When moving to Alaska there are a few more steps needed. There are two options 1) drive the Alaskan Highway...4,000 miles or 2) drive/ship to Seattle/Portland and ship by boat.
Due to the time of year, November and December, driving the Alaska Highway was NOT an option for me. I still wanted to love my family at the end of it. While THE FRIENDS did it, I am not so brave. It is very sparse. Buildings are few and far between. My luck, the truck would break down and we would have to wait days for someone to come and rescue us. Not that we have had bad luck with A UHAUL type truck before. Passports are needed also which we do not have.
So in order to get our vehicles up there as well as our household goods, we needed another option. That options is by boat. Our vehicles were shipped first, 2 weeks before the rest of us left. They were loaded at our home onto a flatbed trailer truck. Wrapped in paper and driven into a wooden crate. This wooden crate was then driven to the port of Seattle where it was loaded onto a barge and transported to the Port of Anchorage. The wrapping and crate is to protect it from the sea water causing damage and corrosion on the metal. Our household goods were done in a similar manner. EVERYTHING was WRAPPED first. This also helped with the shifting during high seas. Then, it was loaded into a truck and taken to a warehouse and repacked into wooden crates to be driven and shipped similiar to the vehicles.
Those movers were AMAZING! Sorry Elders Quorum...they were WAY out of your league. They packed things up so quickly...I think I was very ill prepared for them. Medicines were packed away...last minute refills of rxns were needed. They packed my winter clothes bucket. Once I realized, we had to have them search for it because we needed those clothes in case the shipment took longer than 4 weeks. Or we would just freeze and die! Garbage cans with garbage in them were packed, and wrapped I might add. Things we didn't want packed were packed. Things we wanted packed were not packed. Who would need a space heater and vaccuum in Alaska? They crack me up. I crack myself up. This is what I call one of those life lessons that you can place in your back pocket for later use...not that I anticipate another move like this in the near or even distant future. I would like that card to stay in my back pocket for quite a while...maybe forever. But I do like the fact that we were able to skim the fat from our household. After 12 years, you collect a lot of extra junk. I felt a bit like a hoarder.
And that bucket of winter clothes--we found it. It got packed again. Then, at the end of the day once the movers had left I realized that the bucket was MIA AGAIN. We were so worried. We needed our winter clothes! Then we arrived at Inn Keeper #1 House and my sweet friend said..."Isn't that the bucket you gave to me to bring to my house?" It was in her garage. Oh bless the day...I totally forgot giving it to her. I was just so frazzled that I lost my brain...many times I'm afraid.
Then 4-6 weeks later our household goods had arrived in Anchorage. ON TIME...Even earlier than I had hoped! I was banking on Christmas...Can we say Hip Hip Hooray! Those crates were loaded onto another truck and driven to our home to be unloaded. In Alaska the movers rolled up in a huge truck and emptied my 8 or so LARGE crates. Of course it was snowing and cold. But, in Alaska you have heated garages. So they would unload a crate of two into the garage, shut the door, and then unwrap everything and take it inside. they even lined my floors with cardboard to keep from tracking everything in.
My favorite mover was Ula from Somoa. He was so much fun. He would ask me where things would go....I had just seen the house for the first time in person 1 hour prior to the movers arrival...Like I knew! So when asked where does this go, I would stumble. He would then reply the bathroom? right here? the garage? It became a game ALL DAY LONG. He would threaten hiding things in the bathtub or shed. He helped keep a somewhat stressful day very fun and lighthearted. I was very grateful. The beginning of the piles of boxes to be unloaded. I was totally amazed at the sequencing of items that took place. Things were not very chaotic. Large furniture came last of all followed only by beds and frames. So smart! Take note Elders Quorums everywhere!
Then they would take all the boxes and wrapping away and repeat with emptying another crate or two into the garage. This continued from 9:00am to 5:00pm. They put together beds and frames, furniture and tables. Ula even designed my front room for me...on the house! I didn't realize that interior decorating was part of the movers package! What great service!
Then I was left to unpack the remaining boxes of clothes, kitchen, linens, etc. Then I called the movers and they came and took the rest of my boxes away for me. Overall, we only had one skillet break and a picture frame. Not bad I am told. Time for the second Hip Hip Hooray! This is how a move to Alaska happends...at least in OUR case. Very impressed and pleased.
Thank you Golden North Movers and United Van Lines!
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