PRBond
New member
This post has needed to be written for some time now. It isn’t that I haven’t wanted to write it, just that I haven’t really had the time to sit down and put this all together.
I’ll start at the beginning… My wife and I are both born and raised in Southern California. We grew up close to the beach and enjoyed being outdoors in a place where you can literally spend all 4 seasons doing different activities outdoors without too much difficulty. Then last October we were given notice that the company we both work for was closing it’s operations center in San Diego, however we were both given the opportunity to relocate (On the company’s dime) to one of 3 locations. We were given the choices of Jacksonville, Florida, Dallas, Texas, or Columbus, Ohio. Of the 3, we actually liked Ohio the best. Three of the main reasons we liked Columbus was the cost of living, quality of schools for our daughter, and potential growth with the company. As we were renting from my wife’s in-laws and settling down new roots in Ohio, we decided to use my VA loan and buy a home. Without getting too deep into the details of our choice of home, I’ll say that for the price it’s amazing how much house you can get in Columbus, Ohio compared to what it costs in San Diego.
So, as we were deciding on how things would get moved to our new home in Ohio it was decided that we would ship my wife’s Camry and my Tacoma to our new home, my wife and daughter would fly out to Ohio, and I would drive across the country in the 4Runner with our zoo of animals. (3 cats, 1 dog, and a bird) I wasn’t real thrilled about driving across the country with 3 cats and at one point I joked that one or two of them might not make it past New Mexico and my wife responded by telling me to think of the cats like a hydra that if one doesn’t make it, it would be replaced by 2 more…
So, towards the end of the 1st week in January in what I believe to be the worst winter I’ve ever seen in my life, I packed up the 4Runner and headed out for Ohio. Thankfully, after the first ½ hour or so the cats stopped complaining and actually didn’t make much of a sound for the rest of the trip. I made frequent stops to stretch my legs and let my dog do his thing and then I would get back on the highway. As I was traveling with the zoo staying at a motel was basically out of the question, which meant that when I got tired and needed to sleep I would pull into a truck stop, keep the motor and heater going so the animals and I didn’t freeze, and recline the seat back to catch a few z’s. I spent the first night at a truck stop off the I-40 just east of Albuquerque, NM. Off and on that first night, I probably got about 4 hrs of rest, topped off the gas tank and started up again.
Day 2 started by driving into the sunrise over western Texas which was a very pretty sight. About mid-day I pulled off the 40 and drove down to Lawton, Oklahoma for a quick stop at my uncle’s house for a shower and let my dog stretch his legs. Then back into the 4Runner and on up through Oklahoma to Springfield, MO where I spent the 2nd night. Up till this point in the drive it had been cold, but I didn’t really have any snow to contend with. That all changed once I hit Missouri. The snow was pouring down as I pulled into a truck stop just past Springfield, MO. I made sure the temp gauge in the 4Runner was set to 72 and again tried to get a few z’s. After tossing and turning in the driver’s seat for a couple hours I decided to take a look around and noticed that about 8” of snow had fallen in the 4-5 hours that I sat there. Basically, that just gave me an excuse to use to drop it into 4H and back right through it.
Then a strange thing happened… My debit card I had been using the entire trip was declined at the gas station. Puzzled as I was and not understanding why, I pulled out a credit card and topped of the tank to start driving. As my debit card was linked to my bank account back in California, I would have to wait a few hours till they were open so I could call them but I didn’t think much about it at the time. The 4Runner drove on and the snow coming down in Missouri and only got worse when I crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois. Cars were sliding on the ice and snow, and the speed of traffic on the I-70 dropped down into the 30’s. I was cranky, tired, and a little hungry when I pulled into a Shell station off the I-70 in Illinois only to find out that my debit card still wasn’t working. I used my credit card again, checked on the animals, grabbed the biggest cup of coffee the gas station had and got back on the road. Right about the time I hit the Indiana state line, I called my bank back in California to find out wtf was wrong with my debit card… The lady at the bank had informed me that apparently sometime before Xmas I had shopped at Target and as a safety precaution they issued me a new debit card and turned off my old one. I informed the lady that I was currently traveling across the country and needed to access my bank account, and asked if there was any way they could turn my old card back on? She said that unfortunately there was no way to re-activate it once it was canceled and again repeated that they issued me a new card. I politely reminded the lady that obviously I didn’t have the new card with me, I was driving across the country and if they sent the debit card to my previous address that I probably wouldn’t get it for some time. It also would have been nice to maybe give me a courtesy call or at the least send an email saying that they were going to turn off my old card. At that point when she said there was nothing they could do, I started to lose it and said I wanted to close my account and have my funds wire transferred to a new bank. She responded by saying that I couldn’t do a wire transfer over the phone and I could either do it online or walk into a branch. At that point, I hung up… I knew I would reach Columbus on that day and basically I would make use of my credit card for gas and meals till I got there. Frustrated as I was with my bank, I had to focus concentration on the highway as it seemed that every other mile had a car or overturned truck off the highway from the night before.
About the time I hit the Ohio state line, I felt an intense sense of happiness and pride come over me. I had driven my 14 year old 4Runner from San Diego to Ohio without a single hiccup. I started thinking about not only the road trip I was on, but the national park trip to the Grand Canyon and southern Utah the 4Runner had taken us on just a few months prior. Through all of it’s travels it never leaked a drop of oil, never lost an ounce of water. When we needed the AC cranked going through the desert it fired right up, just as the heater had done on the current trip I was taking. I truly have never owned a better vehicle.
When I finally turned down the street towards my new house and opened the garage door I was cheering. It took me 51 hours from door to door battling pet odors, bad road conditions, and a horrible bank, but I made it. The next day my family flew into Columbus, and I drove down to pick them up. As my wife was getting into the 4Runner, she started telling me about how rough her 2 hour flight was after the layover coming up from Dallas to Columbus. I did the usual husband nod of sympathy and smiled knowing that there’s no way to even attempt to relate her discomfort from her 2 hour flight to my last 3 days…
Anyway we’re glad to be employed, glad to be in Ohio, and glad to own a 4Runner.
I’ll start at the beginning… My wife and I are both born and raised in Southern California. We grew up close to the beach and enjoyed being outdoors in a place where you can literally spend all 4 seasons doing different activities outdoors without too much difficulty. Then last October we were given notice that the company we both work for was closing it’s operations center in San Diego, however we were both given the opportunity to relocate (On the company’s dime) to one of 3 locations. We were given the choices of Jacksonville, Florida, Dallas, Texas, or Columbus, Ohio. Of the 3, we actually liked Ohio the best. Three of the main reasons we liked Columbus was the cost of living, quality of schools for our daughter, and potential growth with the company. As we were renting from my wife’s in-laws and settling down new roots in Ohio, we decided to use my VA loan and buy a home. Without getting too deep into the details of our choice of home, I’ll say that for the price it’s amazing how much house you can get in Columbus, Ohio compared to what it costs in San Diego.
So, as we were deciding on how things would get moved to our new home in Ohio it was decided that we would ship my wife’s Camry and my Tacoma to our new home, my wife and daughter would fly out to Ohio, and I would drive across the country in the 4Runner with our zoo of animals. (3 cats, 1 dog, and a bird) I wasn’t real thrilled about driving across the country with 3 cats and at one point I joked that one or two of them might not make it past New Mexico and my wife responded by telling me to think of the cats like a hydra that if one doesn’t make it, it would be replaced by 2 more…
So, towards the end of the 1st week in January in what I believe to be the worst winter I’ve ever seen in my life, I packed up the 4Runner and headed out for Ohio. Thankfully, after the first ½ hour or so the cats stopped complaining and actually didn’t make much of a sound for the rest of the trip. I made frequent stops to stretch my legs and let my dog do his thing and then I would get back on the highway. As I was traveling with the zoo staying at a motel was basically out of the question, which meant that when I got tired and needed to sleep I would pull into a truck stop, keep the motor and heater going so the animals and I didn’t freeze, and recline the seat back to catch a few z’s. I spent the first night at a truck stop off the I-40 just east of Albuquerque, NM. Off and on that first night, I probably got about 4 hrs of rest, topped off the gas tank and started up again.
Day 2 started by driving into the sunrise over western Texas which was a very pretty sight. About mid-day I pulled off the 40 and drove down to Lawton, Oklahoma for a quick stop at my uncle’s house for a shower and let my dog stretch his legs. Then back into the 4Runner and on up through Oklahoma to Springfield, MO where I spent the 2nd night. Up till this point in the drive it had been cold, but I didn’t really have any snow to contend with. That all changed once I hit Missouri. The snow was pouring down as I pulled into a truck stop just past Springfield, MO. I made sure the temp gauge in the 4Runner was set to 72 and again tried to get a few z’s. After tossing and turning in the driver’s seat for a couple hours I decided to take a look around and noticed that about 8” of snow had fallen in the 4-5 hours that I sat there. Basically, that just gave me an excuse to use to drop it into 4H and back right through it.
Then a strange thing happened… My debit card I had been using the entire trip was declined at the gas station. Puzzled as I was and not understanding why, I pulled out a credit card and topped of the tank to start driving. As my debit card was linked to my bank account back in California, I would have to wait a few hours till they were open so I could call them but I didn’t think much about it at the time. The 4Runner drove on and the snow coming down in Missouri and only got worse when I crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois. Cars were sliding on the ice and snow, and the speed of traffic on the I-70 dropped down into the 30’s. I was cranky, tired, and a little hungry when I pulled into a Shell station off the I-70 in Illinois only to find out that my debit card still wasn’t working. I used my credit card again, checked on the animals, grabbed the biggest cup of coffee the gas station had and got back on the road. Right about the time I hit the Indiana state line, I called my bank back in California to find out wtf was wrong with my debit card… The lady at the bank had informed me that apparently sometime before Xmas I had shopped at Target and as a safety precaution they issued me a new debit card and turned off my old one. I informed the lady that I was currently traveling across the country and needed to access my bank account, and asked if there was any way they could turn my old card back on? She said that unfortunately there was no way to re-activate it once it was canceled and again repeated that they issued me a new card. I politely reminded the lady that obviously I didn’t have the new card with me, I was driving across the country and if they sent the debit card to my previous address that I probably wouldn’t get it for some time. It also would have been nice to maybe give me a courtesy call or at the least send an email saying that they were going to turn off my old card. At that point when she said there was nothing they could do, I started to lose it and said I wanted to close my account and have my funds wire transferred to a new bank. She responded by saying that I couldn’t do a wire transfer over the phone and I could either do it online or walk into a branch. At that point, I hung up… I knew I would reach Columbus on that day and basically I would make use of my credit card for gas and meals till I got there. Frustrated as I was with my bank, I had to focus concentration on the highway as it seemed that every other mile had a car or overturned truck off the highway from the night before.
About the time I hit the Ohio state line, I felt an intense sense of happiness and pride come over me. I had driven my 14 year old 4Runner from San Diego to Ohio without a single hiccup. I started thinking about not only the road trip I was on, but the national park trip to the Grand Canyon and southern Utah the 4Runner had taken us on just a few months prior. Through all of it’s travels it never leaked a drop of oil, never lost an ounce of water. When we needed the AC cranked going through the desert it fired right up, just as the heater had done on the current trip I was taking. I truly have never owned a better vehicle.
When I finally turned down the street towards my new house and opened the garage door I was cheering. It took me 51 hours from door to door battling pet odors, bad road conditions, and a horrible bank, but I made it. The next day my family flew into Columbus, and I drove down to pick them up. As my wife was getting into the 4Runner, she started telling me about how rough her 2 hour flight was after the layover coming up from Dallas to Columbus. I did the usual husband nod of sympathy and smiled knowing that there’s no way to even attempt to relate her discomfort from her 2 hour flight to my last 3 days…
Anyway we’re glad to be employed, glad to be in Ohio, and glad to own a 4Runner.
me around.
