The Mason family (including all three dogs) is officially in Pennsylvania. On Thursday, the 9th, my three siblings and parents met the three dogs and their driver at an Air BnB in the Poconos.
The previous day, a friend was gracious enough to pick me up from our empty house and transport me to her own home where I was able to stay the night with her family. On Thursday, while my family spent their last day in the car making their way across Pennsylvania, I spent my day on Mount Lassen near Redding, California. We even visited the outside of the campsite I had been to so many times throughout my years in Redding.
I spent the rest of the day on the 9th playing games with my friend and her family. I was so blessed in my time in Redding with not only wonderful friends but friends who shared their families with me (and families who were willing to be shared). I particularly enjoyed playing Spot It with my friend's sister and an American trivia game with the two of them.
I got a great send-off. Before I left for the airport, a few more friends came around to the house to play some games. I had, unfortunately, miscommunicated the time I was flying out so we didn't have too long to be playing games. However, we were made an excellent dinner by (yet again) the same friend who hosted me and we enjoyed steak tacos with an assortment of fancy sauces before playing apples to apples. The miscommunication also worked out because it made it so that I had four friends there to send me off from the Redding airport.
Once I had checked in my bag (which was overweight but we sorted it out). The girls took photos with me and prayed me off. I am unbelievably grateful for this crew.
There were a few minor problems on my trip across the states. My carry-on had a few red flags. I had a candle in there which had been given to me by a friend. It was a fancy candle and I feared the beautiful succulents on it would melt if I packed it with the rest of our house. It was too heavy for the suitcase. I also had a prescribed medication that got flagged. I had to get a full pat-down! Both flights also got delayed and it wasn't until 1:45 pm that I was on my way from San Francisco to Newark. To make things worse, the in-flight entertainment had its issues. The seatbacks wouldn't turn on and the personal entertainment (from your phone if you have the united app) was going in and out. Not fun for a five-hour flight!
Nevertheless, I made it. I have reunited with my family and dogs on the other side of the country. We are currently staying in an Air BnB and are looking for a home in Bucks County. Prayers for the perfect home for us within our budget would be much appreciated. I am still working through all the little things like transferring insurance and getting a library card and would love prayers for that as well. Look forward to more updates from me on this Pennsylvania journey.
Below are photos from the trip. They are placed in order. You might see that in each one I am wearing purple sunglasses bought at a party store. Note: my expression gets successively less happy because I have been moving/on a plane for successively longer.
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