favorite restaurants, Relish. Relish is a great place that focuses on local ingredients and uses them to create reimagined southern dishes. As good as the food was, the company was way better. We hadn’t seen Chris and Leigh in a long time and it was awesome to catch up on the new events in their lives.

Work began the next day. With a strong feeling of dread Chrysa and I set off for the storage unit. We had only peeked into the thing over the last 3 years. The last time we looked into it we grabbed our vacuum and ran as fast as we could. It was all too overwhelming to even think about. Aside from some dining room furniture we had no idea what was in there. The unknown was terrifying.

There was no running this time. We had a job to do, and come hell or high water, we were going to get this done. So…we started. We tossed some stuff in the garbage, we set stuff aside to send home with parents, and we went through bin upon bin of accumulated nonsense. The repeating mantra of the day, “why did we keep this.” Word to the wise, if you have enough stuff for a storage unit, you have too much stuff. We haven’t needed any of this junk for over 3 years and were paying WAY too much money to store it. By the end of the afternoon we had separated the contents of the unit into piles and had a huge sense of accomplishment. We didn’t even hate the process as much as we thought.

Once we got through the clean out, we got to treat ourselves. It was a Thursday and that could mean only one thing, River Run Club! It felt so good to blow off some steam from the day and to catch up with our old running pals. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, this is the best run club anywhere. It was great catching up with the gang and celebrating their successes. Even though it has been 3 years on the road, we still keep up with all of them. They also keep up with us. We didn’t realize how many of them read this blog!

The past times we visited with the run club we stayed into the wee hours of the night. We couldn’t do that this time. We had to pick up members of our support team for the weekend, Chrysa’s parents. They were arriving by train so it was off to the Cary train station to get them. Remember that furniture I spoke of? Well, it was going to Chrysa’s brother, Michael. The last time that furniture was touched was when we put it in storage. At that time Chrysa’s dad had moved the stuff about 3 times. He swore he would never move it again. Unfortunately he did have to move it again. I’m so glad he was such a good sport about it, and I’m glad it went to a nice home.

The next day was more logistics. We rented the U-Haul, loaded the contents of the unit, and dropped them off at our spot at the fairgrounds. We also collected another helper for the weekend, my mom. She made the trip from Georgia to help out and pay a visit with Chrysa’s parents. All members of the team were now present. We just needed a little more equipment to finally kick off the selling portion of the weekend. After a wonderful Italian meal with the family Chrysa and I headed over to our dear friend Brian and Carolyne’s. We went for tables and an easy up tent but we hung out like old times. In fact we may have stayed too long. We had to get up early to be at the fairgrounds for the sale. Set up started at 6:00AM.

I think it’s fair to say that most people have been to a flea market. It’s pretty much what you envision in your head. Row upon row of people selling, for lack of a better word, things. Some vendors have stuff you would want and some have stuff you even need. I would say we had stuff that you “MIGHT” be interested in. It was the “might” that I was worried about. I mean…what if nothing sold? What would we do with this stuff? I didn’t have time to worry though, the action started earlier than expected.

The flea market didn’t actually start until 7 or 8 officially, but that didn’t stop the other vendors from shopping for their own needs. Timing is everything in the crazy treasure hunt that is the flea market, and vendors get first pick. Chrysa and I were NOT prepared. We had planned to have prices on everything, but that plan flew out the window after 10 minutes. Wave upon wave of vendor/shoppers wanted to know what the new people had to offer. They also wanted prices. Now, Chrysa and I didn’t really discuss our pricing, and she got sick of me asking what we should charge for certain items, so I just started making things up. While I was spinning around like an idiot, Chrysa was focused on finishing set up.

We got over the hump just in time for the flea market to open. We also got over the hump with the assistance of caffeine and food courtesy of our parents. It wasn’t long before we settled into a rhythm. Chrysa kept moving our wares to the front of the tent to keep our look fresh, and I played salesman by pouring on the charm.

We kept this up for hours. All the while the temperature kept rising. It was clear that we were not going to stay until the bitter end of market time. Customers weren’t sticking around either. There was almost no shade and most of the items at the market had been picked over. Chrysa and I called it a day.

We tore down, got rid of the last of our junk at the Goodwill and went back to the hotel to shower and count our earnings. We ended up making over $200! We thought that was pretty good. We didn’t decided to sell off our old crap to make a fortune (we are smarter than that). We know that the real money in our pocket came from not paying for the storage unit for who knows how much longer.

We celebrated a hard day’s work with our parents at Dos Taquitos. They treated us! Not that we deserved it. They supported us, provided transport, loaned us cars, and braved the heat. We couldn’t have done it without them. That being said…the project was done. Chrysa and I could now count ourselves as off the clock. It was time to kick back and relax!

What better way to relax than spending time with Brian and Carolyne? We started the morning with a hearty breakfast at a trendy new place in RTP. The restaurant was a breakfast only sort of joint that really had some creative menu items. I had the duck hash with over easy eggs…and it was perfect! As usual the company was the best part of the morning. It’s always great to see B&C, they treat us to such a nice time. They even took us to another trendy location later in the morning…quarry swimming.

Now, I’m usually a beach kinda guy. However, sometimes you just don’t want to drive 2 hours just to drive back after only a couple hours by the ocean. B&C had the solution to that dilemma. We could just drive 20 mins to the quarry and chill out before having dinner with their family. The plan worked beautifully. We hiked to ye old swimming hole, threw our floaties into the water and proceeded to marinate. It was awesome and just what the doctor ordered. We followed up the swim with the promised dinner and great conversation with our second family and friends.

We did eventually have to tear ourselves away and head back to the hotel. Phase two of our saga was coming to a close. It was time to seriously begin planning the trip to the Midwest. We headed back to Georgia after a wonderful time in NC. We love that we can make a trip back to a place that feels so much like home and see friends that feel like family. As hard as it was we headed back to Georgia, we still have work to do but I am sure we will fit in some more pool time before we head to the Midwest.

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