The Final Days in the USA

With our "Miami" friends having arrived on Sunday and my parents on Monday, we were all set to begin to say our "goodbyes".

Kevin and I made a final run to the Post Office on Monday afternoon with a few more "Bangkok" boxes. No matter how organized I am, it seems that we always have SOMETHING to be sent out at the last minute! We were still trying to sell the Expedition (and quickly running out of time to find a buyer!). I had placed an ad online and we had signs on the car but had no luck. Monday night, as we were leaving my brother's after dinner, a college student who lives down the street from Jim and Jan stopped to look at the car just as we about to get in and drive away. She was very interested in the truck but needed to do some research to make sure our towing package could pull her horse trailer.

Tuesday morning, the battery on the Expedition died and needed to be replaced. AGH!!! It couldn't have happened at a worse time but fortunately Kevin was able to pick up a battery at Sears and replace it quickly. We decided we would take the truck to CarMax if we did not hear back from Jim's neighbor by 6 pm. We picked up the dogs (awesome kennel!) and then had a late afternoon BBQ at my brother's home. Many thanks to Jim and Jan for letting us take over! The Miami contingent attended as did Clare, my parents, Christopher's friend Will, and our VA friends, Carolyn & Jennifer. It was a lot of fun and I am glad our Miami and VA friends got to meet. The kids had a blast running around the basement and outside.

It got to be 7 pm, and we hadn't heard anything from Jim's neighbor so Kevin and I began cleaning the truck out to take it to Car Max. Just as I was pulling the last "For Sale" sign off the window, she called and wanted to come look at it again and take it for a test drive. She ended up buying the car and we closed the deal at 8:30 pm! We had a similar situation in Miami with Kevin's Volvo and delivered it to the buyer at 9 pm the night before we left town. Talk about timing (and stress)!

Jim and Jan took Caitlynne and Christopher to Fairfax Corner to see a late showing of the new Harry Potter movie while Kevin and I did a final pack up of our suitcase & carry-ons and got everything laid out and ready for the morning.

Next up... Departure Day