Hot Southern Road Trip

 Happy Summer to you all! John and I just got back from a trek across the southern part of the United States. As you know, we recently relocated to Arizona from overseas. One of our vehicles was shipped into the port in Jacksonville, FL and we made the trip out there to pick it, and our dog Gunner, up and drive back West.

We flew out on a Saturday and were hoping to be able to pick up the car on Monday. However, it didn't clear customs until Wednesday, so we ended up with a little bit of time on our hands. We spent a day at one of our favorite places, Disney Springs. It was hot and humid, but oh so fun! We had stopped at Publix on the way to Orlando and picked up Pub Subs to have for lunch, which was phenomenal because we hadn't had them in over a year, and there is no Publix in Arizona either. We went in a bunch of the shops, and relaxed for a bit at the stage area while we ate our sandwiches. Unfortunately, I overheated and ended up with a terrible headache which cut our day short. I felt so bad, because we had planned to take the friendship boats over to the Boardwalk to watch the EPCOT fireworks show. Instead, we headed back to my parent's house so I could lie down and take some medicine.

The following day, we made a delicious breakfast and spent the day at some local thrift stores. We picked out a few nice clothing items and a few movies. We spent some time at the house with my parents. They were very kind to give us a couple of electronics for our new home. A radio/CD player, and an old LCD TV with a DVD player built in. It's the perfect size for our kitchen, and I absolutely love the early 2000s vibe it gives. It isn't perfect, it has a permanent line down the middle of the screen, and the color is off, but it's cozy, and we are grateful. Mom also gave me a whole bag of natural-fiber yarns to play with, and a set of crochet hooks! 

When we drove up to pick up the car, we had a bit of a wild goose chase. After a little bit of back and forth, they escorted me into the Port and I was able to retrieve the car. I had to wait quite a while in a trailer with a bunch of truckers. My escort and I weren't sure at first if we were even in the right place! (Spoiler alert: we were.) After that, John and I (along with Gunner) were finally off to trek across the Wild American Yonder. We drove the first day for five hours to Pensacola, FL.

The next day was a bit longer. On the road for 9 hours to San Antonio, TX. We stopped at Buc-ees for gas and Brisket sandwiches. It was delicious. John and I took turns driving and were exhausted by the time we got to our hotel. It wasn't a totally smooth check-in process, but we got to our room and had a good night's sleep. The following day was a wonderful rest day. We had breakfast in the hotel, and then took Gunner for a little walk along the Riverwalk. In the morning, we went to see The Alamo! It was super hot, but worth it. There was so much I didn't know about Texas. We purchased the self-guided walking tour tickets to have a little recorded device explain things to us throughout the Alamo. We also bought a bottle of water and a beautiful folded fan (which came in handy for the heat.) 

After the Alamo, John surprised me with dinner at my favorite restaurant - Joe's Crab Shack! It was so incredibly good. With full stomachs, we went back to the hotel room to spend some time with Gunner and take a nap. After that, it was back to the Riverwalk. We did one of the riverboat cruises, which was both informative and fun. We ended the night with a lovely stroll on the Riverwalk back to the hotel, where we saw a lovely light and music show projected on the church right outside of our hotel, and we took some photos of the beautiful courthouse. San Antonio really is a beautiful city. 

The following morning we got up and had breakfast in the hotel and then started on our long leg home. This one was a whopping 13 hour drive through west Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. We took turns driving, but it was a doozy. There really is a whole lot of nothing in west Texas. We stopped for Jimmy Johns in El Paso, and then I took a nap through New Mexico. We made it back to Tucson around midnight, and ended our week-long "vacation" by showing Gunner his new home.

I think it's safe to say that John and I will have no problem waiting quite a while before we try to drive that far again. 

-Kaelyn

A -long- PCS Story

 My husband and I got married in 2025 when he was living and working in Germany, and I was living and working in the United Kingdom. It was a whirlwind of a year. A lot of planning and strict schedules were needed for us to be able to get everything done in Florida on our 2-week wedding (elopement) and honeymoon trip. The sad part was when it was over and we had to go back to our respective countries. We did make it a point to see each other at least once a month for the remainder of our time apart, and that was a beautiful opportunity. We know how lucky we are and we were so happy to be able to travel around Europe a little bit, though not as much as we would have liked, and now it is time for us to say "Farewell" to this continent. We are sad to leave behind all of the beauty, treasures, and history, but we are elated to be finally starting our life fully together. 

We are moving back to the continental United States, to an area neither of us has lived in before – Arizona. It is going to be quite the climate change from England and Germany! I started my leave first, saying goodbye to England and hopping on a flight to Deutschland to spend a week here with John while he processes out of his current command. I think I chose the absolute worst day to fly out, because LHR was having baggage issues out of it's international terminal, and one of my bags did not make it onto the flight. After long hours waiting in line to talk to the desk agent, I found out that I could drive the hour back to the airport the following day and retrieve my bag. We got there just in time to grab it off the conveyor belt.

While in Germany, we celebrated our 1-year wedding anniversary by visiting the beautiful "Burg Eltz." It was a beautiful hike through the woods to the most fairy-tale looking castle I have ever seen! We did a tour, had lunch, and wandered around a bit. The castle was built in stages, and housed multiple families. The history is incredible.

*I wont lie, I started this blog post during that week in Germany, and never finished it, so now I will continue the tale, from about a month later...

John and I had one heck of a time traveling from Germany to AZ. It took about 26-30 hours (we honestly lost count) and we were absolutely exhausted. We will never be doing that again. If you drive, the government makes you stop at 8 hours per day. Yet to fly, they have you constantly traveling for far longer. We were definitely too tired to get our rental car and drive to our new hotel... Next time, we will be taking that into account and will make sure we aren't doing too much all at once.

That being said, we got to our new hotel and everything was great! We spent the first weekend (which was a holiday) driving around our new town and visiting some thrift stores. Our first real meal? Cracker Barrel! We enjoyed it so much that we went back two days later. Our first week in Tucson was a whirlwind. We moved into our house a few days early, and now, a month later, are still waiting for our household goods. 

PCS is a stressful time for all families, no matter the size, and no matter the distance. I am so grateful that John and I are together, in one house, for good and that we have the next three years to enjoy this beautiful desert landscape. I will try to write more blog posts about our adventures, and hopefully add a few more photographs as well.

-Kaelyn