We left the Airbnb in Rockville on Friday in pouring rain that it's hard to say who hated more, the cats, who were stuffed in carriers on anti-anxiety meds, or us, who had to carry them plus four suitcases into the airport. But after a couple of hours in the Dulles United lounge, eating macaroni and chocolate granola and trying to coax the cats into using the pet relief area that smelled like dog pee, we had an easier flight than I imagined possible (cats mostly slept) and went from the rental car facility to a hotel for one night, where the cats were suprisingly calm after discovering that they could get under the curtains to look out the window. Daniel was flying to L.A. for a convention, while Adam's girlfriend Katherine was headed to her sister's graduation.
We got up early Saturday to stop at a few stores before going to our new apartment: first Target for fans and shower curtains, then Comcast for the new router, then Best Buy for the microwave, air conditioner, and television, which was installed in the afternoon after our new living room sofa and loveseat arrived (we will be sleeping on the sofa until our bedroom furniture gets here along with the rest of our things next week). Then we went out to a different Target for some household items, grabbed food at Blazing Bagels, and went for a walk in our spectacular new neighborhood where we saw eagles and ospreys as well as ducklings and turtles. It was 75 degrees in brilliant sunshine and we could hardly have felt more welcome by the Pacific Northwest animals!