We're in Washington...

Hello? Anybody out there? Moving away from Washington has been a very emotional thing for me, and the last few days have been a little rough. I thought maybe since you all know how to make comments now that we'd have a ton...So if you are out there, maybe make a little postie so I know you all still care.

Now down to the business. We're in Washington...D.C. that is. We flew in yesterday afternoon got our bags and everything just fine, and had dinner with Grammy, Christy, Doug, Mary, Lizzie, and 2 dogs that Christy is taking care of. It was almost a bit of an overload, but definitely a great welcome.

Today George and I got up early (I don't believe in jetlag) and went down to the national mall area to get the cancellations for our Passport to the National Parks. We did a lot of walking, saw the Washington Monument, the Constitution Gardens, the Monument to the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Old Post Office Tower, Ford's Theatre where Lincoln was shot, the Petersen house where Lincoln died, and squeezed in a little browsing at H&M. It was a long, long day. The biggest surprise was that at the visitor center for the Washington Monument they had all the cancellation stamps for all of these sites and more, so we got about a dozen right there in one stop. They didn't have the White House stamp, so we also went to the White House visitor center to get it. It was a pretty great day, sunny, a balmy 50 degrees, and now I might need a nap.

I still miss Washington and everybody there!!

How to post a comment

UPDATE: So, apparently the instructions below will only work if you create an account with Blogger (or if you already have a Google/Gmail account). If you want to post as anything other than Anonymous, you will have to create an account. Apologies for dragging you into yet another useless website profile.

Of course, you can always post as Anonymous and sign your name at the bottom, the good old fashioned way.

We've been getting some in-person comments about having trouble posting comments on our blog. So here's a little how-to, since it's not exactly user friendly.

1. At the bottom of a post, click the "# comments" link to view existing comments.
2. At the bottom of the comments page, write your heart out in the blank comment field.
3. Click the "Comment as" drop-down menu below the comment field, select "Name/URL," enter your name (URL is not required), click Continue, and then click Post Comment to finish.

That should take care of any commenting woes. I would say post a comment if you have any questions, but in this particular case, an email might be more appropriate.

A Christmas Miracle!

This morning, on our way to the airport, Christmas was ruined. Our flight to the Tri-Cities was canceled. My mom called while we were one the way to the airport. Luckily, we hadn't made it out of Puyallup yet, so we just went back home. We tried calling the ticket desk for while, and I looked up flights online, but it looked like everything going to Pasco was booked until after Christmas. We considered going Greyhound for a few seconds until we heard about what they did to customers in Seattle yesterday: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattle911/archives/157653.asp

So I cried for a while, and then decided to go back to sleep so I wouldn't have to think about missing out on Christmas at home, and not getting to see my family before I move far far away.

And then George performed a Christmas miracle.

He came and woke me up with the good news that he booked us on flights, the last 2 spots available, and we had to hurry up and go because it was leaving in 2 hours! He booked me for this early flight, and booked himself a spot on a 6:30 flight. So we got to the airport, and had some difficulty checking in, but eventually got to the gate and waited...

and waited..

But it didn't get canceled, and about an hour late, I boarded the plane and hit the skys! Apparently the flight I was on was the first to land in Pasco in several days, and subsequently most of the luggage on board didn't belong to any of the passengers. (they have a huge pile of luggage at Sea-Tac just waiting to get to Pasco). And so my luggage never showed.

George on the other hand didn't get so lucky. They cancled his flight right before he was scheduled to go. The Seattle airport is really really messed up for a while. He's still there trying to get his suitcase back, and will probably end up driving over with Athena and Dan on Christmas Eve.

Getting home for Christmas really is something worth writing a song about. I hope the rest of you had an easier time of it!

Let it snow! (but not too much)

Hi! So it's been snowing quite a lot the past few days. So far it has only ruined some plans, but if it causes the cancellation of our flight to the Tri-Cities, it just might ruin Christmas.

Last night we were supposed to go up to Bellevue for our annual Peloquin/Kennedy Christmas Feast, but due to the imminent blizzard, we had to skip it. Since we don't have my 4wd Subaru anymore (They actually called and the car is now on it's way to VA!) we didn't think we could make it in George's car. I was definitely bummed to miss it because now I won't see my nephews and Matt and Wendy for a long time.

But tomorrow we fly to the Tri-Cities, and it's a good thing too, because I'm pretty sure the pass is closed, and even if it were open driving it would be treacherous.

We had a really lazy day today, but George and I got out for a walk and made a snow man. Enjoy!

It's beginning

Hey you out there in cyber space! Yesterday a packing man came around 8 in the morning to pack up all our stuff. It only took him 4 hours! We don't have a lot of stuff, but George and I both agreed that if either one of us had had to do that alone, it would have taken many more than just 4 hours. Tony the packing man was very efficient with the boxes, taping, and wrapping. He made it look easy.

So last night we headed over to the Woodward's where we'll be staying while we're still here. I've been anxiously awaiting a phone call today from the "A Across USA Auto Transport" company, who should be picking up my car tomorrow. This company has been a little sketchy from the start, so part of me would not be surprised if I never got the phone call. Last week when I was e-mailing to confirm the pick up date, the e-mail in reply simply said "12-19 driver will call to set up time." So I then had to ask for clarification about whether that meat, sometime between the 12th and the 19th, or whether it meant December 19th. This was the reply: "19th". Absolutely nothing like "thanks for you question" or "Please let me know how I can further assist you", or anything to make me feel like my car is safe with them. So...we'll see if I get a phone call tonight.

What's new with you?

This is a test

This is only a test. If this were a real emergency, please follow the instructions on your Television screen. Thank you, and have a safe day.

Yes, we made a blog

In preparation for our imminent internment at Lewisburg, PA, Eileen and I published a blog to satisfy inquisitive minds with updates on our rapidly changing situation.

I don't expect you'll be reading this until after we've made the move, so this post is rather useless. But if you are, check back in January and we'll actually have something to report!