Day 309 - Back in Gloucester Point!

Today is Thursday, January 26th and we arrived back to our temporary home on the boat on Monday night.  We actually left here three weeks ago on January 5th heading back to Bethesda to help Sherrie load up a truck and prepare for the drive to San Antonio.  It was a long 4 days, stressful at times with Mike driving the 16ft. Penske truck and Sherrie following in her car.  We were amazed at the number of 18wheelers on the road and I think we saw two of them for every car.  Lauren rode with Poppy most of the time and I rode with Sherrie and the two dogs in her small Buick.  We had to make stops every 2-3 hours for the dogs and to stretch.  The third night we stopped in Dallas and spent the night with Kelly and Brian in their small 18th floor apartment.  It was interesting to say the least.  Picture 6 adults and 3 dogs (one large, two small) in an 800 SF space.  Mike and I got the best of the deal as they gave us their bedroom with the most comfortable bed I've ever slept on.  The others slept on blow up mattresses. 

We arrived in San Antonio on Thursday, January 12th and unloaded into a very cute 2-story townhouse that Sherrie's mother and father-in-law had found for her in the Alamo Heights School District.  Also, she interviewed for and got a job back at Fort Sam in the Cole School District.  Things fell into place right away.  Lauren immediately reconnected with friends and felt right at home.  As we had scheduled several doctor appointments we stayed an additional week and were able to visit with family and try and get our fill of Mexican food before returning.

We left San Antonio on Saturday, January 21st in very warm sunny weather and arrived in D.C. to wet, freezing rain.  We stayed over with Chris until Monday morning and left for Virginia in the bitter cold.  I had previously promised Mike a stopover at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico which we did and if anyone ever has a chance to visit, I would highly recommend it.  They're going to expand it and expect it to be completed in two years.  While we were there, busloads of wounded warriors were there and it was the most heartbreaking thing to see!  Dozens of young men in wheelchairs with horrendous injuries.  I had to keep myself from crying in front of them.

We still have a few months here before heading north so we're trying to stay busy.  Mike has boat projects to complete and we go to the gym at Ft. Eustis 2-3 times a week.  I'm putting off knee surgery until we're off the boat permanently as it would be impossible to maneuver around after that.

That's all the news for today.  Stay tuned.