Packing up and Heading Out

We are getting down to the wire with one week to go before our house closes and the moving vans arrive. Last weekend we had our Door to Door storage pods come - we loaded them up with all the things we were NOT taking to the UK. So many people have asked how we are deciding what to bring and what not to bring? Are we bringing our car? Stella? Where are you going to live? How do you decide? First let's answer the questions:

1. Homes in the UK are MUCH smaller than they are here so we need to be aware of what we are bringing...but is that stopping us from bringing our big ASS sectional and another couch? NO! Not sure where all of our stuff is going to fit. But I will say we are only bringing about half of our stuff.

2. Not taking cars...too big. Also from what we hear it is helpful to have the steering wheel on the other side of the car which makes driving on the other side of the road more like driving here...huh?

3. Stella...sigh.That was a tough decision but in the end we decided to have her go stay with our great friends, Kelly and Dave, while we are gone. We figured with the amount of travel we would like to do, she would end up in a kennel a lot and we just don't have the network of people over there who would be willing to watch her. I am going to miss my running/hiking buddy so much. Stella leaves for Vail (swanky, she will feel right at home) on Feb. 23.

4. Not sure where we are going to live at this point. I will meet Pete over there on March 12 for a 5 day house hunting trip. Microsoft's office is located about 30 miles West of London so we are shooting for somewhere in between. Towns around there you may have heard of are
Windsor (near Windsor Castle), Ascot (horse races), Henley on the Thames (rowing mecca of the UK), Marlow, Sunninghill/Sunningdale and Virginia Water. Going to visit will be great as I have no idea whether a town I "like" is Issaquah like or could be the equivalent of Tacoma/Federal Way (sorry friends fro Tacoma!). We will definately be renting so anything goes- a flat, a suburban close (cul-de-sac), rural or more city living...who knows. We are game for anything!
Back to the storage PODS. Pete was able to put one of his best skills to use that weekend...packing. He can pack anything...as suitcase, a car trunk, and now a storage pod. He inherited this valuable skill from his father, Big Bob Davis. That man could pack ice into a hot oven. So I thank my father in law for passing a long this skill as it was invaluable for getting all of our S^%t into the POD.

So now my job is to separate our remaining stuff into piles...what is going to Sun Valley for the 1-2 weeks we are there, what is going by AIR to the UK (2 week arrival time) and what is going via SHIP (5-6 weeks arrival time). Need clothes/shoes for skiing in SV, sleeping bags as we squat at friend's houses after our house closes, clothes for the UK when we arrive, and things for the kids to do as there will be no TV/XBox hook ups for quite some time.


As of today, Feb. 20, Pete has not left yet! It's a long story, but the gist is that he was to leave on Feb. 17 on a one way ticket to London. Flight delayed three hours and then ultimately cancelled. Rescheduled for Feb. 19 at 2 AM. Sounded suspicious and it was. He arrived at the airport to find a lot of people waiting to check in to British Airways but no British Airways gate agents. No agents = no planes apparently. So back home by 1 AM. He is now scheduled to go out today, Feb. 20. Fingers crossed. We have all said goodbye to one another twice now and at this point I think we all want him to get started with the first part of our new adventure. We will miss him a ton but as Henry says, "I am just thinking of this as a business trip. One that we get to go on to visit and end of staying." So adaptable that kid! Safe travels to Pete!