Our trip across the pond

Adam (and a friend I made at the airport) mocked me a little for taking a picture of our airplane. But wanted to have an official picture of the start of our journey. And I do. After a 45 minute take off delay to replace something in the air conditioning system and a 9 hour plane ride in row 36 of the 777 below, we made it to London. We made it with all 8 (4 carry on & 4 checked) pieces of luggage also. Thanks American Airlines for not making this more difficult!

I also had to sneak in a picture of Adam at the airport. I almost got the cheesy smile with the eye roll – you know the one? Where he can’t believe that you’re embarrassing him by taking a picture in the airport. Yeah, that’s the one he gave me.

I slept on the plane, despite what Adam tells me was rough turbulence and three small children crying/screaming in round. Adam, due the previously mentioned reasons, did not. Therefore when we arrived in London around 11am local time (5am Texas Time—unless you're one of our many blog readers in El Paso, then you have to do your own time zone conversion) I was slightly refreshed and Adam was not. We cleared customs with no problems. I knew we were going to be alright when the immigration officer saw we would be here two years and jokingly asked if we were sure we wanted to do that. I'm sure it was a comment of British pride. After a smile and assurance to the officer that we really wanted to live here for two years, she stamped us through.


We found the Heathrow Express train on only the second attempt (I'd like to point out, mostly for my father, that there were four alternatives, so we did figure it out before we exhausted all the options). From the Heathrow Express, we took the train to Bristol. Adam & I had to take turns walking the length of the train to keep ourselves awake during the 1:45 it took to get from London to Bristol. Many times one of us would return to our seats only to find the other nodding off. We'd never make good watch dogs.


Somehow, getting off the train, finding a taxi, going to the apartment, getting out of the taxi and getting all the luggage up the stairs of the apartment gave us a second wind. We are on the 3^rd floor of the apartment complex, however as typical European multilevel buildings, there is a ground floor and then they number. So, by American standards, we are on the 4^th floor. Just think of that when you envision us carrying 200lbs of stuff. We showered and cleaned up a bit. I could write an entire page about the adventure in showering. You must first turn on the water heater, then wait 45 minutes for it to heat up (but if you wait an hour & the system doesn't sense any water use, the heater turns off again). Once you have hot water, the shower spurts in so many different directions that the quazi-half wall around the tub can't contain all the water thus soaking much of the bathroom floor (and front hall, if you happen to leave the bathroom door open…I wondered why the wood floor was warped when we first walked in, mystery solved).


We had dinner at a pub (Adam had the burger – anyone surprised?) then forced ourselves to stay awake until 8:30 so we could try to get on a normal-ish sleep schedule. Adam has more about our adventure around town today and the hills that nobody told us were in Bristol. All I'm saying is I'm going to have great calves by the time we come back to the US!

All packed up

Think everything you want to use for the next two years could fit in this much space?

Us either.

But it did.

Special bonus points to anyone in the family who can guess what piece of funiture this is...

Blessed beyond words

Have I ever told you how amazing our friends and family are?

Starting with our work friends who managed to throw a surprise going away party for us. I'm still not sure how they pulled that off. Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a tad bit nosy. I'm not good at letting others plan things around me. I meddle, I pry, I interfere. It's not easy. But they did it. And Adam & I had a great time. We are truly blessed.

There are my clients who took time out of their schedules to say goodbye. Those who have seen me grow and learn (and sometimes those who have taught me!) over the past six years. Those who care about my life outside of our interactions. It still amazes me when one of them ask about Daisy or Ginger. Who would have ever thought that you would want to know about the auditor's dogs? We are truly blessed.

Then there is our original Small Group and the friends who tagged along and joined the fellowship over the past six years. A wonderful time of catching up. Such kind words in a handy notebook for us to keep for the future whenever we get a bit homesick. We are truly blessed.

There's our families who have been so supportive. My uncle who came over to repair the hot water heater so we'd pass our inspections on the sale of our house. My aunt who has graciously invited us to stay in their home after we have to be out of ours. Adam's family who created a "pub" in their house to send us off in style (as a side note, if anyone wants to throw a British themed party, talk to my Mother-in-law; she found some amazing décor!). Speaking of Adam's Mom, a special shout out as she has taken the dubious job of being the dog escort to ensure all the shots are in order before they fly over. And to Adam's dad who loaned us the pickup and trailer to move our (LARGE) furniture. And so much gratitude to my parents who have taken ownership of all of this for a few years. Holy Moley we have a lot of stuff -- funny thing is, this is after we got rid of, what we thought was, quite a bit of belongings!

Three weeks & counting...

Getting closer

Now that we are through Lent and Easter has come and gone, the anticipation has seemingly increased some. While I was online viewing rental properties last night, it occurred to me that we are approaching a time when what we see online might actually still be available when we arrive. This managed to have both an exciting and distressing effect in the same instance. Exciting because I can now allow myself to look at a specific property and attempt to determine what it would be like to live there and distressing because they are still very few options that meet our specific needs.

As we have progressed through the past few months we began to identify things that we needed to keep with us, store here in the states and others that we could part with. At the top of the list for staying with us are our two dogs, Daisy and Ginger. As many of you know pets in my family aren’t really pets at all but extensions of the family. My Father will often lament that if there is such a thing as reincarnation he would prefer to come back as one of my Mother’s dogs.  This sense of extending family to include pets is something my mother has passed on to me so when people ask if we are going to take our dogs with us I have no reason to hesitate. It has always been a foregone conclusion that wherever we go the dogs will follow. However, in regards to house hunting bringing pets over has made the task significantly more difficult.

Here in the states, virtually every house has a private yard of some kind and many of the apartment complexes are pet friendly as well. In the UK things are a bit different. Yesterday while performing my search there were 213 properties that fit our price range and location. Of those 213 only 30 had any sort of garden (UK equivalent of a side yard) and only 20 of those had some semblance of turf in the garden. There were also several that had yards but would not rent to pet owners so that reduced my list down to about 12.

Now twelve properties isn’t necessary a bad number because it really only takes finding the right single location to make it all work. Unfortunately this is where our second major need comes into play.

A common perception about properties in the UK is that they are smaller than homes in the states. From what I have seen it is a perception that is well earned. For not only are the properties physically smaller, their rooms are also significantly more confined as well. So much so that we have decided to leave virtually all of our large American style furniture here in the states to avoid shipping it overseas only to have it stored because there aren’t any rooms large enough to contain it. Therefore a property must also be furnished in order to make the list.

Of the 12 properties I was able to locate yesterday that had some semblance of a garden only 4 of them were furnished. Again four is not an issue if a single one of them is in a livable condition. Unfortunately none of them appeared to pass that final test.

Thankfully we still have five weeks before we arrive in Bristol and another two weeks of corporate housing allowance to find a place. I am certain that in the end we will have enough time to find a place to call home it would just be nice to see a few more options come available as the anticipation continues to mount.

Sold!

It's pretty refeshing to come home to this sign every night...

Now, anyone interested in a washing machine, plasma television, poker table or lawn mower?

Home is where the heart is…

…or so the saying goes. One would think with as much moving as I did as a child that getting attached to houses (or just some bricks and paint, as Adam tells me) wouldn't be a big deal. But, oh, the housing discussions we've had in the Powell house the last few weeks.

I mentioned in an earlier post the people who are assigned to help us through the process of moving internationally. Well, there are few more I should introduce you to on the housing front. We have a temporary housing agent in the UK, a permanent housing agent in the UK, a relocation specialist to assist with the move, and a housing representative in the US. A few clarifications on the roles of all these people. We get temporary housing for two weeks when we first arrive in Bristol & as we're not taking a house hunting trip, we're going to go over a week or so before I start work so we can use that time in temporary housing to look for something permanent. Which leads us to the permanent housing people (why they're not the same people, I don't know that I can answer, but they're two different companies). Please also keep in mind that "permanent" housing is for a grand total of two years, so we're not looking a magnificent mansion to settle into and sit on the back porch to watch our grandkids play. Nope, we're looking for a two-three bedroom flat (<--that was a very British word, did you see how I snuck it in while you weren’t looking?) or a row house. Enough room for us & the puppies plus the occasional visitor.

While we're talking about puppies & visitors, do you know how difficult it is to move two dogs across an ocean? If you ever find yourself in this situation, we highly recommend Pet Relocation. They are wonderful! Cara has been a lifesaver though the (MANY!) panic attacks of getting the girls ready to move. Second, anyone made their plans to come visit yet? My in-law's tell me that they won't buy plane tickets until we are actually over there. Good point, I guess. My father, on the other hand, has spent time memorizing the transatlantic cruise schedule. I, as has been my experience for the past 28 or so years, have no idea what he's planning. Some sort of 2 week cruise to England, visit some old friends, see the daughter & son-in-law, do some general sight-seeing, and fly home trip. Details to be worked out at a later date.

Oh, housing, got a little side tracked there. So our permanent housing friends have given us a few houses browse to get an idea of what we can expect. Here are a few of our favourite (<--totally gone British) sites:

• http://www.rightmove.co.uk/
• http://www.intire.co.uk/
• http://www.oceanhome.co.uk/

According to Catherine, our housing agent, rentals in Bristol move fairly quickly so we shouldn't get our hopes up on anything we see online today because it more than likely won't be there in two and a half months when we want to move in. We're taking suggestions though. If you see any must look-at's, let us know. (I have one rule...well, many, but one that I'm stating now...I'm not living in Wales. You may think this an odd statement, but two unnamed members of the family have already suggested it.)

On the domestic front, our house in Bedford went on the market today. Anyone looking to buy a lovely 3 bedroom, 2 bath house on a 1/3 of a acre in a quiet neighborhood conveniently located near two highways? Well, I have a deal for you!

June 6th

Since the summer of 1944, millions the world over associate June 6^th as the beginning of the end of Hitler’s Nazi Germany.  For most of my life that’s exactly what I associated with this specific day. However, for my wife and I June 6, 2011 will take on a new and exciting meaning.  It serves as the beginning of our opportunity to truly see the world. Thanks to my wonderfully talented and exceptionally hard working wife, we have been afforded the opportunity to spend a few years in Bristol, England working, studying and traveling everywhere.

To say that we are excited about this opportunity doesn’t do our emotional state justice. This will be a truly exceptional time in our lives and we are looking forward to sharing as much of it as we can with all of you. In the coming weeks and months you can expect to find updates on planning for the move, things we anticipate experiencing, and some of the difficulties we may have as we transplant ourselves, our stuff and our pets overseas.

I also want to take a moment to thank all of you who have supported us over the years and who are sharing in our excitement as we turn the next page in our life. We love you all and will be looking forward to seeing you all in jolly ol’ England whenever you can make it out.