Our Adventure to San Diego

Ok, the whole story in Cliffnotes:

My last day of work in Harrison was 5/10/11,  I already really miss all of my co-workers, very very much :-( 
On 5/11 the packers came to pack the house,  I was not really prepared and it was a mad scramble to get the essentials we would need for at least 2 weeks of hotel and suitcase living, tossed into the van, before the tossed it into a box.  They were done with our entire house in less than 8 hours...it was unbelievable!! We stayed that night in a hotel in Harrison, and we got to lounge by the pool and in the hot tub for the evening.  Camille went to church for last time, came home with puffy eyes, but handled it like a trooper. I think the upcoming changes and excitment weighed out the sadness, although she does miss her friends, and is chomping at the bit to get somewhere that she can meet some peers.  Wednesday was also Aidens last day at school.  He misses his teacher the most.  He will finally sit down and write them a letter today!  Lilli-Kate went to the daycare all day Wed and Thurs, as she is NOT tolerating the changes very well at all!!

Thursday 5/12/11 the moving truck came, and it took them longer to load the truck, than it did to pack the house, despite what I had been told before hand.  This apparently was due to The driver being a bit lazy, didnt want to help with the loading, but checked progress every so often, yelled at the packers, about the placement of things and made them pull everything out and repack to his liking!  GHRR, the packers were not happy and neither was I, as this was taking away from my driving time. I also received a very upsetting phone call early in the morning that distressed me most of the morning.  The realty company (remax) who managed the rental house we had been living in, told the owner of the home that we were not going to pay rent, which was not true, as well as several other things that were not accurate. The details are not important, however it just so happened that the owner of the home is married to a Lt. Colonel in the national guard reserves or something like that.  So he called my cell phone and proceeded to threaten "coming down on Daniel so hard, he wouldnt know what hit him" "he had already found D's command" "it would not be good to start out that way as a new guy in the service" and on and on and on.  "he doesnt normally get involved but when his wife tells him someone is going to skip out on rent, it really ticks him off, and he is an attorney as well" "I needed to get in touch with D right away and pass along this message".  It was rough, I was upset on so many levels.  The realty company came in and took pictures of every little detail that was wrong with the dump, we lived in to pass on to the owner, and because we didnt take pictures or document the issues prior to our move in, we would be held responsible for them.  And the house "better be clean" and "are you gonna shampoo the carpets, it stinks in here, and the house hasnt been presentable to show, and nothing could be repaired because of all the 'stuff"', the ladies were total B@#$%^%!  I was bawling, the kids were freaking, the movers were fighting, and I couldnt reach Daniel!!  I think what upset me most is that because the owners have military connection, they will probably take us for every penny they can get out of us to make repairs on that horrible slum!  However, once I calmed down, I realized that the man was totally out of line to pull rank like that, and to take it out on me to begin with. Once I got to talk to D he reassured me of this.  He spoke with his command after they noticed something was wrong the next day,  who supported us and said "if he calls me again for any reason I am to get his number and give it to D, and they would take care of it".  The last thing I wanted to do was distract or upset D but it is nice to know we have support.  After all they have "money and time invested" in Ds success, and he definately is succeeding. He has been voted second in his class by his peers, only topped by a sailor who has been through this entire phase in the course previously :-). But who would have ever thought otherwise???
Anyways, we finally got on the road about 1630,  didnt get much driving time in before we had to stop in oklahoma, we were all exhausted.  We spent the whole day cleaning the house as the movers pulled stuff out,  I ended up having to hire a very wonderful lady from work, to get in and do the yard and haul stuff off to the dump.  I am so grateful she was able to help on such short notice! Thanks Sparky!

Before we got out of Ar. we took these uplifting photos. The first I called the Light at the End of My Tunnel, and the other two were an interesting cloud we called The Wave cloud we were riding into San Diego :)

The trip was pretty un eventful, the kids were great!  Lil didnt fuss at all the whole way, she travels very well.  They all entertained themselves.  We saw Snow covered mountains in the middle of The Desert, Albuquerque (sp).

We were excited about seeing a real Desert of sand in southern Ca, and Then got to see the Border fence of Mexico.  We went through several borderpatrol stops and alot of toll booths in Ok.  Camille thought we would go broke with all the tolls :).

California also has Huge mountains made of piles of Rocks??? Almost like the were bulldozed into piles, except the are way to large for that?  When we entered into the mountains, about 65 miles out of San Diego, we thought "we are gonna get to the top of theses mountains we will look down and see a sprawling city and the coast.....boy we were wrong!!! the mountains go on and on and on.  You actually weave through the mountains to descent into the city, but the city is mountains?  We were shocked!  Couldnt even see the coast until we got onto Coronado island. 

Lilli-kates firt beach experience was a success.  She was kinda in shock at seeing Daddy after so long. She was very happy.  These pictures are on the Bay side of the island.  Pixie was elated to be out of the car and loved the water more than anyone, wich is totally suprising, as she is the dog that RUNS from the word "bath".

We stayed on the island for 3 nights, Walked the quaint little town and ate some great seafood!   Monday I had a bit of difficulty getting my ID, due to a paperwork messup and once again had to depend on Ds command to help us out.  D was able to get out of training a bit to escort me to the ID lab on his base.  Which was much more efficient and quick than trying to deal with the busy id lab and PSD on the main land.  Luckily he is doing so well, and they were not worried about him missing a beach run.  Without my ID, I could not get on base to get stickers so I could get on base, kinda a catch 22.  I also could not get through the gate to the housing office to get us a home.  So we paid for an extra night and Cheif Gomez came to my rescue again :-)  I Went to the housing office and found out that there was only 1 home available that we could get into for one reason and another.  God blessed us,  It happened to be one we had been watching on the military housing website.  4 bedroom 2.5 bath, townhome, garage, fenced yard, NEX and walmart nearby, along with all other shopping needs.  Only 10 minutes from the island, not far off the interstate.  Military housing so lots of kids, pool at complex, fitness center and rentable clubhouse.  School within walking distance.  We counldn't be happier.  The only catch is we cant move in until 5/24/11.  So we are staying at the Extended Stay America for a week. Oh and our stuff was supposed to arrive on the 23rd, so it has to be put in storage until a company can deliver it to us on the 26th, Oh Well what is 2 more days?
 Had to have Ds command bail us out again, as I found out that housing will not let me sign a lease for housing without 2 kinds of POA a General and a Special one that has a specific statement regarding allotments and payments,  GHRR.  Anyways SWCC worked their magic and I had 3 POAs to cover all possible issues, by the next day!  I have a Thank You card waiting to go back with D on Monday to give to our Angel, Chief Gomez.
 I also have one for a gentleman that works at the housing office, I have been talking with him for several months, asking questions and getting info. He has been very patient, always quick to return my calls and find answers for me. When I finally got into the housing office he stuck with me through the whole proccess, pulled some strings to get us our house, and made a bunch of calls to get us set up here in the Hotel.  Although the extra Hotel expenses have depleted our savings,  we are making it and still very happy to be here closer to D.  Money will be tight for a while and we will only be doing "Free" sightseeing, until I get a job, but we have plenty of time for all that.  Next week, will be Getting all my papers, resume, certifications and such inline for the dreaded job hunt.  I wanted to get to stay home with the kids, but a part-time job is a must I think:-)  We are all happy and ready to get settled, Tonight We will pick up D for the weekend, and go enjoy a very cheap but much talked about mexican resturaunt down south of the island.  It is supposed to be fabulous!!  Lilli-Kate has aquired a pretty rough cold in the last 2 days, and we are worried about giving it to D, as this may hinder his training, but I suppose there is no help for it. 
Until next time, with Love
Laurie