Wow, so it has been a busy past couple of weeks! The action started mid-July when Laurie’s sister and family came to Columbus for a visit. We went to the conservatory, then the zoo, and after a fun week with family had to say some goodbyes. It's strange to think that our niece will be three years old when we see her again, I guess we will have to watch her grow up through Skype.
Later that week, we finally crated the cats and flew them down to West Palm Beach Florida. For those of you who do not live in the mid-West and aren’t following the news… this was smack in the middle of what was recorded as some of the hottest days of year with heat indexes as high as 107F. Of course this gave us concern, because the max. temperature limits (according to the USDA) for animals is 85F. Luckily for us, Delta Cargo has a summer live animal program (the only airline with a summer program) that requires special temperature controlled vehicles and time limits to allow for safe transport of animals during airplane loading, unloading, and while sitting on the run-way. To make a long story, short… the cats arrived in West Palm a little shocked but nothing out of the ordinary for a 10-hour flight (there was a 5-hour layover in Atlanta - Laurie and I flew Airtran and our flight was only 2.5 hours). In the end the process was seamless (go Delta Cargo!) and did not require nearly the amount of thought we put into it. Once in Florida, at Laurie’s mother’s house, the cats were somewhat disoriented and are slowly adapting to their new home (or so we hear from the reports). All-in-all, we had a relaxing time in Florida, enjoying time with the family, and soaking up the cooler weather (yes you read that correctly, Columbus was actually hotter than Florida). Of course coming home to no cats in the house is something that will take a little time to get used to.
Back in Columbus, later in the week, I finished my last 2 days of work, transitioned my projects over to colleagues, went to an office going-away lunch, and said all my goodbyes. Yes, this means freedom from a job for the next 2 months! However, that also means that we now need to start packing up the house and preparing our possessions for our 27 month adventure. Laurie and I, hit the ground running… we began by packing up the living room and dining room.
We also started the process of selling our cars. On the day we originally wanted to bring the cars in to get appraised, we had to take one of them in to an auto shop since the indicator lights on the dashboard were going off like a disco ball. This was aggravating since we wanted to sell the car, but we were concerned that the malfunctioning safety lights would probably dissuade any normal buyer. It was any easy, albeit more costly fix than anticipated (replaced alternator and battery). The next day we woke up early and got our cars detailed. Afterward we took them both to Carmax to be appraised. As we anxiously awaited the outcome, we discussed possible scenarios that depended on how good the offers are compared to how much we owed and to the blue book price. One thought was we could keep a car in storage in my parents’ garage in Pittsburgh (of course my sister would have to drive it periodically to prevent it from “rotting”). This idea creates some unease, since no one I have ever talked has had a good experience with storing a car for a long time. We would likely have to have some work done when we return as a result. In the end Carmax offered more money than we had anticipated for the vehicles and we have decided to sell both cars, we actually sold Laurie’s car on the spot. Yet another step in the process that was not worth worrying about (this is starting to be a common theme in this Peace Corps experience!!!)
Well that’s about it for now. We of course have many fun things planned for August. Including a family trip to Hawaii (yes, life not working is that good), packing, a garage sale, more packing and moving to Cleveland! We look forward to updating you all on our progress.
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