Sweet Home - Day 1
We are home from our weekend in Alabama and boy do I have news for you. For now, I'm going to journal our trip and let it all unfold as we go. :-)
We left on Thursday. Michael was able to get more than a half day of work in, then he was home by about 1:30 so we would have plenty of time to make our flight. He had a few things to do around the house, then we left at 1:45. We decided to drive to Dulles so we could have a direct flight. Even if you pay to keep your car at the airport ($10 per day), it was still way cheaper to fly direct than to stop anywhere.
Washington DC traffic was already starting up at 2:15 as we were getting closer to Dulles, which was super annoying and making us feel like were weren't sad at all to leave Maryland. Since we were nice and early, I wasn't anxious, so we just sat in the traffic and edged our way to the Dulles access road. *sigh* We'll get there eventually. Michael and I had the country music on the radio and we were singing along about flying to Sweet Home Alabama.
Then we parked our car at the Economy lot.
Then we waited for the shuttle.
Then we took the 10 minute shuttle to the airport.
Then we went straight to security since I already printed our boarding passes and we didn't want to check our bags.
Then we waited in security.
Then we walked forever to the train.
Then the train took us to the A terminal.
Then we walked all the way to the end of the A terminal where the little planes were.
Whew. I'm glad we put so much time in there because that was an event! Of course our flight was delayed, but not by much, so we had time to get some dinner - sandwiches there at the terminal - and I had time to buy some water for the flight. Too bad I couldn't find Dr. Pepper anywhere! Bummer.
We got on thesardine can plane and squeezed all together as we flew the 2 hours to Huntsville. My back was already showing signs of being kinked, like it was once before (just from sleeping wrong), so that flight where we were squeezed into smaller than normal plane seats didn't help. By the time we landed, it felt like a knife lodged in my back and I had to ask Michael to carry my bag for me. I hate asking him for things because he hates being asked for things. Not to mention, his back isn't fabulous to begin with.
We landed in Huntsville, which is a little airport in the middle of cotton fields. It has a grand total of 10 gates, so we walked through the adorable airport, reading all the ads for space and rockets and Boeing and army. Ah, good stuff. I feel at home already.
We went to the rental car place to get our cheap-o little rental, and the southern hospitality started IMMEDIATELY! The guy behind the counter asked what we were doing there (making conversation) and we told him we were moving there. He instantly set us up with his brother, the dentist, told us what neighborhoods to live in (and which not to), and listed a bunch of churches to try out. (Side note: I LOVE that you can assume everyone goes to church there. I bet you're even allowed to say "Merry Christmas!") He gave us his card with his phone numbers and email and told us to call him if we had any questions about moving. And then he gave us the keys to the car.
I. love. this.
By the time we get to the car, it is 6:30ish, central time. We pulled out onto the largest highway the "city" has to offer, and wondered where all the cars were? There were cars on the road, but it didn't feel like rush hour. Amazing.
It got dark pretty quickly, so we weren't able to see the amazing views that were there and we didn't know it. We kept feeling our ears pop and kept seeing signs for "scenic overlook," which was a good sign. Less than 30 minutes from the airport, we got to our hotel. (After google maps sending us the wrong direction. This was no problem because we wanted to drive around a lot anyway. We were so giddy we didn't care.) :-)
The hotel was nice and we settled right in for the night after the cute girl behind the desk asked, "how y'all doin' tonight?" in the thickest accent. :-)
First thing the next morning, we meet with the realtors to look at property. Eeek! :-)
We left on Thursday. Michael was able to get more than a half day of work in, then he was home by about 1:30 so we would have plenty of time to make our flight. He had a few things to do around the house, then we left at 1:45. We decided to drive to Dulles so we could have a direct flight. Even if you pay to keep your car at the airport ($10 per day), it was still way cheaper to fly direct than to stop anywhere.
Washington DC traffic was already starting up at 2:15 as we were getting closer to Dulles, which was super annoying and making us feel like were weren't sad at all to leave Maryland. Since we were nice and early, I wasn't anxious, so we just sat in the traffic and edged our way to the Dulles access road. *sigh* We'll get there eventually. Michael and I had the country music on the radio and we were singing along about flying to Sweet Home Alabama.
Then we parked our car at the Economy lot.
Then we waited for the shuttle.
Then we took the 10 minute shuttle to the airport.
Then we went straight to security since I already printed our boarding passes and we didn't want to check our bags.
Then we waited in security.
Then we walked forever to the train.
Then the train took us to the A terminal.
Then we walked all the way to the end of the A terminal where the little planes were.
Whew. I'm glad we put so much time in there because that was an event! Of course our flight was delayed, but not by much, so we had time to get some dinner - sandwiches there at the terminal - and I had time to buy some water for the flight. Too bad I couldn't find Dr. Pepper anywhere! Bummer.
We got on the
We landed in Huntsville, which is a little airport in the middle of cotton fields. It has a grand total of 10 gates, so we walked through the adorable airport, reading all the ads for space and rockets and Boeing and army. Ah, good stuff. I feel at home already.
We went to the rental car place to get our cheap-o little rental, and the southern hospitality started IMMEDIATELY! The guy behind the counter asked what we were doing there (making conversation) and we told him we were moving there. He instantly set us up with his brother, the dentist, told us what neighborhoods to live in (and which not to), and listed a bunch of churches to try out. (Side note: I LOVE that you can assume everyone goes to church there. I bet you're even allowed to say "Merry Christmas!") He gave us his card with his phone numbers and email and told us to call him if we had any questions about moving. And then he gave us the keys to the car.
I. love. this.
By the time we get to the car, it is 6:30ish, central time. We pulled out onto the largest highway the "city" has to offer, and wondered where all the cars were? There were cars on the road, but it didn't feel like rush hour. Amazing.
It got dark pretty quickly, so we weren't able to see the amazing views that were there and we didn't know it. We kept feeling our ears pop and kept seeing signs for "scenic overlook," which was a good sign. Less than 30 minutes from the airport, we got to our hotel. (After google maps sending us the wrong direction. This was no problem because we wanted to drive around a lot anyway. We were so giddy we didn't care.) :-)
The hotel was nice and we settled right in for the night after the cute girl behind the desk asked, "how y'all doin' tonight?" in the thickest accent. :-)
First thing the next morning, we meet with the realtors to look at property. Eeek! :-)
Comments