Dates Set, Plans in motion!!

Finally it is starting to feel like our move is within reach!  One of the hardest parts of this whole thing has been the waiting... the feeling like the day for us to go - will NEVER come.  For at least one month I have felt like I am physically living in San Diego but mentally I'm somewhere else.  And it's pretty hard to "mentally live" somewhere where you have never been.

Exactly ten days from today, we load in to the car and begin to head North!  This trip will be an exciting one, but not one meant for fun or sight seeing.  We leave San Diego on the evening on October 14th and hope to arrive in Oak Harbor by the evening of October 16th.  We will have exactly 5 days to find the place that we will call home for the next 3 years and pick a school for Katelyn.  I feel some pressure having to accomplish something so important in so few days.. but I know it can be done. 

So far we have appointments on October 17th and 18th at 10:00 a.m. with a Property Management company that will be showing us around town.  There are 8 homes that we have seen on their website and asked to see specifically, if necessary we will be shown "similar" homes after looking at those.  I am really hoping that we do not need to look at more than 8 houses!  But, you never know..

Once we have established where our home will be, we will need to move on to the Middle Schools.  There are two middle schools located in Oak Harbor - Oak Harbor Middle School and North Whidbey Middle School.  We will be taking a "tour" at both schools closer to the end of the week.  The biggest concern for Katelyn is a school that has an arts program.  We will be looking to see if either school offers choir, music or theater.  I will also consider class sizes, test scores and proximity to our home. 

If there is any time left at all, I would like to find out if there are any Ophthalmology clinics on the island itself.  During my googles searches almost all of the clinics I have been directed to are in Seatlle or some other city on the Mainland.  I would like to avoid a commute over the bridge or via ferry if at all possible.  I am also considering that this may be a time in my life where an occupation change will be necessary.  I am leaving all options open!

Once we arrive back to San Diego on October 22nd we will have 5 days until the movers arrive!  Which means I really need to get busy sorting stuff at the house!! Not much time left!  My last day at work will be October 28th.  I have left myself one week without work before we leave San Diego for the final time.  I hope to spend this time enjoying friends, the Zoo and the wonderful city we have lived in for so long.  On November 4th we will once again load in to the car and start our journey!  This trip will be a slow and relaxed one and we will make sure that we see and do everything possible along the way.  And of course that is when the blogging will really begin!
                                                                Whidbey Island

Whidbey Island is approximately 35 miles (56 km) long (from the extreme north to extreme south, and 1.5 to 12 miles (2.4 to 19 km) wide, with 168.67 square miles (436.9 km²),^[2] making it the 40th largest island in the United States.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whidbey_Island)