In the Condo

After much drama, we closed on the condo May 14th. I have to say that Marilyn McAlister is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G - particularly compared to what we experienced for this close. Organization was completely absent - 10 conversations, no one really paying attention to us, no clarity on the final numbers - stress, stress, stress. In the end, we had keys and we were moving in!

Ok - not really moving in, but moving a few shopping bags of stuff from the last temp place to our condo. Regardless, it was ours! Yippee!!

As you know from an earlier post, we planned a trip to Atlanta to pick up some stuff and see friends. In true MacFarlane style, we crammed as much as possible into the two days we were there. El Torrero with Rach, Matt & Dan, started the evening on Friday. We returned to Casa MacFarlane for one of the better dance party evenings we've had. There are pictures, but I'm fairly certain the aforementioned friends would no longer be friends if I shared!

On Saturday, we threw an impromptu cookout. It was doggie central - Abbey (Matt & Dan), Tanner (Dixon & Vanessa), and Araya (Christian, Elizabeth, & Vanessa). It was the perfect spring day - warm temps, nice breeze, clear Carolina blue skies. It was one of those days that sells you on the South. That evening, neighbors on the street threw a party for the street. It was a good opportunity to catch up with some folks that we haven't seen in a while. Due to the dance party on Friday, we didn't last long.

Sunday morning, we packed up and started the drive to NYC - in the killer Caravan. Justin's first comment was "we have way more room that needed." That tune quickly changed to "crap, how are we going to fit everything in AND have room for the kitties?!?!". Well, we managed to fit everything in probably one of the more awkward moves to date.

We said goodbye to Matt and Dan, and hit the road. First stop, Greensboro, NC. When we drove up, Terry comes out saying "no, no, you can't have them!" Clear to see that Syd and Mel found a place in their hearts. We hung out a bit, had a quick snack and then rounded up the munchkins. Then we were off again.

Our goal was to get past DC. We achieved that and them some - almost reaching Baltimore. One funny story here is that we used the GPS system for the best route. This route would only be the best route at 9pm on a Sunday evening. I'm sure that at any other time and day, traffic would be a nightmare. The cool thing was that we had a drive-by tour of the major monuments - The Jefferson Memorial, the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, the new Airforce monument (which is very very cool). Then the ride became interesting - we ended up driving through a part of town that probably doesn't make the guide books.

As mentioned earlier, we stopped just south of Baltimore - once we finally found a hotel with vacancy and pet-friendly. Let's just say, we were glad that we were only there for a few hours. I think the kitties felt the same way.

Monday morning, we hit the road for the final leg. We reached NYC around 1:30 pm - unpacked the minivan and "moved in". Moved in is a stretch, we took all of our shopping bags and put them in our empty living room. The kitties were freaked - they explored and sniffed every corner.

Regardless, we all made it. Now to make this place comfortable. :)