College Trip

This weekend we moved our son back to college at Willamette University in Salem Oregon for his Senior year. Between our two children, this is according to my calculations, is the 16th trip moving them in or out of their college dorms or apartments. My daughter went to college in southern California (Not U$C, duck fans). In those 16 trips I do not believe we have ever moved them into a first floor dorm room or apartment. This year my son has an apartment on the 4th floor of a building with no elevator. There were 52 steps up to his apartment. In order to move him back to Willamette and pick up a roll top desk from my sister in Portland we rented a utility van from Budget here in Medford. We picked up the van Friday night and loaded the van with my son's stuff and left Medford at 6 AM on Saturday. My wife followed in our car since the van only had two seats. We met my sister in Salem, at the apartment, and moved our son in. She brought some Krispy Kreem donuts down from Portland to give us some energy. We worked out a system where,I unloaded the van and moved stuff to the steps going upstairs. My son carried everything up the steps. My wife would help on the third floor and then she would move things into his apartment. My sister carried light stuff up the steps. It took about an hour and we then helped him organize things and then made the usual trip to Target and Safeway ( he will be doing his own cooking this year.) The apartment is in a very old building, owned by Willamette University. I pointed out the fire escape to our son. There was plaster falling from the ceiling etc. But, for him, it's his first apartment, and it's a great place with lot's of room.We said our goodbyes and hit I-5 for Portland and checked into a nice motel in Wilsonville near Portland. The Motel was full of squirrelly soccer girls with their parents for a weekend soccer tournament near by. Most of the evening the 6th grade age girls ran up and down the hall way talking in loud voices. Sunday morning they invaded the motels breakfast bar and eat up all the "good" food. Fortunately the motel staff re stocked the donuts and waffle mix. We then drove to my sister's and picked up the desk and drove back to Medford and returned the van. I am going to put the roll top desk in our family room and create a 1940's theme with an old typewriter, old radio, and old pictures including my wife's father's WWII pictures and medals. The desk is an old antique my sister obtained from my father who acquired it when my parents purchased a sewing store in Coos Bay, Oregon in the 1950's .Now we are home alone again , for the fall, and football is about to start! We enjoyed having him for the summer and depending on what he does after graduation there may not be too many more times that he is at home for any extended periods. It always takes me a while to get used to him going but then I move on .... Football for example!