I've decided to start this blog so that anyone interested in what Doug and I have been up to can stay updated on our adventures. Hopefully I will be able to post enough to keep whoever is reading this entertained and informed! Please excuse the photo layout right now - I'm not sure what I'm doing yet!
Here's a little background info about what we've been up to:
As you all know, Doug joined the Navy JAG Corps. He is to be stationed in San Diego, CA, but had to complete Naval Justice School in Newport, RI first. We decided that I would join him in RI and have a nice 10 week vacation. So a little over a week ago, movers came into our little one bedroom apartment in Davison and began packing up most of our belongings to ship to San Diego, where they will be waiting for us when we get there in April. The next day they threw all of our stuff in the back of a huge semi and hauled it away. We packed what we needed in Rhode Island and tried to keep it separate from the San Diego-bound boxes; pictures will follow of all the things we thought we "needed". That night, we camped out on an air mattress in our bare living room; we left the next morning for RI.
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| Boxes literally stacked to the ceiling |
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| The gigantic moving truck |
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| Our bathroom, filled with what we felt we needed in RI. We may have over-packed. |
After dropping off our keys at the leasing office, grabbing breakfast, and rearranging the overstuffed Jeep in the Salvation Army parking lot so that Doug could actually see out the windows as he drove, we were on our way. We drove through Canada, which cut a few hours out of our trip and allowed me to view the great White North for the first time. No issues at either border, although we did get to witness some guy and his car getting the drug/bomb sniffing dog treatment on our way back into the US. I also discovered that in Canada, they sell Cadbury mini eggs YEAR ROUND. These are my all-time favorite, and so of course I had to stock up.
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| Delicious! |
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| Beautiful frozen waterfall along the side of the highway |
We drove until 9 that Friday, then headed to a Super 8 in Amsterdam, NY to grab some shut-eye. Very standard room - it was clean and quiet and didn't smell like smoke, so we were happy with it. Their continental breakfast left something to be desired (namely anything other than fruit loops and toast), but we take what we can get. We were back on the road by 8 that morning.
We arrived in Newport around 12:30pm, checked in, and headed to our building. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about what kind of room we would be assigned, especially after seeing Doug's quarters when he was here in the fall. For those of you who don't know, he shared a small, square brick room with a roommate - two twin beds, two desks, two portable closets, and no room for anything else. Luckily, we were pleasantly surprised by our lodging. It's basically a hotel room; very comfortable queen bed, a desk, table, and chairs, good-sized closet, tv and dvd player, bathroom, and sufficient room to move around. There is a mini-fridge and microwave, and even a Keurig coffee maker! A big step up from Officer Development School.
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| very comfy bed |
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| view from entryway |
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| view from window |
We've been here for a week and haven't gone crazy yet - Doug is busy with school and I am finding ways to stay entertained. We miss our friends and family (and our kitty, who is staying with my parents), but we are very grateful for this opportunity and plan to enjoy every minute of it. Stay tuned; I will share some of our Newport adventures in the next post!
