The trip was mostly uneventful for Joel and Jeremy, they made it to central Georgia Friday night and just south of St. Louis, Mo late Saturday night. They got an early start Sunday and 20 minutes into their drive the truck swerved and Joel limped to the shoulder of the interstate......on a slightly mountainous curve......under a craggy cliff. The axle on the trailer towing the Jeep broke and one of the wheels was at a 45 degree angle and rubbing and creating a lot of smoke.
Joel called Penske who said it would be 90 minutes till they could get there so Joel called the State Troopers who were there in a matter of minutes. At least their flashing lights would give some protection to their broken down rig. The trooper said he couldn't stay there very long and they decided to unload Jeremy's Jeep and have Joel drive 2 exits with the broken down trailer while Jeremy and the trooper followed. That worked well and they ended up at a truck stop and waited for Penske. The breakdown could have been a whole lot worse and they felt they were protected by the hand of God because Joel said where they were it would have been easy for the trailer to flip.
Their little detour cost them four hours Sunday and made it a really long, tiring day of driving. The guys arrived in Sioux Falls late Sunday night and were welcomed by our friends who generously opened their home to two weary travelers. They sat down to enjoy a couple of cold beers and chat. Both Joel and Jeremy were relieved to get a good night's sleep.
Monday morning Sue made them scrambled eggs and filled them with coffee to prepare them for the busy day ahead. By 10am they were at the apartment complex signing the papers for Jeremy's first apartment. But first I need to tell you how they got this apartment. Jeremy and I had been looking online at different apartments in the southern part of the city which puts him close to his work in Canton. We had an hour to kill Friday before Joel got home from work, so we got on the computer once again to scope out what apartments were available. I had a list all compiled for Joel to use to weed out apartments that weren't potentials.
On a whim, I decided to call the one that was at the top of our wish list. I spoke to Patty who is the manager there and explained that Jeremy would be moving from Florida and that we had a short window to find him a place to live. She said that all her one bedroom units were taken until Dec. 1st. Yikes! Apparently the apartment availabilites were slim pickings as she said they were having the best year for rentals in 15 years. Hmmmmm......guess a lot more people are moving to Sioux Falls.
Jeremy and I continued to call about other apartments and were about to pack the last things into the truck when our phone rang. It was Patty. She said that this never happens, but someone just backed out of a one bedroom........on the second story......in the building that allows dogs.......with the criteria we had given her. Amazing! Once again, God provided! And it is our first choice.....
She faxed us the application and we filled it out and sent it back. By the time the guys were getting into the truck on Friday, she had called us back and said he had been approved and he could move in on Monday. So that's exactly what they did......by noon Monday Joel had hired two guys to help lift the furniture and boxes and they completely emptied the truck by midafternoon. Joel and Jeremy returned the truck and began unpacking boxes.
So now Joel can leave Wednesday knowing Jeremy is in a great apartment in a safe neighborhood close to shopping and entertainment and the church he hopes to attend. There is even a washer/dryer in his unit. He has a balcony and says he intends to buy a small grill so he can cookout all year long. He will have parking in the underground garage so he won't even have to dig his car out of the snow to go to work every day.
Whew! What a crazy couple of days!
Worrying less,
Debbie
