Stationization

One more week behind. Today is Patti’s first day at work (Good Luck Patti), and the second day in WA. Already looking for a house. Events are moving fast, so fast that sometimes it is hard to notice. With all the changes that are coming on our way we start feeling some bumps too, trying to smooth it up with air ride. Hope nothing breaks on the way.

Monday, May 16th, 2011 – This week just flew by. I can’t believe it is Monday again… Patti just went today to her first at work, but wait – I am jumping too fast.

Remember last week, we took the truck to the dealership, and ended up with a new car? Well, the truck is still there waiting for some parts, and of course they found some additional stuff in it, god know what it is, but I know how much… Ouch.. The week flew by, but not without bumps. I think this is the hardest part of all. Adjusting to all those changes does take a toll, and this is not a nice part in the process, but I guess it is a part we have to go through, and although I know eventually we will be fine – it is not pleasant time sometime. As Patti says – it is a wishful thinking to expect so many things to change and go just smooth.

North Along West

I was supposed to be in Florida in a business trip this weekend, but a last minute cancellation changed my plans again (yeah I know). So instead of flying to FL, I decided to join Patti to the other corner of our country. On Friday morning I dropped my son at school before our trip, picked up Patti and started our journey. We drove over 700 miles on Friday mostly on hwy 5, which was pretty boring until we approached North California. The views of the mountains rivers and lakes are simply breathtaking, even if you just drive on the interstate. We could not help it, and stopped couple times to take a picture or two. I wish I had my big camera with me, but sometimes all you got is your phone… (See the top picture)

We stopped just north of Ashland, OR for the night. Not sure what it is in Ashland but the prices there are outrageous! $80/night for a no-stars roadside inn. We had to drive 30 miles north to find $55 Days Inn…

Houses for Rent

Saturday drive was very nice – driving through the natural beauty of OR and WA, and we arrived early afternoon to our hotel. We had already some properties we found online, so we went to see those houses before the end of the day. Sunday was just about the same routine – we looked for more rental properties and drove around. Actually 3 properties made the cut so far – one is on a narrow strip of land, just short of an acre, on a lake (with a private dock), the other one is a meticulous house and yard on 0.75 acre at the perimeter of town, and the last one was a real country setting on an island, sitting on 9 acres of mature forest.

The problem is this – the meticulous house is on the higher range of our budget and probably not available (contract pending). The lake house – is in a ‘so so’ school district, and the one on the island has a transportation problem, as the only way to get in and out of the island is by Ferry, which could be a problem in rush hour.

So we might still go back to the drawing board and continue looking around.

I took Patti this morning to the office. She was a little nervous, but excited to start her new job. It has been a while since Patti dressed up and went to work (well, for a week there in KS, was actually the last time). Shortly Patti will be back and I am anxious to know how was her day, but that will probably be in the next post..

Believe it or now (This is aimed to myself), things are actually moving and changing!

By tomorrow I hope to find the house of choice, in between my work that is piling up. Wednesday I will fly back to CA, hopefully get my truck back and wait impatiently to join Patti back here in WA, after school is over.

How was Patti’s first day? Did we find our dream house? How was the trip back to CA? All in the next post of… The TraveLiving Journey!