Wow, overwhelmed by all the kind (and funny) responses here! Thanks so much, it helps me feel a little better about all of this, not to mention validated that the last 8.5 years were well spent. As I write this I’m in the middle of the road trip, so not much time to make a better response now. But here are a couple pics from today. The first is about to leave the house, and the second is after arriving at the first Airbnb stop. The Cougar is running like a champ and I’m enjoying the A/C. The Volvo is loaded to the gills but is doing fine.
Nice wagon. Enjoy the trip
Another upside to your move to California: you can put the original black plates back on!
All the best to you on your upcoming move! Change is difficult even when it’s necessary. You’ll do fine, I’m sure. Definitely going to miss you at the WCCC open houses in the future, but California isn’t THAT far away. So maybe we’ll see you again in the future - either up here or down there 
Travel safely, and enjoy your life changes
Andrew,
Congrats on moving back home to spend time with your folks. After all, they are your parents and time is the most precious commodity one has. It was great seeing you in Detroit for the 50th celebration and having you chill with my dad and I for the day on Saturday during that weekend. I am thinking you realize how special that time was to me to enjoy that with my dad as you are headed back home yourself.
Thank you for the great pics of my Cougar that afternoon as well and I still have my August 2018 calendar stuck hanging on that month in my garage.
Enjoy what the future holds and hope to see you in the future at some point at a gathering of the best classic cars ever made.
Bill
Thanks all! Just wanted to update this to say that my journey was successful. The Cougar was a champ. A/C saved my life. There were some times when the temp gauge got higher than normal, but overall she did very well.
On a related note, on one stop along the way I got to stay with a member of the Cougar community who let me drive his GT-E! So… that was a blast. Might have to ditch the 289. Anyway, this is such a great community. You guys are awesome.
It will still take me a little bit to get settled in and set up my computer (writing this on my phone) but so far it’s been good to be back!
We are all glad that you got both cars home without a hitch. Keep in touch.
Andrew,
What part of CA did you land in?
Santa Barbara, back where I started from, and where the Cougar lived since new! It’s a nice place to be, but has its issues for sure. People are surprisingly uptight for what should be a mellow beach town 
Boy, the Cougar sure looks fantastic!
Cool that she will be back where it prowled when new.
- Phillip
Andrew is even living in the Granny Flat, where the car resided starting in 1968.
Well, you ARE parked in front of not 1 but 2 “No Parking” signs.
Time for a trip to Solvang
It’s ok, my family owns that place 
In fact, I’m going to try to stash the Cougar in one of those garage spots. It’ll be a tight fit! Gotta clear out some junk first.
That would be worth the effort! Don’t leave her outside if you can avoid it!
Cool Story! Glad everything is working out.
Andrew, Congrats on your life change. WCCC will miss you for sure but you always need to advance your self. Now that you are in So Cal, hope to see you more. There is a pretty active So Cal club that meets monthly and does other events. PM me if you need info.
All the best for the future Andrew. I really enjoyed your videos and have watched them over and over again. As a former videographer I liked the way you put them together that made them easy to understand and use as a reference tool.
We are told this very thing everyday! I credit Andrew with the folks that daily say “I am a Mustang owner but I always come to WCCC first as gratitude for all I have learned from your videos and website”.
