Logistical Nightmare

Moving is always a challenge, but, this summer's move is going to be a logistical nightmare. Where to begin? OK, we have two scheduled pack outs in Okinawa with the first occurring on May 23rd. This is going to be the bulk of our household goods to include furniture, wall hangings, and just about everything with the hopes of it arriving in Virginia within 60-70 days. Our "Express Shipment" which takes roughly 30-45 days will be on June 16th. Fortunately, we have loaner furniture to get us through from the 23rd to the 16th.

The craziness begins when we factor in our "storage" shipments. When we left Indianapolis in 2002, we left items in an Indiana storage unit as we were told we could not ship everything to Hawaii. We left behind seasonal clothing, a few pieces of furniture, and treasures. Items I recall only after reading the manifests. Then, when we were sent to Okinawa, we were allotted only 4000 lbs of goods. Therefore, the remainder of our furniture and belongings have been in another storage facility since July 2005. What this all means is that we will be receiving four different shipments to our home in Virginia this summer!

John just accomplished the greatest fete we had on our list...buying our home. After months of scouring the Internet and working with a realtor, we decided on our future home yesterday. John spent the better part of a week touring homes and found although it is a "buyer's market", he could not find anything suitable especially with our desire of a short commute to work and close proximity to the school we have chosen for the kids.

We were not in the market for a "fixer-upper" and the homes in "foreclosure" that looked SO GOOD on the Internet were left in pretty sad shape even though they were 2-3 years old. Just when he was at wit's end, he decided to check out a new development. We will close on June 30th and become home owners to a 2-car garage townhome in Stafford, VA. Fortunately, we were able to upgrade on tile, counter tops, flooring, and carpet. HOORAY to Hubby as I know this process was exhausting, disappointing, and stressful. He did a fantastic job and I am so looking forward to moving into our "new" home!

Now that we have an address, we can start arranging for the two storage shipments in the US to get loaded on a truck and head to VA. The tricky part is that it may get to the warehouse in VA in a quick time frame, however, getting it delivered is where the frustration begins. The Northern VA & DC area is crazy every summer with the multitudes of military personnel moving. Therefore, the moving companies are booked and it can take upwards of 2-4 weeks to have your items delivered to your home. AGGGH!! Camping out is a genuine option or knocking on the doors of relatives and friends becomes the next best plan.

To top this off, we own NO cars other than our Okinawan vehicles which we can not transport back to the US. As if the $$ signs were not already flying around, we are going to delve back into the world of car payments...it has been close to 8 years! Wow...we really have been spoiled living outside the Continental US for the past six years.

Once we depart Okinawa on June 21, we have a whirlwind flight plan scheduled. We will head to Oahu, Hawaii to spend a couple of days soaking up the sunshine and visiting our old stomping grounds. The Little Dudes want to see where they were born and Big Sister wants to go back to her favorite beach and the kids museum. After Hawaii, we will fly into San Fran for a long weekend to attend Hubby's younger brother's wedding. The next stop will be San Antonio to visit with the grandparents before heading onto Virginia.

Everything will work out...I have faith that it will. I am certain that once the dust settles, we will look back on this move and marvel at how we survived this logistical nightmare!