Unfortunately we only had a weekend to look at every house we possibly could and decide on the right house for us; this means that we had two days to travel and one day to "hunt". Can you imagine? One day to view and find your home for the next two years. You would not believe the amount of pressure and stress that put on us.
Needless to say, after a nine hour drive up from Kingsland, we made it to North Carolina.
As you may be able to tell from Ava's clothes, it is definitely colder up here! I have not been able to fully warm up since our arrival! Isn't it funny how this native Northern Illinoisan can be bothered by 30-40 degree weather?! I have lived down in Southern Georgia for so long that I was spoiled with the never ending warmth.
I must admit, I was a little concerned with the area once we arrived, but I told myself not to be so quick to judge considering it was after 7:00 p.m on a Friday night. All I could seem to pay attention to were all of the tattoo parlors and bars and that really made me nervous! It must have been my mother's defense/s flaring up. Haha.
Our first night in Jacksonville was pretty uneventful...it consisted of a trip to Target (yes! we do not have to drive over 20 minutes to go to the closest Target!), Taco Bell for dinner, and a night of watching American Pickers on the History Channel.
Today was the "big" day for us considering it was going to be nothing but being dedicated to viewing as many houses as daylight would allow us. I woke up feeling nervous and pretty pumped up; I have been telling myself to stay positive and it had gotten me amped. We had breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts because we all know how I can't seem to function properly without a frozen caramel coffee in my system.
Complete side note! Frozen coffee when it is below 30 degrees outside does NOT help you feel any warmer. I know, I know, my friends and family up North are probably going on and on about how it is below zero up there and your snot will freeze the second you step outside, but just bear with me.
So, I had coffee in my system, a positive attitude, and our binder full of houses to view and I was feeling good about the entire day. Brian had called our first realtor to confirm the appointment time to view the house (which was 9:30-9:45 am by the way) and we were told that she (the realtor) would meet us there.
We pull into the driveway and no one is there yet, cool, no big deal right? Brian and I are checking out the house from our car, discussing what we like from the outside, etc. etc. We look down at the clock on the dash and 9:45 am is fast approaching.
No realtor.
No problem, she could have just gotten caught up in traffic.
Brian gets out of the car and walks around the house and checks out the backyard, takes Bandit out to go to the bathroom, and gets back into the car.
It is almost 10:00 am.
No realtor.
Alright, I am starting to get annoyed and Ava is starting to get uncomfortable.
Brian calls the realtor and there is no answer.
Ok, now I am really starting to get irritated and Ava is fussing.
Realtor calls back and says that she will be there in 10 minutes.
10 minutes goes by.
We are distracted by a little Boy Scout walking around (he was not technically "little" but he could not have been more than 12-14 years old) wanting to talk to us about a food drive. We try explaining to him that we do not live at the house, that it is for rent and we are merely there to view it. He becomes very confused and extremely nervous, tells us to have a nice day, and then heads on to the next house.
Brian and I share a chuckle and then realized it has been more than 10 minutes and this realtor has still not shown up.
An hour has passed and we both decide to leave so we do not miss our next appointment.
Not even five minutes after we leave, the realtor calls.
Brian is very irritated and ignores her call.
She calls back 10 minutes later and Brian answers and explains to her that we could not wait any longer because we are only here for the day and have other appointments to see other houses. Her excuse as to why she was late was completely ridiculous and for her to have wasted our time like that was beyond unprofessional.
My positive thoughts went out the window and it was taking a lot of effort to maintain my calm. I kept thinking the worst because of this one realtor.
We arrived at the next house and the realtor had not yet arrived, so of course I assumed it was going to be the same thing all over again.
To my surprise the day took a turn for the better when the realtor arrived and we started viewing houses.
The first one had potential, but it did not feel like home to me.
The second, we fell in love with, but wanted to see more homes before making the ultimate decision.
The third, we met up with a second realtor (a different company) and the house completely creeped me out. Basically that was when Brian and I decided that we needed to up our maximum price range in order to find something nicer, but wouldn't break our budget.
The fourth, Brian looked at without me while I fed Ava. He said it was really nice and was definitely a possibility, but he liked the second house more.
The fifth, still has a tenant, but will be vacating very soon. I LOVED this house. I can not get it out of my head. I think that it may be "the one". Our only concern? Will the current tenant be out of the house in time for us to move in?
The sixth, we also really loved. It was not the fifth house, but I also can not get that one out of my head. Our only concern? The listing says, "Outdoor pets only". We are not quite sure what that exactly means so we are trying to contact the owner to find out.
The seventh and final house was nice, but was over half an hour away from base. It also did not have a back door and that worried me. I also would not have had a place to put our kitchen table.
After a day of house hunting we had some decisions to make; while we were discussing things, we decided to go on base to take a look around.
WOWZA!
Lejeune is definitely no Kings Bay! I was seriously starting to suffer from some major culture shock! Everything is just so much bigger and I am not used to being around so many Marines; Kings Bay is predominately Sailors. It will definitely take some getting used to!
We have spent the rest of our evening trying to decide what houses we like more, if our budget will allow it, eating pizza, watching Pawn Stars, more discussing, etc. etc.
So, thankfully I can say that we survived the worst part of the PCSing process! The next (worst) part is deciding what house we want to rent and the application process!
I am still trying to remain positive that everything will work out and fall into place in time for us to pack up and bid adieu to Georgia.
Must think positive thoughts, must think positive thoughts!!
On that note, doesn't Avalyn just look so gosh darn cute hanging out with Daddy and playing with her monkey?!
I am constantly browsing online for ideas that can help me. Thank you!
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