Southeast ---> Pacific Northwest

I'm completing this post much later than I had anticipated! However, it's given me more time to explore our new home. In the short span of only one month (plus the visit Molly and I made in early November) there have been so many opportunities to learn about the area and discover things that I love and things that I don't. Starting with our home:

• Our rental has both it's advantages and disadvantages. I'm so excited about our monthly rental price which is several hundred dollars cheaper than our mortgage was! That will make a significantly positive impact in a part of the country where cost of living is much higher than where we were before. I've yet to find a gas station for less than $3.00 a gallon.
  
• The house only has one bathroom which is good and bad. We all have to share with each other and our guests but it's only one that I have to clean! I love my kitchen with the exception of counter space. Our microwave is still boxed away because I'm trying to decide just where the blazes to put it.
  
• I detest our floorboard heating. Each room has it's own thermostat which is helpful for rooms we don't always use. However, the heaters seemed to all be placed in the most inconvenient locations. My curtains are either tied off into knots or draped over other furniture to avoid contact with the heaters.
  
• The neighborhood is significantly older, however we don't have an HOA. Waahoo! I fully understand the need for them, but we had just about all we could take out of the one from our neighborhood in SC. We've only met a few of the neighbors and those we know seem very friendly. No improvement on cell phone service unfortunately. I still have to do the wandering, hit-or-miss act for a signal when I make any phone calls. The backyard is so much bigger, much to the delight of Petey and Lucy. I'm looking forward to better weather this spring and summer so we can play back there more often!
• I've really been enjoying getting to know what's available out in town. It only took me a day or so to be comfortable without depending on a GPS. The trip back in early November made a huge difference with that! There are some familiar restaurants and stores that can be found in the southeast; franchise giants such as: McDonalds, Burger King, Arby's, Starbucks (obviously), Walmart, Target and Walgreens. However, I tend to find myself going to places that are new to me in comparison to others.
• There's a store called Fred Meyer that I greatly prefer to others. It's set up and merchandise are exactly what you might find in a Walmart or Target. The one closest to me is super nice! I may never set foot in a Walmart again while I'm here. Which is fine by me! I went here several times during holiday shopping madness. Each time I approached the checkout lines ready to pay, they opened up a new line when they saw I had Molly. Every time.
  
• When it comes to getting groceries I really do miss Publix. However, I've found market shopping solace in another store called Albertsons. It only took me one visit for getting pantry necessities for me to apply for a preferred card. The products are fantastic and the employees are so helpful.
• I'm in Washington State. Ergo, there is a Starbucks to be found pretty much in whichever direction you head. Mark even took us to the original store at Pike Place in Seattle back in November. However, there are so many other places to get coffee as well. I constantly see these random coffee/espresso shops everywhere I go. And I hesitated to try them at first. As much as I love Starbucks, these smaller chains are definitely worth it! Usually their prices are lower, too.
• Here I may offend a few people. Danae Ogren opinion: The outdoor beauty of the southeast pales in comparison to what surrounds us here in WA. The evergreen trees are simply beautiful and almost look like Christmas trees lining the highways. (I'm not fond of the tiny little pine needles that constantly get tracked into the house.) The Olympic Mountains are unbelievably breathtaking. Just one glimpse at Mt. Rainier and I was hooked. This time of year it's rare to have a clear enough day to see these masterpieces. But if you see them for yourself someday, you'll know what I mean.
  
• The familiarity and newness of different area(s), stores/shops still do not take the place of what I miss in the southeast. Pacific North-westerners do not know how to make sweet tea. McAlister's and Chick Fil A are nowhere to be found. Again, this time of year the weather is not the best. In fact, almost every morning has been overcast and/or rainy. It's so hard to get going in the morning when it looks so dreary outside. In fact, Molly and I have both, on occasion, slept until after 8:00 am! Very uncharacteristic of us. However, on the same note, it doesn't rain nearly as much as other people and movies make it appear. And when it does rain it's usually a light mist. Nothing like the torrential downpours of the southeast. So, though it may be cloudy, the so-called non-stop rain just doesn't exist. Not the way it was depicted anyway.
• We are now immersed in family atmosphere with Mark's command that we really missed while in Charleston. Just like the boat in Kings Bay, GA the sailors and their families are much more accessible and eager to get to know one another. No one can take the place of my dear family and friends that I left behind in the southeast. Yet, I'm thoroughly enjoying establishing relationships with the other wives on the boat and those I know from other boats/commands in the area. Military families in general, learn how to find a "family" wherever they go. I'm grateful for these ladies, gents and their kiddos. They've made such an isolated circumstance and feeling not seem quite so daunting. There's a sense of camaraderie with these other military families that we haven't felt since leaving the boat in GA. As the old song clearly describes, "Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold."
  

That pretty much sums up our life here in WA so far. Words cannot seem to describe just how much I enjoy and relish (finally) being a family again as residents of the Pacific Northwest (PNW); or how much I miss the family and friends we've left behind. Our door and arms are wide open to whomever of you may decide that it's time to see this place for yourselves! And I look forward to returning to the southeast again someday to have sweet reunions. Until then, it's time to return to my family and get on with the day.
Lots of love to all of my silver and gold friends and family!