This will be a recap of what we have been up to since this crazy moving process began on Tuesday, March 27 (could that really have been only 10 days ago?). At this point, Thumper was already down in South Carolina with B's parents having a little mini vacay. This will be a long post, so if you're already filled in on all of this it might be a bit boring to you :)
Our packers for all of our household goods (HHGs) coming with us to Germany showed up bright and early on Tuesday morning- actually 20 minutes earlier than we anticipated at 7:40 which turned out to be a good thing. They got right to work, and were cruising right along when the packers for our items that we plan to store for the next 3 years arrived a couple of hours late at 10 am. The storage packers looked at what they needed to pack, and then asked if they would be able to come back in the afternoon after the HHG packers had cleared out a couple of rooms and then they would just work behind them. We said it was ok with us as long as it was ok with the company. They called the main office, received the ok, and rescheduled for 2 that afternoon after they completed another small job.
ATTENTION: rookie mistake here- never ever ever let packers leave your home to "come back later". Lesson learned the hard way.
I ran out with our neighbor to do a couple of errands (read: Starbucks) and while out, B got a call back from the storage company's dispatcher, Jane, informing us that since we weren't ready to be packed that morning we had been rescheduled for Friday morning...uhhhh what?! B let her know that this would not work as we would already be completely checked out of our home on Friday, and also reminded her that it wasn't that we weren't ready, it was that the packers didn't want to work at the same time as another company. The discussion went back and forth before Jane told B that if he had a problem to contact his JPPSO(Air Force moving department) agent and then hung up on him. Consider it done! Over the next few hours, a deal of sorts was worked out for the storage company to come back on Thursday morning at 7:30 with a crew of 4 to quickly pack us out of the house so we could spend the day cleaning for our Friday morning inspection. Still not what we wanted, but it was the best we could hope for at that point. For those in Dayton- I would not use Richardson and Sons moving company ever again. We had a great experience with American Way. The HHG packers finished around 6:30, and we grabbed some Chipotle, watched some tv, and called it a night.
Wednesday morning again started at 7:40 with the actual movers coming to crate up our HHGs. This means they would load our boxes and furniture into big crates on a truck, and then nail them closed with a signed seal to be reopened only at our home in Germany. These guys worked a long day, too, and finished loading the last item at 5 on the nose. I worked in rooms as they finished, cleaning windows, blinds and vents, and B vacuumed baseboards, fans, floors, walls... We stayed in the base hotel that night, walked to the O-Club for dinner, and crashed by 10:30.
Thursday morning we got to the house by 7:15, eager to get a start on the day. We munched on Panera bagels while waiting for the anticipated 7:30 arrival of our storage packers. And we waited. At 8:15 the driver of the truck called to let us know they would be there shortly. I headed out to my eye doctor appt (when I scheduled this, the whole day was supposed to be just cleaning) and B waited. And waited. At 9:15, when no truck had pulled into our drive, B called our JPPSO agent to find out what was going on. By 9:30 the truck FINALLY showed up with 2 packers and promised our JPPSO agent that had come by to supervise that they would be done by noon. Ha. We cleaned around them the whole time they worked, because we just could not afford any lost time. Our wonderful neighbors, Mike and Mallory, had lent us their steam cleaner and various other cleaning supplies, and B cleaned each room as the movers cleared out. They finally wrapped up around 2:30 and we finished the deep cleaning of the main floor, took a last barefooted walk around our empty home that we had so many wonderful times in, said a goodbye to our neighbors that had treated us so well, and then ran back to the hotel to shower. Our good friends Jarred and Andrea had invited us to join them for dinner that night, and I can honestly say that I couldn't have imagined a better evening. We were treated to a delicious home cooked meal with friends we miss dearly, lots of laughs, some snuggles from their 2 great kids, and dessert with Nate and Ashley, good friends who were also moving the following day. Saying goodbye that night was HARD! B and I made a last run to Target, and then spent our last night in Dayton at the hotel.
Friday- No matter how good you know your home looks, a move out inspection still can be nerve wracking. Thankfully, ours was brief (10 minutes) with no charges, and we grabbed a big breakfast at Cracker Barrel before jumping on the road to South Carolina by 11. We hit a big road traffic back up that put us at a standstill for about an hour and a half and drove through a lot of rain before meeting my inlaws for dinner in Walhalla, SC at 7:50. After, we headed to their home and unloaded the car for the next couple of days.
Saturday was spent eating at a local fave breakfast place, picking up some maternity clothes, taking B's dad's Mustang convertible out for a cruise to enjoy the beautiful weather and springtime flowers, making some much-missed Mexican food(thanks to my mom, who knows how to make pretty much EVERYTHING, I was able to make my own red enchilada sauce even though I couldn't find red chile powder) and then seeing Mirror, Mirror with my mother in law, Brenda. It was a busy day!
Sunday started with a return to the church that my parents had attended while they lived in South Carolina 28 years ago! I love going to visit places that they have been to in South Carolina, especially when I know it will be a long time until I see the again. It just makes me feel a little closer. The rest of the day we made sure we had the right crate for Thumper to travel in, getting a last Dairy Queen blizzard with Brendamom, picking up some things for our long plane ride, and enjoying a last homecooked meal. B and his dad packed up the car for our early morning departure, and we got to bed early.
Monday was another busy day! We got up at 3:45 to make sure we had plenty of time to travel to Fort Bragg, NC to get Thumper's vet paperwork in order at her 11 am appointment. At 4:30am we got on the road, made great time, and were in Fort Bragg by 10. I was finally able to breathe easy after getting everything we needed signed, copied, and set to go by 11:30 from the vet clinic. After a not-so-scenic tour of Fayetteville (seriously, who keeps a HUGE pig in their front yard in a city?) we were able to meet up with B's older brother Brian, who had driven over to take us out for lunch. It was great to get some last laughs in with him before getting the car's oil changed and jumping back on the road to Richmond, VA. B has a lot of extended family in Richmond, so this was a busy stop for us. His Nana let us stay with her and took us out for dinner before we went to visit B's grandfather and then drove over to see his uncle Scott, aunt Leslie, and their family for a couple of hours. We were home by 10 and got some sleep before Tuesday, our big TRAVEL DAY!
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