There and Back in a Flash

On Wednesday Andrew had a job offer, by Friday afternoon we had the Tahoe packed and were booking a room in Arlington, VA, so we could find an apartment in the DC/Maryland area.   Before bedtime I had just enough time to download a book on Overdrive and Audible.  We headed out at 4:45 AM on Saturday-Andrew at the wheel, Sophie in the middle seat and Cocoa right next to me.  I had to wait a while for it to be light enough to knit, so in the meantime I read Louise Penny's Bury Your Dead.  I somehow managed to skip #3, but this one is proving to be just as good as the others.  Eventually I was able to knit on the 2nd sock of a pair of plain vanilla socks, and listening to Bear Town.  Let's just say it's a very looonng drive from Atlanta to Arlington, VA.

 Finally dawn is breaking

 Yes, this was me and Cocoa on the way up and back home!  This dog likes to cuddle!  Sophie didn't complain since she had the whole middle seat to herself.

 The Shenandoah Valley is soo pretty.  I've never spent much time in Virginia-I really need to change that!

 A quick break at the welcome center-Sophie was so intent on keeping an eye on Andrew.  She knew something was upon Thursday, but she wasn't quite sure.

 11 hours later and we finally made it to Arlington, and to the storage unit where we dropped off about a good # of boxes.

 We headed out on Sunday around 8ish-not a great photo, but they all can't be right?!

 Sophie's first ride in an elevator-yea-she'd be totally okay if she doesn't do this again!

 Since the first property we wanted to look at didn't open until 12, we decided to take the dogs to the dog park, they really enjoyed having a chance to run around.  We explored Chevy Chase which was an area Andrew was considering, and while it is very nice, the housing is a little expensive and there wasn't a grocery store in sight!

 Sophie and Cocoa by the time we got to the 2nd apartment!  These two actually did really well considering how we upended their schedule.

 The 4th apartment was our favorite, and we're waiting for approval of the application  Such a nice kitchen and the counter across from the sink has a partial wall and cabinets above and below!  I so loved this place.

 The living "room"

The bedroom area-love that it is separate, but not completely closed off-the whole place seems to get plenty of light.  There is a huge closet in this area too.

 The bathroom-also with plenty of storage space.  Another thing we liked about this building was how very dog friendly it is; they even let the dogs swim in the pool right before they drain it for the season, and have a dog costume party at Halloween!  They also support the local food bank and Toys for Tots.  The Metro, Safeway [for groceries] and plenty of ethnic/unique restaurants are all within a couple blocks from the building.

 We quickly dashed around metro DC.

While it seemed really late we were back at the hotel by 6-ish.  We got salads from a restaurant close by the hotel, and I kitchenered the toes of the socks and can now call them-DONE!

I spent a little time getting caught up on some blog reading before turning in for the day.  Monday morning dawned with the local news showing the implosion of the Georgia Dome-I found this so funny.

We had breakfast and then packed up the car and heading south hoping to make a stop at another dog park, but there was no parking.  Instead we hit the interstate for the long ride home.  I managed to get all the way to the foot of another 2nd sock from a pair that Mary gave me last year to finish.  I started this 2nd sock at least 8 times before I felt like I had it right.  I'm pretty sure I'll get this finished by the weekend, and that'll leave me to complete a 2nd mitten and finish a baby sweater.  Empty needles is what I want before the end of the year.  I'm hoping that soon I can swatch for Taproot so I can have this for my plane/travel knitting for a trip I have in early January to Las Vegas-guaranteed a lot of knitting time!

By 5:00 we were at the midway point.  We pulled into Dunwoody at 10:00 and I was so tired.  I headed straight to bed so I could be at work on Tuesday.  It's going to be different having Andrew so far away, but I'm looking forward to being able to visit and see the sights in DC.  It's been a long time since the last visit when both boys were very little. I'm also looking forward to trying some of the restaurants too.

Here's to baby birds flying the nest!