We were so excited to close on our condo February 12th! It really made this crazy dream of ours feel like it was becoming a reality. We were still in Florida at the time and had a few things that were going to keep us in Florida until after March 3rd. As the days ticked away and we were completely anxious to finally see our new home, we decided to sell our P!nk concert tickets so we could head up early. Anyone who knows me, knows I love me some P!nk and I am a sucker for live music. This was not a decision made lightly. It was just time to get settled in our own space and start living our dream!
One of our last stops in Florida was Tampa so I could work a day and a half in the Tampa office. It is always good to get some face time with colleagues I only speak to occasionally over the phone. It can be hard to stay connected as a remote, super flex colleague. After that we were heading to Sarasota to see a few friends and family before heading north. As we were leaving Tampa the good ole' Florida rain started and we quickly realized the roof storage bag we bought that strapped through the inside of our car was not meant for heavy rain. As the water started coming in on the straps and dripping on both girls we were slightly panicked. Luckily I was already sitting in the back
since we were eating in the car. I held what ever I could find over both of them to keep them dry. We thought the water had stopped coming in so we left the bag strapped to the roof. Then the rain started again and it was like a waterfall into our car. We were pulling out car seats, washing & drying the seat covers. It was a nightmare. We knew we were going to have to get crossbars before making the drive to NC. We couldn't chance this situation again.
Since we shortened our Sarasota stay we planned a last minute get together to see as
many friends as possible and we are so grateful to everyone who came out to say hello (and good-bye for now). We enjoyed lots of time with family and after a quick stop by our accountants office (because we still have to adult once in a while) we were headed to Wesley Chapel Hyundai to get crossbars for the roof of our car. While it took a little longer than expected, the staff was incredible, they installed the crossbars and washed our car. While it definitely put us behind schedule, we knew it had to be done. Not money we wanted to spend but money well spent. My wonderful hubby put the final straps on the new cross bars and we were heading to Gainesville to see Great Grandma on our way out of Florida!
We had plans to eat lunch with Great Grandma which turned into a very late lunch. We were very much looking forward to our visit especially since she would just be meeting our youngest for the first time. We felt terrible not getting there until much later than anticipated. By some miracle we did not have any meltdowns even though we did not get there or eat lunch until almost 2:00 pm. I am going to put that in the win column! The girls had a great time playing on the floor, getting rides in the walker and sitting with Great Grandma. While we didn't get to stay as long as we would have liked, we are so glad we were able to stop.
Still being in Florida after 3:00 pm did not feel like a successful start to our trip. We were
staying positive though, we had already planned on having a late night of driving and getting a hotel on the way up so at least we were on our way. Seeing the "Thank you for visiting Florida" sign seemed different this time around even though I have seen this sign many times on other vacations. This time we actually were visitors. We stopped at our favorite rest stop in Georgia. Seriously the Brunswick exit has everything in one stop gas, Subway, Starbucks, Burger King and most importantly nice bathrooms. All of this at one location! We got back on the road again and made it just north of Columbia. We stayed at an Extended Stay America who only had a suite available and I think it was bigger than our new condo. Super inexpensive and while we didn't need the space, we weren't going to complain! We headed out the next morning and we were only a few hours away to get to Beech Mountain. Everything was going great and we were getting very excited to be getting so close. All of a sudden we look back to see our sweet little Austen was projectile vomiting all over herself and the car seat. We quickly found a safe place to pull over, got her out (in the rain) stripped her down, got her cleaned up and back in warm clothes. We were like a race car pit crew with how quickly we were moving. We felt so bad for her but she was such a trooper! We couldn't have gone more than 100 ft when we got back on the road when we saw the North Carolina border sign. We looked at each other with the same thought...could this possibly be a bad omen?!? Fortunately, we made it the rest of the way to Beech Mountain incident free.
The first thing we did when we got into our new place was take a moment to stop and enjoy the view from our patio. Then back to unpacking the car and planning our renovations. We knew painting would be one of the first to do items. We wanted to get that done before our stuff was dropped off by the movers. In between painting we were enjoying every moment of our new home and city. The first week we had bi polar weather going from spring like days to snow, the snow melting, back to spring and snow again. Being new to this kind of weather we were taking advantage and playing in the snow every chance we got! The weather was all over the place but that did not take away from the beauty all around us.
Our second week we got our first visitors and were also getting our stuff delivered from the moving company. As we were preparing for the movers and the girls were playing at my parents rental unit, all of the lights go out. From what we can tell the whole complex lost electricity. We then get a call from the movers that they are at our gate but can't get in because the electricity is out. Just when we thought our luck was changing, what kind of timing is that! We walk up to the front of our complex and were luckily able to get maintenance to manually lift the gate. As they start getting our first few boxes in the condo we get a phone call from the front office saying our moving truck hit the wire and that is what took the power out. Then maintenance stops by because the electric company wants to talk to the driver. It was chaos, apparently no one could leave the complex because the pole was down across the road. The movers were very nice and professional and while this was chaotic we did not at all blame them. We even had them stay and eat lunch with us since they couldn't leave the complex anyways.
All the mishaps aside we were glad to have all of our stuff and start to get organized. Finally able to make our new space our home! Now having said that, it was very overwhelming getting our belongings and realizing while we did purge quite a bit before we sold our house in Florida, there was still so much that had to go. We simply do not
have the space just to keep things we might possibly use one day. We said goodbye to my parents as they headed back to Florida. That night as we were getting more things put away, we noticed water on the floor. Thinking we just spilled some water, Brant went to wipe it up when more water came up through the floor. Oy vey! Seriously! We turn off the water. Brant gets up a few pieces of the floor board that are soaked and now what?!
We are not plumbers by any stretch of the imagination. The good thing about living in a condo is that you have help. The security guard (who is also quite handy) came right over and knew exactly where the pipes would be in the wall. He called the on call maintenance guy. He came back up to the complex and they both stayed until after 11 at night working on getting the 3 leaks in the wall fixed. They brought an industrial fan to get everything dried out. Not exactly appealing to look at or convenient when you are still unpacking and things are everywhere. Maintenance was back the next few days to get everything cleaned up and our wall put back together. What a mess! Not to mention a loud fan in a small space with two little girls to keep from touching. It was all a bit stressful but manageable. We are so grateful to the staff for their quick response!
While it wasn't the start that we planned or had hoped for, if those are the worst things that happen during our transition to a new lifestyle we our in good shape. Living the dream ain't always easy but nothing is going to keep us down. We are living life on our terms. We absolutely love where we live and take in all of the natural beauty around us every chance we get. We can't wait to start hiking once this weather figures itself out. We are so happy to be a part of this community. Everyone has been so nice and welcoming. Now we continue making our house a home and exploring right in our back yard! Stay tuned for before and after photos once we get all of our renovations complete.
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