Long overdue update – Westward, Ho!

Long time coming, an update is due.

Since the last post (with the cute elephant orphanage photos), I’ve been back to Africa (even going by road 1500 miles from Nampula, Mozambique to Lusaka, Zambia via Chimoio and Chipata.)  And then August was largely taken up with a big move from the greater Washington, DC area, where we have lived since 1999, to the greater Seattle area, over 3,000 miles away.

It took a bit longer than expected to pack up the house and get some contracting work done around the house to prepare it for the rental market.  (I put in a new mailbox post!)

The figs at the house were in season, so I snacked on figs while getting all of the last minute details attended to.  Goodbye house (AND, just 4 weeks later, we have it rented out!  Fantastic!)

As a side note, Alexandria, VA was our fourth residence in the greater Washington, DC area.  We had rented our first apartment in Columbia, MD sight unseen before we had even left Waukee, IA.  After moving there, I ended up with a job in downtown DC, so moved to an apartment in Greenbelt, as soon as it was convenient and the rental agreement was up for renewal.  We bought our first townhouse in Greenbelt, MD and really enjoyed that neighborhood with Greenbelt National Park, the many walking paths into old town, the $5 matinee movie theatre, and Buddy Attick Park, to name just a few of the favorite features.  We moved to our Alexandria home in 2008.

I was lucky to not have a set schedule in August and was able to get everything finished and on the road the afternoon of August 26^th; driving a 26’ UHAUL truck with our Jeep Wrangler on a trailer behind.

The drive across the country was a breeze after the packing ordeal.  We stopped immediately upon departure to allow the girls (our two dogs) to say a final goodbye to the boarding kennel owner where they spent a great deal of time while I was traveling around with work.  She had packed them bandanas to look smart, and snacks for the road; she also wrote a note for any subsequent boarding we find here in our new home to introduce the girls and their personalities.  We will definitely miss Ellee and her operation – Cassiopeia’s Golden Legacy Kennel & Boarding.

AH (the husband) has a new job in Washington State, which is the main reason for the move; though the search for a new job was influenced in part by a desire to be a bit closer to our Oregon place for more frequent visits.  My job (or should I say work) for the last 5 years has been so flexible that I can do it pretty much from anywhere, though more on that in a subsequent post.

We are settling into a small (rather small and old – we are a bit spoiled now) rental house in Federal Way, in a very quiet neighborhood on Dumas Bay.  We have a very large lawn, with a view of Puget Sound and beach access (at least at low tide.)

 

I’ve already been out foraging a bit – picking blackberries around our yard as well as along the BPA trail, a frequent destination for walking the dogs; blueberries both in Tacoma and at a less well kept public park here in Federal Way, and apples from the yard and neighborhood.