Viva chicago! (part 3) a.k.a. The Long of it

We got back on the road Saturday am and made pretty good time through the remainder of Iowa and Illinois. We stopped for lunch and heard some people talking behind us about the storm blowing in. After all we had been through we HAD to make it to the hotel before it got there...I could take another setback. So we get in the car and are a couple hours away from the base, I call to make the reservation at the Navy Lodge (I hadn't made it before because I wanted to make sure we were actually going to make it...I didn't want to pay for night that we didn't use...turns out that was a good idea cause we were pulling into town two days later than I had anticipated.) I had called to check with this particular Navy Lodge on their pet policy about a month before we left. I told them about our traveling circus and they said it would not be a problem. Well...it turned out to be a problem. They said they would allow only two pets per room. The 'helpful' customer service lady said we were more than welcome to book two rooms. Ya, that would just be GREAT. We were running SUPER low on funds already, lets just book a SECOND room for the dog. grrr. I start bawling in the truck. I have been glued to that seat for four days. Eating too much fast food, with a side of too much stress. I broke. Luckily Nathan was there and he called his sponsor John and had him find another pet friendly place for us to stay. (We stayed at La Quinta...and if any of you are ever traveling with pets I HIGHLY reccomend them. No extra fees...clean rooms...free breakfast...free wifi) We get checked in and unload our circus, then unhook the car off the dolly and return it. As we finish doing that, it starts snowing. We grab a quick bite at Chili's and head back to the room.

The next day we get up to over a foot of snow. grrr. I try and contact realtors (because you find apartments through realtors out here...for real) but it is Sunday and none are around. We drive around and look at a few places from the outside, just to get a feel for the area. The next morning we try the realtors again....and we get a list of referal housing from the base housing office. We call a bunch, see a lot and decide that some people's definition of LIVABLE is definitely not the same as mine. There was one house where the bedrooms were about 7x7...and there were only two of them. Keep in mind we are moving from a five bedroom house...two 7x7 bedrooms just isn't going to cut it! Oh, and to add to it the landlord of this house wanted to be able to use the spare room in the basement as an office. It had no outdoor entrance, nothing separating it from the rest of the house. He just wanted to be able to come and go as he wanted. No bueno.

By Tuesday night I was getting frustrated. I had long since run out of clean clothes...I was tired of eating out and I thought we might never find a place to live. That's when John (Nathan's sponsor) called us to tell us about a condo open in their building. We drove right down to look at it. It was great. Cherry hardwood floors, 42" cabinets in the kitchen, jetted bathtub, fireplace, private rooftop deck. We told them we would think about it and call them in the a.m. We talked the whole way back to the hotel about the pros and cons of living so far from the base. We decided it was worth it. We called the next morning, said we'd be down to sign the lease in a few hours. The next 6 or so hours were HORRIBLE...they involved LOTS of tears, much anxiety, unhelpful Navy Relief, a very generous mother and grandmother and one understanding landlord.

We finally got everything signed (that night...see picture...what a pretty city!) , and the next morning met with the property management people at the condo to get the keys. John and his wife Sara lent us an air mattress and some pillows so we wouldn't have to sleep on the floor.

On Tuesday all our stuff was delivered. Man, we have a LOT of stuff. It is a bit tricky...because we moved from such a big house with so much room into a small-ish condo with two bedrooms. But it is good. We're going through and keeping what we really need and the rest will be given to Good Will or put in storage. These pics are taken from our little balcony, looking down into the alley behind the building. The two white moving trucks were both FILLED. Yep, we're officially hoarders.




I refuse to post pictures until it is decent, and it is slowly coming. To help calm your thirst for pictures here is a teaser: (this was obviously taken before our massive amount of boxes arrived)

This is the living room. That is a fireplace in the corner (sadly, we have already used it..isn't it APRIL??!?). I know the pic sucks, but it will have to do for now. Be patient with me, I have 296 boxes to unpack. (That was our actual count...I told you...hoarders...)

Oh ok, stop whining, here's this one too. This is the back of our building. (beggers can't be choosers). That's the garage where each condo has one spot (thank heavens...I HATE shoveling snow off cars!...sorry Nathan the truck is too big and has to be outside) The third floor up is our place. You can see the dog house on the balcony. The two windows are our bedroom, as is the first one on the left side. The second little window is the master bath.

More to come...I promise!