What have we done?

Ok - so lots of people would say, 'whoa, that's pretty far out there' when we said we were moving to Blacksburg. Jake and I could smugly reply that we'd gone to school 'just down the road' (actually almost 2 hours away) in Lexington and Jake was from rural Maine. We knew just what we were getting into. Or did we? Apparently not as the reality of Blacksburg is hitting us like a ton of bricks.

It seems simple enough - we would like to buy mattresses. Ok, it turns out that we bought a hippie 'futon' platform bed in Santa Cruz (which we like quite alot, thank you very much). Now, in Santa Cruz, you couldn't stumble out of the local organic smoothie stirfry quickie mart with out hitting a 'futon warehouse' running a smashing sale on the Stockholm sleeper. Here in the Netherlands, we sleep on euromattresses (like inner box springs) on plethar covered bedframes (incidently in twin sized shoved together because getting them up dutch stairs precludes anything larger). So, we have waiting in Maine our bed frame, we have an empty house in Blackburg waiting for us...no problemo - we arrive Saturday night, Sunday we can pop into the local 'futon mart' after we get our organic wheat grass shots for breakfast, pick out three mattresses (one for us, one for the monkey, and one for the grandparent selected to help us with this moving trip....give it up for GRAM!). They ought to be delievered by Monday night, when we leave our cozy motel for our first night in the new house, eating pizza on the floor and waiting for the cable guy to hook up our internet connection.

So, being the internet junkies that we are...we google, blacksburg futon. Nothing. Christiansburg futon. Nothing. Roanoke futon. Major hits! Yes, now this is what we are talking about...wait a minute. You try it, google Roanoke futon...there is a futon style CALLED the roanoke. Of course, no one in roanoke appears to sell them, or know what they are...but that is beside the point.

Hummm, ask the office manager in our new department about things like housewares/mattresses. Not a problem, she assures us. There is a sears in christiansburg. So I give them a ring, what, no mattress department, but you are happy to place an order for us? Try a mattress place in Blacksburg. It was very uncomfortable, it felt like calling the local church to ask if you could hold your pegan ritual in their hall, no, they don't carry 'those futon things.' OK - how about just mattresses for kids, just to put on the floor (Elena is still a crazy sleeper and must be close to the floor), yes, but only the kind with box springs in stock. Ok, how about a box spring/mattress set for a guest bedroom (that's right gram, only the best for you). Humm, limited stock, order time 1-3 weeks. So I asked, how about inner spring mattresses, you know, for platform beds (removing the uncomfortable 'futon' from the phrase). A few, not in stock, mostly in twin sizes. Can you ORDER a futon? No. Then the nice man tells me, 'I don't know anyone around here who sells those, they seem like a city or european kinda thing.' PS-nothing is open on Sunday. I snuffed out my incense, hung up the phone, and went back to chanting.

Where exactly are we moving to? Perhaps our years, ok, almost decade in California and Europe has changed us too much. It's 5 hours round trip to DC, where IKEA, 'euro-urban' furnature stores, and Trader Joes. Did I mention there isn't a train...but you knew that. So, in addition to mattress shopping, we have to buy a car. I think we are in over our heads.

Hey, guess what, Jake's found out you can buy futons off amazon.com. Unfortunately the shipping of 1-2 weeks wasn't quite what we were thinking, but beggars can't be choosers and air mattresses aren't so bad. And don't worry Gram - there ought to be a mattress in Roanoke with your name on it!