Days 29 - 34. Goodbye USA!

Days 29 – 34

This is the last post with respect to our time in the USA. That does not necessarily mean it is our last post all together. We have a lot to do in our new home (we have already arrived) and may continue to blog about our new chapter here in the UK.

Days 29 – 32 (VT)

After a stressful day yesterday it was nice to wake and know we didn’t have to go anywhere for a few days.

Here we relaxed, ate wonderful home-cooked meals, and enjoyed the company of our old friends. Unfortunately Mayzie (n/k/a Gimpy) could only sit on the couch. Me and the boys, however, were more fortunate. With the company of Jesse and Jansen the five boys enjoyed the Alpine slide, playing in the river, and playing in the bouncy houses.

Jesse and I also went to see the latest Batman movie. This was just a few days following the idiocy of the movies’ opening in Aurora, CO (Just a short hours drive from our former home) and the tragedy which accompanied it. It was strange to be searched (visually) when entering the theater. I do hope this is not a sign of the times, but I fear it may be.

We were carrying too much stuff to take with us to England on the plane, we therefore needed to ship some more of our belongings.

In an effort to not clutter up the house, I decided to pitch the tent and store our stuff inside. I could then sort through and ship that which we didn’t need. However, I didn’t fully peg out the tent; the weather was nice.

Then the wind and rain came. The tent got flipped over and the contents drenched. Jesse and I threw the tent and contents into the basement and with the aid of a makeshift drying line and two de-humidifiers began the drying process. Fortunately most was dried within 24 hours and our shipping was completed.

Ryan and Jansen played very well together, especially with some game on the iPad where they can grow dragons and trade gems. Hopefully they can continue their friendship internationally, although Ryan has been trying to send Jansen some gems, but for some reason they are not going through? We also purchased a fancy Velcro/neoprene boot for Gimpy, and she is much happier with it.

We sadly said goodbye to the Hills and headed to Boston. Within 20 minutes of leaving the house we narrowly missed a car accident when some moron decided to make a left turn just as I was driving by. It was the first time in earnest that I have used the brakes, luckily they were there when I needed them. The rest of the drive continued without interruption. Several more drivers waved and honked at the car, I guess they were pleased to see “Destination Boston!”

We checked into the hotel and conveniently were given a room farthest from the elevator. Gimpy was not happy.

Days 33-34

With Gimpy unable to do much we spent Thursday in the hotel room. I packed the bags ready for the flight. Our total baggage consisted of 6 checked bags, carrying 5; along with a car seat and a booster seat – making the checked item total 8. The flight is not going to be fun.

We headed to the Texas Road House for our last meal in the USA, our last supper if you will, and obtained some breakfast items from Panera in preparation for our early start. After dealing with the car we went to bed.

Alarms woke us at 4:30. We dressed and headed to the airport. It was very reassuring to be greeted by a skycap who promptly asked if we required a wheelchair too. After checking our bags, the porter wheeled Gimpy; and Ryan, Tim, and I carried the bags.

Fortunately we bypassed the long line for security because of Gimpy and went straight to the front of the line. By the time we arrived at our gate we were about 2 hours early for our flight.

Because of Gimpy, again, we moved to the front of the line when boarding. I think we might have to keep the foot brace and inadvertently break (or severely sprain) an ankle every-time we fly!

Fortunately the plane was only about 2/3 full and the lady and gentleman sat next to Gimpy were gratuitous enough to move seats so that she could have the three seats to herself and stretch out.

The plane backed out and we said goodbye to the USA.

I am sure our paths will cross again, just not sure when or for how long?

Our beginning mileage:

(54362)

Our ending mileage:

(60173)

Therefore we travelled 5811 miles in 5 weeks. We averaged about 20 miles per gallon.



Goodbye America. You have been good to us. Let the new chapter of our lives begin!