Right before Bradley got his "Wings of Gold", we were told that we would be moving to Lemoore, CA. Our first choice was Oceana, VA since it was closest to home (South Carolina) and family. Since there weren't any available spots for Oceana, we were assigned to Lemoore. Bradley came home pretty bummed and the more he thought about it that night, the more he decided against California. Lemoore is pretty much a waste land. It's in the middle of the desert with very little 'life' to it. We're small town people so the idea of not having stuff doesn't bother us, but the crime rate is terrible there and you can't even drink the water! They were having a big Growler draft, so we prayed about it that night and really just felt led to request a change from Lemoore to Whidbey Island, WA. The plane that Bradley will fly in will be a little different, although it is still basically a tricked out F-18, and his mission will be different - but he is SO excited! We were really surprised at how accepting this change was since Bradley has only wanted to be in F-18's forever, but he keeps saying that he doesn't know why Growler's weren't always his #1 choice!
So then Bradley got those very treasured wings (a separate post coming soon!), and we began to prepare to move. When we moved from Annapolis, MD to Pensacola, we did a DITY move (do it yourself) and it was awesome! However, after living in FL for 1.5 years, stuff got accumulated. It's also hard to move yourself 3,000 miles and have to drive the U-Haul plus transport 2 vehicles. Plus, the Navy stopped reimbursing as much so it really isn't even worth the time anymore. So, we decided on a partial DITY. With a partial, the Navy hires packers to come and pack up everything you want them to. For us, this took an entire day for them to pack our home. Then, the loaders come (totally different people) to load the boxes and all furniture you have into an 18 wheeler. It definitely is a great service that the military offers but it is quite a hectic 2 days!
A problem that we ran into was that the Navy was REALLY slow in giving us our orders to Whidbey. Pretty usual with the military, but we didn't have much time to 'waste' because once Bradley decided to switch to Growlers, his winging got moved up a whole month and his report date got moved up. From the time we found out, we literally had 3 weeks to have family in town for his winging, pack up all our stuff and get on the road to have 1 week of that just in driving to WA. The Navy kept lagging on orders and we FINALLY got them this past Wednesday. The packers came on Thursday, the loaders came on Friday, got finished up around 3pm and we immediately hit the road! The ONLY hiccup that we had was that the day the loaders came, our neighbor backed into Bradley's truck. Some of ya'll know that we were rear-ended in his truck in November so it's definitely less stressful the second time around. Our neighbor felt horrible, but it was purely an accident. I felt so bad for him because he was really beating himself up about it but we just had to laugh it off. I guess we left with a bang. :-)There must be something up though because the people who rear-ended us in November's last name was Robertson and that is also the last name of our neighbor that hit us. Ha! I think we really must be on all Robertson's black lists or something! To say the least, we are EXHAUSTED!!!! We have exactly 6 days to drive cross country...and it will take all of those days. :-)
ANYWHO...
I want to update ya'll on our TRIP! Driving cross country has been awesome so far! I can't express enough how cool of an experience it is! PUT IT ON YOUR BUCKET LIST! For realz.
So far...
Day 1: Got a late start out of Pensacola due to the loaders. Left at 3pm and made it all the way to Southaven, MS (10 minutes south of Memphis, TN). We got there around 12:30 last night.
Day 2: Woke up and got out of the hotel around 10:30. We were a little slow moving due to getting in so late the night before. Drove until 2:30, stopped for lunch, got back on the road and drove to Wichita, KS where we currently are staying for the night!
WHEW!!
So far I can tell you that:
- Having the Navy move you is the greatest invention ever. I never could have packed my things as well as they did.
- Watch as least as possible while the packers pack your stuff. One guy literally sweated (literally DROPS) on everything he touched. The guy who packed the kitchen licked his fingers before he wrapped each dish. Everything will be bleached....twice...before it is used.
- It is very, very cold here. Maybe it's just because we got too used to Florida but it is freakin FREEZING outside!
- Kansas is very, very, very flat and straight. I seriously think you can just press the gas and not even turn the wheel for 50 miles. Also, do not get hungry or drive through Kansas at dinner time. You will starve. Hence why we didn't eat dinner until 9pm tonight. There isn't ANYTHING! No billboards, no lights along the interstate, nothing. Just miles and miles of being able to see miles and miles.
- Oklahoma has some of the prettiest sunsets I have seen in a while!
- It's cold. Oh wait, did I already say that?!
- It just doesn't get much better than driving cross country with your best friend and soul mate.
- Having my dad come along to drive my car has been a BLESSING! An extra set of eyes has been awesome! It has also allowed me to spend my time in the car with Bradley!
- Renting a small U-Haul trailer so you can take your washer and dryer with your is GREAT! I won't have to use a laundry mat when we get there AND it's weight!!! YAY!! :-)
- Driving cross country with your husband is the best thing in the world. Did I already say that, too?!
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Tennessee
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
Can't wait to update tomorrow after day 3! We are hoping to make it to Denver, CO!
Let's do this! :-)
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