Our next PCS move was from the Presidio of SF to Fort Drum in upstate NY. We had just made the move cross country 9 months prior and as we looked back upon it decided that this time we wanted to do something a little different. Travelling before, we would get up later each day which meant that we got on and off the road later each day. By the end of the trip we were not getting off the road until almost 8 pm, and that wore on us. So we decided that we would camp.
Chaucer being a bulldog would need to be kept leashed at the campgrounds, so Scott devised a clever way (we thought) to keep him close. He took an old metal office garbage can, strung some chain through a metal pipe and filled it with concrete. We thought this would be a great idea. It worked wonderfully until Chaucer learned that he could knock it over and it would roll! Luckily, he usually would drag it and the lip of the can would dig into the ground. It was definitely a sight to be seen.
We loaded the mustang and the truck with necessary items for camping and made our way north to Washington and then east towards Chicago camping along the way. I had planned out a day's drive and we had the KOA guidebook. Camping was actually very relaxing for us. We woke up when the sun came up, on the road by about 8, off the road between 3:30 and 4:30, had time to relax, cook something, and get to bed early. Chaucer loved it, the cats dealt with it, although Rhapsody did seem to figure out how to unzip the tent zipper a couple of times. Luckily we were right there.
We stopped in Montana to see Scott's friend, Paul and his family. We visited Yellowstone, where it was in the 50's overnight. That was a cold couple of evenings. We spent the 4th of July with friends in Chicago, and then spent a week up at Scott's parents house. After Scott's parents house we headed down to Florida as I would be staying there while we waited for housing. We got as far as Kankakee, Illinois, when we were camping out and realized that it was so hot that even the cats were panting. Unlike dogs, it is not healthy for cats to pant. We packed everything up and went to a hotel. That was the end of camping. We made it to my parents house, Scott relaxed for a couple of days and then headed up to New York to sign in at Fort Drum.
I stayed with my parents from the end of July until the beginning of October. I was there for about two weeks when it was decided that I needed to get a job. I think I was driving my parents nuts! I went to the local Kelly Services (love going to temp agencies) and got a job with a company called Brainchild. They make educational software for their own handheld system similar to a large Nintendo DS. It was geared towards home-school children. I started with them just doing data entry. They liked my work enough that they hired me on as an independent contractor authoring software when I finally moved up to NY. I even got my mom a job there editing their software.
Scott finally got housing in October, and Mom accompanied me up to New York since I was not to thrilled about the concept of driving up the eastern seaboard by myself with a dog and two cats. It was pretty much an uneventful trip except for Chaucer locking himself in the bathroom when our pizza was delivered! It took about 3 days to get there, and then Mom turned around and flew home the next day. Finally I had finished the move and ready to start life at Fort Drum, which meant time to unpack.
Oh yeah, when we were issued housing, they gave us a garbage can and a snow shovel in our garage. Oh Joy!!!
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