Saturday, May 15, 2010

Not The Adventure I Was Looking For

Well, we're hoping to enjoy an adventure together as a family this summer. The plan is to be in Seattle while Ryan does an internship. But, so far, every time we think we've got things set we learn something new or some other key matter falls apart.

We decided we'd look for our own housing. We asked where exactly Ryan would be working so that we could look at sublets in places that would mean a shorter rather than longer commute. We never heard back, so went ahead and assumed it would be at location A. We got lucky and found something in our price range and within a 30 minute bus commute (since we won't have our car) of location A. The day after we send a wire transfer with our deposit and first month's rent and mail the signed contract, we find out that he'll likely be working at location B, a new location which we had been given the impression would not be ready to move into by this summer. Location B turns Ryan's 30 minute commute into a 1 hour commute. The silver lining here is that we soon thereafter learn that if we'd stuck with corporate housing he would've been closer (probably), but we might have been forced to pay for a 2 bedroom apartment and would have had to pay significantly more for that than we will for the 2 bedroom place we found.

The big hurdle at the moment is that we discovered on Tuesday that the relocation people had failed to purchase plane tickets for Gareth and me. We alerted them to this problem, they said they'd get right on it. Here we are today, and still no tickets. I called the airline, just to verify that they have no reservations in our names. They don't. And, being a Saturday, it's impossible to reach any of the people who could fix the problem (and they were unresponsive to our contact yesterday). So, it looks like Ryan will be going to Seattle without us. I called the hotel and they were able to switch our reservation into Ryan's name, so at least he'll have somewhere to sleep that first week.

The most aggravating thing is that I have no idea how much longer Gareth and I will be here. And the thought of traveling alone with Gareth is daunting. We're definitely having an adventure. Just not the kind I was hoping for.

5 comments:

Susan said...

What a mess. Hopefully you hear back about flight info soon. Good luck traveling with Gareth. I have my first solo flight with Evaline coming up and I'm a bit nervous.

Myrna said...

Hi Erin, I am sorry to hear that your summer adventure is starting out so bumpy. I hope things work out soon! And you do have a family member in Seattle, your Uncle Wayne's daughter Tami and her family. In case you need some family support.

Michaela said...

GOod luck! Scotty has an hour commute right now - just because we dont have a car. It works, just means his days are long. I love you!

Alanna said...

It's worth it to get to Seattle for a summer. I'm so jealous of you! I only get to be there for eleven days! Be sure to check out SeaFair in August! And the Underground Tour (whenever). And the Pacific Science Center. And the Museum of Flight. So many fun things to do! You're gonna love it!!!!! And take the ferry over to my island (Bainbridge) some day!!!!!!!

Momof8 said...

Flying with a three-year-old is not fun, but it's possible. I still remember (vaguely--most of it is a blur) flying from Salt Lake to Heathrow with three-year-old Ryan and four-month-old Sarah. Plus, I get motion sickness and couldn't take anything for it because I was still nursing. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time we got through customs. My first words to my sweet husband who was waiting there to pick me up (after being apart for a month) were "take this baby."

We can laugh about it now.

I found out that I can be as strong as I need to be when it comes to family.

I would love to visit Seattle. Maybe we'll go there someday, and you will be able to give us ideas of the best places to visit. Keep us updated!