Month: August 2023

Well, here we are!  We spent much of yesterday packing and getting ready for the caravan down to Phoenix starting Friday.   There is still a lot to do but we are making progress.  I will make a few more trips to my favorite places this week – the pawn shops, Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill and, of course, the dump!

I have also become proficient at using Craig’s List and have moved several of the larger items using that website.   I just have a few things left that I will need to get rid of, but I think it’s all doable. After the furniture is picked up next Tuesday, I have a U-Haul truck reserved for Wednesday to make one final delivery round (Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill, dump) for anything that is left. 

I will then turn my attention towards getting my bicycling gear and bicycle all packed up for my ride in the San Juan Islands.  It has been challenging to squeeze in my training rides, so I’d say I’m in average shape versus great shape.  That said, the daily mileage is not super onerous.  I think the longest day is 44 miles and we have all day to do it.   Most of the days are 25 to 30 miles.  I’ve ridden several 30-mile rides with my fully loaded bike, so I’ll manage.  I’m sure I’ll be grunting like a steam engine on some of the hills, but I don’t intend to set any speed records.  I have a T-shirt that says, “Member of the sloth cycling team – I’ll get there when I get there,” which pretty much sums up my attitude.   I intend to enjoy the scenery, stop frequently and take lots of pictures!  I’m also hoping to do a little kayaking along the way somewhere, so we’ll see what develops. 

When I get done with the ride, I will return to Bozeman to finish up a few things, load my Harley onto the trailer and head back down to Phoenix!  Hopefully by then, Phoenix might be a tad cooler!!  In addition, Barb will be fully retired by then and a free woman. We’ll then turn our attention towards getting ready to go back to Portugal in November to find a place to live and start the process of applying for visas, etc. 

It will be a busy few weeks, as we are planning a few trips/visits.  I’m hoping my daughter, Jordan, will be able to fly out to Phoenix over the Columbus Day weekend and then Barb and I are going to Denver for a family event for her cousin in mid-October.  Somewhere in there we are hoping to get to Southern California for a few days, but we will see.  Given that we will be gone the entire month of November visiting Portugal, Boston, and New York City, by the time December rolls around, I think we’ll be ready to just relax for at least a few days!!

Yesterday, seven bucks stopped by to say farewell while munching on the apples from my trees.  I probably won’t be anywhere any time soon where I will get pictures like these.  It’s been a good ride here in Montana, but time for the next chapter and whatever that brings!!  Stay tuned.

It’s hard to believe that 10 days have passed since I last posted anything.  The time is just flying by and the ‘to do’ list continues to be a bit intimidating.  The timing of everything is a bit problematic but it is what it is.  I am trying to squeeze in training rides for my bicycle trip over in the San Juan Islands while also trying to purge the house and get ready to move!  As I said last time, the chaos continues.

One week from tomorrow, we will be heading out on our three-day trip down to Arizona or as I call it ‘hell’ when I read the weather forecast showing yet more days for 100-degree heat!!  But Barb reminds me that ‘it’s a dry heat’ like that is going to make me feel better!  :0) In any case, I will only be there for one night before I jump on the plane and return to Bozeman to finish emptying out the house.  Once the house is emptied out, I’ll pack up my bicycle and head for Washington to do the ride in the San Juans.

As I said before, trying to get rid of almost everything you own is harder than just moving.  By the time all is said and done, whatever is left of my 3 bedroom, 3 bath house and all its contents will be condensed into one U-Haul shipping box that will make its way to Arizona.  It’s been quite a process.

I have become very familiar with the local pawn shops.  I used one to sell my guns – it’s an interesting place!!  I used another for my larger power tools and then a third for my smaller tools and whatever other miscellaneous stuff I have.  It’s been an interesting experience.  I have also been using Craig’s List which is also an interesting experience.

In addition to taking stuff to the pawn shops, I have been donating heavily to the Gallatin County Food Bank, Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity and making occasional trips to the dump.  You don’t really understand how much stuff you accumulate until you try to get rid of it all!!! 

We did take a break from the chaos to drive up to Glacier Park this past weekend and drive the Going To The Sun highway.  The scenery is spectacular and the Going To The Sun highway is an interesting and beautiful drive – definitely not for the faint of heart drivers or those subject to getting car sick. 

We had the house inspection at the beginning of the week, and it doesn’t appear there were any major findings so we are hopeful the process of selling the house will continue to progress.  We are in a contingent sale so we don’t yet have a closing date but hopefully that will get nailed down soon. (Fingers crossed!)

We have been keeping an eye on a website geared towards long term rentals in Portugal and are encouraged that there are some nice places coming on the market.  Once we get somewhat settled in Arizona, we will begin trying to nail down some visits so when we go over in November, we can sign a lease.  (Again – fingers crossed!).  That will be step one in getting our long-term visas. 

So, progress on this little adventure continues.  I’ll leave with a few of the pictures from Glacier.

The chaos continues as we enter the last three weeks before heading to Arizona.  The process of selling the house continues even though we have a signed contract.  Unfortunately, it is an offer contingent upon the buyer selling their current house.  However, there is a date at which time they have agreed to remove the contingency even if their house has not yet sold.  In the meantime, we continue to have showings of the house by appointment and others can still make an offer if they choose to.  If that were to occur, we notify the current buyer, and they then have 72 hours to remove the contingency on the current contract and proceed with the sale or we are free to accept the new offer if we choose to.  Needless to say, the real estate market these days is a little different from the buying frenzy that swept through Bozeman a couple of years ago.  That said, the current buyers really want the house so I am hopeful it will all work out in the end.  In the interim, we continue to get ready to vacate the house.

As I stated previously, trying to vacate a house AND sell almost everything in it is much more challenging than a straight move from one house too another.  In the latter case, you just pack things up, schedule the moving trucks and poof! everything shows up at your new house!  In this case, Barb already has a fully furnished house in Phoenix and in phase two of this little adventure, we won’t be shipping much to Portugal. Consequently, I am in the position of having get rid of, one way or another, almost everything in the house.  My firearms and larger power tools have already found their way to the local pawn shops.  I have found a buyer for most of the furniture but am still faced with disposing of things like a riding lawn mower (the current buyer already has one!), snow blower, washer/dryer, refrigerator, lots of small hand tools, etc.  It is a bit more challenging than you might imagine!

In addition to trying to purge the house, I am trying to get all my medical appointments taken care of before I leave, train for and prepare for my bicycle ride in the San Juan Islands the first week of September, and find time to have a little fun before we leave Montana.  We went to the Sweet Pea Festival on Saturday and Sunday and then we are heading for Glacier Park on Saturday to spend a couple of days.  Barb is still working so she has her plate full as well.  The sale of her firm is finalized on September 15^th, so she is trying to wrap everything up before that date.  Needless to say, it’s a little hectic around here!!

I’m sure it will all work out, but it is a bit challenging.  I guess that’s why we view this as an ‘adventure.’! 

Admittedly it has been a while since I posted anything – almost a month I believe.  The whole process of selling the house kind of took over our lives in the last month.  Once the house was listed, every time there was a showing, we’d have to put the house in ‘show condition’, pack up the dogs and disappear for some period of time. At first, we agreed to show the house any time that a request was made but we soon learned that was too disruptive given that Barb is still working so we limited requests until after 4 p.m.  Even so, it got to be a very burdensome process.  That said, we have an offer on the house so now it will be a process of working through the next phase – house inspections, etc., and trying to drive towards a closing date. 

As I think I’ve said before, this move is a bit different in that I am simultaneously trying to get rid of almost everything I own.  In previous moves, things get packed up, the moving truck shows up, and magically transports everything to the new house!  This time, very little will be going to AZ and on to Portugal, so I am trying to divest of everything.  That, in and of itself, has been a learning experience.

I got a tip from my realtor about a used furniture store here in Bozeman, so I called them up.  The owner came out, went through the house and gave me an offer for almost the entire house full of furniture.  And they will come and pick it up!!  That was a life saver.

I was trying to figure out how to sell the few guns that I have and didn’t really feel like having various and sundry individuals come over to the house to sell them privately.  I found a pawn shop here in Bozeman that is also a licensed firearm dealer, so I took my guns and ammo to them.  It was a very interesting experience.  The guy helping me and appraising my guns was really nice, but the store was basically an armory.  I felt like I was in redneck heaven!!  Guns and ammo, knives, and all kinds of hunting gear floor to ceiling plus an interesting cast of characters coming and going.  However, it was convenient, and I walked out of the store with a nice chunk of cash.

I also have a garage full of tools!  The pawn shop I took the guns to wasn’t too keen on the tools, but I found another pawn shop that is more than happy to buy them.  I’ve already taken one load there and will take another load today.  I know I could get more money if I took the time to sell everything individually but right now, I’m more about convenience!  Frankly, I wish I had explored pawn shops a long time ago.  Every time I needed a tool for something, I’d go to Home Depot and buy a brand new one and I could just as easily have gone to a pawn shop and picked up a tool for what I needed at a cheaper price!  Live and learn.

It will be an eventful 6 weeks or so.  Barb and I are leaving for Arizona in three weeks.  She will pack up all her stuff and the dogs and I will take some stuff in my pickup, and we’ll caravan down there.   I’ll then fly back to Bozeman to finish up some stuff at the house, pack up my bicycle and all my gear and head to Washington State for my weeklong bicycle tour of the San Juan Islands.  Then I will return to Bozeman, deal with whatever needs to be dealt with, pack up whatever is going to AZ into a U-Haul box, put my Harley on a U-Haul trailer and head for AZ!!  Lots of moving parts!!

Once I get to AZ, we will turn our attention towards getting ready to find a place to live in Portugal and applying for our long-term visas.  Once we have secured our visas, Barb will go through the same process of selling her house!  We are hoping that by the end of the first quarter of next year we are parked in our apartment/condo/house somewhere in Portugal.  This will become our base of operations for continuing to explore Portugal and the rest of the Schengen Zone.  We’ll see where we ultimately end up, but you have to start somewhere!

I will try to post about this little adventure more frequently as things develop.  I’m sure it will be a bit of a rollercoaster!  Wheeee!!