Arriving at the Commonwealth

Well, were are finally making some progress with our lives: we are in Virginia! Since we are starting this new step I thought it might be nice to keep track of all the wondrous new things with a blog. I never thought I would start one because I am such a bad journal writer, but a little is better than nothing so here it is!

After 4 days of on-and-off driving for a total of 2,262 miles we made it to Virginia Beach with our 30 foot load. Jointly our favorite part of the drive was going through Kentucky and West Virginia amidst the Appalachian Mountains. It was just non-stop green deciduous forest. It was stunning. The drive wasn't too bad. Justin drove the entire way and I traded off reading Harry Potter aloud and listening to an episode series of Lord of the Rings.

After signing our lives away at the rental complex we started on the boxes. It only took Justin an hour and a half to get all the boxes out of the truck. Almost everything fit up the stairs that needed except our box spring. Justin had the awesome idea to lift it to the balcony where I held it until he reached the top to help me lift it up, over and in the bedroom. By the time we retired, we had our bed put together and most of the living room and kitchen unpacked.

We took it pretty easy the next day slowly putting things together and getting all the paperwork, insurance, bank stuff organized.

The American ship that from the War of 1812.
The line was super long and we were running
 short on time, so we weren't able to go
aboard this one.

The helm on the Mexican ship.

Saturday was pretty fun. We learned earlier that Hampton Roads area was having their OpSail event going on. This is where they have tall ships (old fashioned mast ships) parade in the inlets and dock for visitors to come aboard. They had ships from Mexico, Spain, Columbia, Indonesia and, of course, the USA, each with their native crew on board to help answer any questions. One of the ships was from the War of 1812 and another was confiscated from the Nazis after WWII. The best part is that this was all free! Justin and I drove over and took a look. It was really cool. They had people walking the streets in costumes of different eras that Virginia has seen since colonized. There were some performers and vendors up and down the streets. It was really quite enjoyable!

On Sunday we went to our new ward which was great! That day so happened to be their "Linger-Longer" activity, so we got to stay and get to know a few more people. The people were super nice and we are excited to be a part of the ward.

This is a pretty sweet looking lifeboat on the ship
from Mexico. The ship name is "Cuautemoc" but
I don't know how to pronounce it.

Now we are just talking things little by little. I am searching for a job and Justin is helping me out by searching for open positions as well. We a just hoping and praying that things will fall into place.