Culture Shock

We have arrived safely in Georgia. It was another long day but thankfully the kids again were total champs. I have to admit that along the way the further south we came the fewer teeth, shirts and shoes we saw! At one stop we saw a lot of t-shirts that said things along the lines of "If you mess with me you mess with the whole trailer park". I wondered if we had made the right decision but Randall assured me we were still very much in the sticks and all would be well. When we finally reached South Carolina close to Georgia we stopped at a Chick fil A for lunch, and it actually had a play place. We haven't seen a play place since we moved to Jersey. Now I know normally they are a tad germ infested but you can imagine that after so many hours in the car we told the kids to get crazy. They played for a good while. As Randall and I sat and talked over lunch I was seriously feeling culture shock. People were kind and so polite that it was seriously weird. People kept commenting about how cute the kids were. People were wearing actual color in their clothing. Nobody was rude or yelling in the restaurant. Just last week when we were in D.C. some crazy man came into a restaurant yelling like a crazy. Randall was seriously scared something was going to happen. On the road today someone cut about 4 cars off and it was a very close call but nobody honked or used any finger signals. At home when we are at a stop Anna often yells "Mom, just honk!" We now see a lot of bigger cars and many SUV's something that is not common around our area. It is strange to see actual business that were built for the purpose of business and not an old home turned into a law firm, a dental office etc. In Jersey when I am looking for a place of business I am still surprised to find it is an old house just among everything else. There are a lot of restaurants(with drive thru's) and it just feels really different. I should say that I loved it immediately but honestly it just feels so completely...different! I know it sounds dramatic, but I feel like I'm experiencing culture shock.

We decided it would be fun to drive through a neighborhood or two of two of homes at the top of our favorites list. We were both blown away! I don't know if it's just that we are coming from something so completely different, but these neighborhoods are beautiful! We kept having to pinch ourselves that this is for real. I almost feel like a total jerk looking to buy something in such a nice place. In fact one of the homes that we have LOVED on line and loved the neighborhood looked like it may have a very small backyard. Like not really room for a garden and and any place to toss a football. We shall see what it's really like but we felt like how could we be so picky now, and yet I don't want to choose something that really won't workout in the end, just because it actually has closets, and a garage and more than one bathroom big enough that you can't sit on the potty, wash your feet in the shower and your hands in the sink. Don't get me wrong. Jersey has been really good for us and I am actually really sad to leave for several reasons but being here now is making me feel really excited.

After we checked itto our hotel the kids did a little swimming in the 89 degree weather. I will say that the water was freezing! It was breezy too but they were having a ball. I just put my feet in with Jane and Randall was a champ to get in with the kids. We are now waiting for my parents to arrive which should be any time now. The kids are a little wild now I'm sure making up for the fact they've been strapped in their seats for so long.

I want to post pics but I only have Rand's work computer so I can't until we get home. We are excited for tomorrow. Our agent said she has appointments set all day. We hope everything falls into place! Who's going to be first to come visit? It's not NYC but I'm sure we could at the very least find us some good BBQ.