The Lord's will was clear to us now: we were to flee unto the mountains of Idaho, away from "Egypt" (California). My mom might be able to continue selling her handmade crafts there, and while Dennis didn't have any job prospects as yet, he did have plenty of skills, and our god was Jehovah Jireh (God the provider). We weren't even sure where we'd live, but since Dennis had so many friends and connections up there, it shouldn't be a problem.

From my point of view, while I was optimistic about the idea of moving to a rustic, unspoiled area, I was also worried about the animals (with whom I had a closer bond than with people). We had four cats, including my beloved Mashy, and a Border Collie, Sheba. Dennis was in favor of leaving them all behind, which of course resulted in hysterics on my part and helpless pleading from Mom. Renee and Michelle would be staying, Kary would come along for the adventure. We packed and we packed....it took a long time and some help from U-haul to make the move. Dennis sold one of his trucks and kept the tan crew cab and the blue Chrysler.

In the end, Dennis dropped off all the cats at a trailer park for retired people. I can only hope that Mashy's warm and loving nature endeared him to someone who appreciated him. The others were less tame to other people although I could handle them all easily. He tried to leave Sheba at my mom's brother's house, but she was so frantic in our absence that she tore up everything a dog could possily tear up: window shades included. This was not normal behavior for her, and Pete wanted nothing to do with her after that. We could only conclude that she was meant to accompany us after all. We visited with the family members we had in California, and then we were ready to roll.