Here We Go Again
It's that time again. . . moving time. I love the military lifestyle. I enjoy living in new places and experiencing
new cultures, the camaraderie between military spouses, and so much more. Usually after two years or so, I am ready to
move. This time was different though as
the girls and I had the most amazing group of friends (family). We saw each other almost daily and nothing
can beat knowing that you have friends that are always there for you and will do
everything they can for you. While I
loved so much about Hawaii, it was the people that made me so sad to move.
Military moves can't be avoided though, so we began
preparing for Charleston, SC. At first
things seemed to be going well. The
movers came mid-August to pack up our household goods. We were living with very little, but it
allowed me to completely clean the house.
Unfortunately, the title for my car was shipped with everything else, which
was needed to ship the car to SC. After
determining there was no way to expedite the title from VT, we got a power of
attorney for a friend to ship the car after we left (one of our amazing friends
I mentioned earlier).
Gideon's car which we had planned to sell decided to break
down 3 days before the move, which caused the sale to fall through. The day we left the island was spent trying
to sell the car. While we were able to
sell it, the price did not even cover the cost of the repairs. But, we were just glad to be rid of it and
not have to worry about it once we were off island.
We had a night flight to start out and while the girls slept
most of the flight, Gideon and I were awake for most of it. We had a 5 hour layover in Houston which I
was dreading, but it turned out to be a blessing as we were able to visit the
USO and all get a few hours of much needed sleep.
Sleeping on the plane
Thank goodness for the USO
Before we knew it, we were on our last flight to SC. Things seemed to be going well until we landed. All nine of our bags arrived, but we were
missing one vital thing. Our cat
Sasha! Cassie, our cat arrived without
issue, but United could not even tell us where Sasha was. After waiting for about an hour, the girls,
Cassie and I headed to the hotel, while Gideon waited to find out more
information.
Eventually they were able to tell us that Sasha had been put
on the wrong plane and was in Miami.
They ended up flying her back to Houston for the night and told us that
she would fly through Chicago the next day to arrive in Charleston at 2:00
PM.
We have arrived, minus Sasha
The next day we were back at the airport. Again, Sasha was
not there. Back to the hotel for the
girls and I. Two hours later she finally
arrived. They decided to send her
directly from Houston to Charleston instead of through Chicago, except they did
not tell us or anyone else within the airline.
Throughout the entire ordeal, no one could tell us what happened or how
she ended up on the wrong plane.
We had such a good experience living in base housing in HI,
we planned to do the same in Charleston.
The girls would be in a good school, Gideon could bike to work, and we
would hopefully have a neighborhood with lots of kids where the girls could
play and we could make friends. That
hope was quickly dashed when we went into the housing department. There were no houses available, no one had
even put in their move-out notice, and there were five families on the list
before us.
Begin the house hunt.
From talking with others who had previously lived in Charleston, I knew
I wanted the girls in the Dorchester 2 School district. It would be a bit more of a drive for Gideon,
but we agreed that the girls' school was the most important thing. After being told the military would only pay
for 5 nights in a hotel, we quickly began searching.
We were lucky to find a house quickly. The house has a lot of space which I love,
and it is walking distance to the girls school, which they love (and me
too). The house did need to be cleaned,
so we weren't able to get in it right away, which meant 10 days in the
hotel. Keeping our fingers crossed that
the military will cover it.
Our next task was to find me a car. I had my heart set on a Honda Pilot. After checking out a few other models, we
found a 2013 Honda Pilot on our first Saturday here. On Tuesday, we got to try out our Roadside
Service when I got a flat tire.
My beautiful new car with its flat tire
As for all of our stuff, we are still waiting for it. We have been told multiple times for the past
two weeks that it will be delivered in 10-14 days. We have been in the house for 3 nights now,
camping out on air mattresses and eating on the floor.
The girls started school today and I have started
researching activities. While it has
been a bumpy ride so far, we are hoping for a fun, memorable stay in
Charleston; at least for the next year and then it starts all over again.
Gideon said he feels sorry for Hadley's future husband
The girls have been such troopers through it all
I've missed all of the food options
Playing in the hotel
Did a little exploring around Charleston
Our amazing hotel had a few tables with TV's to watch during breakfast.
Thank goodness for Kindles and smart phones
posted by Melissa at
10:38 AM
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