Albany

Here are my impressions of Albany. First impression: loved it because it was green and I didn't have to drive very far to shop. First of all, let me say, that I'm not much of a shopper and I don't consider it a fun outing. If anything, it's annoying to be around crowds of shoppers and I get a little bit more stressed than I should be when I'm shopping. However, after 29 Palms when all I had nearby, was the PX (limited selection of items) and Walmart, which was a boring, 30 minute drive away (going 75 miles per hour), you can imagine how giddy I was when I drove to Target and the mall (right next to each other) and it only took 15 minutes IN traffic. I had choices and I was very ecstatic.

I'm still happy that there are stores nearby, but now I realize, Albany is central to all the fun things...once again. Basically, everyone leaves Albany to go to the more fun cities like Atlanta or down south to Florida. In 29 Palms, we were a few hours from Vegas and Southern California! Yea for long drives...not!!!

We did discover the Parks at Chehaw. There are nice little hiking and walking trails that you can explore, camping areas, and a little zoo. Plus, there's a little train that David loves.

Sadly, we didn't take too many pictures that day. It was so miserably hot, we didn't even think about it. The train ride was at the beginning of our outing, so we were able to catch that moment. How can I complain about the heat when I had lived in 100 plus heat? Well, there's the humidity factor. You walk outside and it feels like you're already sweating. The next picture epitomizes how we felt for the rest of our zoo experience.

David's favorite part about Georgia? Chuck E. Cheese. When we went, it was the first time he and I had ever experienced Chuck E. Cheese. I liked it because they had little games for his age and even a little air hockey table that David loved! Also, we went at a time when all the kids were in school, so there were only about 4 other families there. This video captures the fun time he had, especially with his dad! His giggle cracks me up. Love it!!!

I want to sleep

Lol! Poor little man! All he wanted to do was sleep.

From one coastal state to another

Well, we survived the move. Was it stressful? Yes. Was I gracious in the situation? No. My poor boys had to deal with a disgruntled mama. Of course, I wasn't the only one who was disgruntled. David started acting up more than normal and was CONSTANTLY whining. This caused daily battles between father and son, making my sunny disposition even more sunny. Thankfully, that part ended.

We are lucky, in that when the military asks you to move, they give you the option of using their moving services. So, in two days, they had everything packed up and picked up ready to go to our next home.

Then, came the long drive across the country. We decided to caravan with good friends of ours who happened to check out of 29 Palms at the exact time, the Defoors. So, David got to spend the next few days with his best friend, Emma. Our caravan left on Saturday, the 31st and our first stop was Flagstaff, AZ. What would normally have been a 5-6 hour drive took 8 hours. When you're traveling with a 3/12 week old and two little 3-year-olds, it would take that long.

Arizona was surprisingly pretty. Surprising, because I was actually expecting more desert, but there was greenery all around. At least in Flagstaff. Downtown Flagstaff was a pedestrian city and would have been fun to walk around and explore the different shops and restaurants that they had to offer. The hotels were practically all booked up because it is that time of year and many people stop in the hotels on their way to or from the Grand Canyon.

After Arizona, we stopped in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The drive from Arizona to New Mexico was harry at one point. It was raining so hard, that there was zero visibility for a couple of minutes. So bad, that there were cars pulled over on the side of the freeway! Billy turned to me once and said, "Can you see the road, I can't." I looked over at him and said, "Take off your sunglasses!" (Shake my head) Luckily, we didn't have to pull over and we passed the storm quickly.


The next stop after driving through the stinky and most boring Texas panhandle was Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was HOT, HOT, HOT! Even more so than 29 Palms! Blech. Also, this is where I lost my Ipod Touch. Boy, do I love to flush money down the toilet! What really saddens me most, is that I had a little diary on there where I'd written down the funny things David did and said during the last deployment. Now it's gone forever! Huge sigh...

After, Oklahoma City, we drove to Little Rock, Arkansas. It was very pretty and green there.

Double rainbow in Arkansas
















We then drove to Birmingham, Alabama. This was where we separated from the Defoors as they headed to North Carolina. It was sad to see such good friends go, but thankfully, we have such awesome technology, that we and skype and stay in touch.

Bye bye, Emma!

Such good huggers. I don't know if they really realize that they won't see each other for a very long time.







After that, was our final destination. Now, we passed through Montgomery, Alabama and just outside of the city, was beautiful country that I absolutely fell in love with. I don't know what it was about it, but I felt like I had come home and felt the most peace and contentment I'd ever felt in a really long time. I told Billy that we had to retire there.

Now, we are here in Georgia, and while there were very low reviews of this city, I'm actually excited to find what Albany has to offer us. People here are so friendly! I don't know why some of the reviews said they were rude, but in my experience, people have been genuinely nice. They actually say "hi" to you, and aren't put out by doing their jobs like they were in California. I'm speaking about customer service, of course, and perhaps I write this prematurely, but I will update y'all as I go :-)

Our first impression of Georgia as we drove in from Alabama