To Seattle
We made it to Seattle in one piece! The packing and move out was pretty straightforward. Our place was a complete wreck for a few days:
and then the moving people came and everything just disappeared:
We stayed in Reading at my mom’s house for a few days and saw the sights:
and we spent some time with some family before our big move:
Saturday, October 3rd was the big day for flying out. We got up early and took our stuff and cats to Claudia and John’s house. From there, we took two cars with all of our stuff to Newark International Airport.
We chose Newark because they had both non-stop flights to Seattle and provided a place for pets to fly in the cargo compartment of the plane. We spent weeks and money making sure we had everything setup properly with the cats to fly which included getting special collars, vaccinations, health checks, heavy-duty carriers, etc.
When we got to Newark we were told that the health certificates were missing some information and the cats could not fly. We had to call John and have him come back to Newark to pick up the cats and take them home. We were pretty upset and frustrated that this didn’t work out.
The cats are now staying at my mom’s house where I’ve heard they’re making themselves at home. Our plan is to fly them out here at some point although the details are still up in the air.
With the exception of the cat snafu, the flight out was uneventful. Claire was a super little trooper throughout this whole relocation. She is amazing. She got a bit restless during some of the flight but we were able to distract her and let walk the aisle to expend some energy. The passengers generally didn’t seem to mind.
One amazing thing about the flight out was that Continental offered a “free” in-flight meal. I didn’t realize airlines still did this. We were fed a hot Turkey Dog which was perhaps the grossest food I have ever seen:
I was absolutely starving and it was absolutely disgusting.
When we landed we picked up our rental car and drove to our temporary housing facility. The place is pretty nice and is near downtown. Claire likes the elevator and running up and down the halls. We realized fairly quickly that this area is not really where we want to live; it doesn’t seem very family friendly.
We did find Ballard to be a cute town that isn’t too far away from downtown. We found a three-bedroom apartment in Ballard just a few blocks away from the main drag (Market St):
Housing and the real-estate market of the Seattle area is a strange thing that I’m still trying to understand. I have a lot to say about it but it’s off-topic for this post. Season and I are just glad to be living someplace where we a) can walk to get basic necessities, b) have some space, and c) are not paying a ton in rent.
We move in on Friday the 9th. I start work on the 12th. This weekend is going to be busy and I hope to get some pictures up here after we’re a little bit settled.
