First week in La Crosse

So we got here about a week ago.

Moving day was long; the movers showed up around 7:45. I figured they’d load up by around noon, and I’d have a couple of hours to run errands before picking the boy up from his last day of preschool. Jill was going to leave midmorning and get things ready here; the boy and I would wrap things up at the old place, have an early dinner, and I’d drive down while he dozed off.

Reality started to diverge around 11 when wasps stung the boy in the playground. The good news is that it turns out he is not allergic to wasps! But otherwise he didn’t take well to the experience. His last day ended early, and we went back to the house to watch the movers.

And watch the movers.

And watch the movers some more. I can’t really complain because they moved everything in one day and with essentially no damage to anything, under a fixed-price bid that was well under what we had budgeted (yes, I’d happily recommend them). So when they left around 3:30 we finally set off for the last errands (during which of course the boy napped); came back to the house to pack up the ice chests, load up the last boxes and plants, and say goodbye to our sweet home; had a last meal in town (the boy chose a burger); ran a last last errand for some stuff Jill realized we’d need; and hit the road.

The movers finished I think around 10, and we got here around 11. The boy stayed awake the whole time, and to ensure I didn’t fall asleep at the wheel I had my fourth and then fifth cups of (real) coffee since I gave up caffeine in…was it 2009? What a weird hangover the next day.

So that was a week ago, and we’re about two-fifths unpacked. Things we know about La Crosse so far include:

• There’s a great view that we can actually see from the backyard.
• The big wooden fort in Myrick Park absolutely kicks ass.
• Every store is closer.
• There’s reasonable Tex-Mex food, good crepes in a hipsterish setting, and good pizza. But the sooner I accept that if I want Asian or Indian then probably I should just make it myself, the better (although the one La Crosse food blogger I’ve managed to find had a much more positive experience with one place in particular, so maybe we’ll try that one again).

Tomorrow I start getting my orientation on at the university. Two hours of HR! But I get to bring Jill along so it’s like having a date to a documentary about accounting.