July 11, 2006 day 31 of what one friend called our great escape.

Since many of you have been asking how we are doing I thought we should update the blog. Sorry we have not been really good at communicating, but we have been working quite hard to get settled and back to work. So, since most of you last heard from us, here is the scoop!

We spent about a week and a half in a hotel room trying to find a place to rent. In the middle of that time we decide to try a place with a kitchenette that said they would take dogs. It was $600 a week, but that was better than the $150 a night with no kitchen, or so we thought!?@! It was one very long and memorable night as Scott and I slept on a day bed with a trundle bed under it above a carpet that had been soaked with cleaning fluid and required a fan going at high speed so we could breathe. We thought we could handle that and the fact that the place was a pig sty, but once we determined that the shower did not work either, we decided to move back to the Comfort Inn. That was about day 22.

We continued to try to find a place to rent. We even threatened to return to Florida, after all we were still packed and we still have a house to go back to. Needless to say we are still here. As we continued to look for places we tried a triplex that was recently bought by a UAF faculty member. He was planning on fixing it up to rent and we thought maybe Scott could help and we could live in during the renovations. Unfortunately, I do not think I would have even let Thor live there and someone had decided to squat there anyway. The experience did get Scott a job though. He is helping the contractor fix the place up and will have a job for the next month or two doing that. The extra money is a real relief.

After the bad triplex experience we decided to bite the bullet and rent the place we had talked to that wanted $3300 a month with out a lease. At least that way we could move as soon as the house sold. Well, that plan fell through as it had been rented the day before we made this decision. That seems to be the way the renter market is going in Fairbanks right now. Everything is really expensive, very run down and you do not even get to call on the once in the paper before they are already rented. So, back to plan A!

Remember when we left Florida we were thinking about a camp trailer and a camp ground fro a few months? Well, that is where we ended up. Even with this we had problems, but we also got real lucky. On the fourth of July we found a trailer we wanted and the lady running the place just happened to stop in. We did the paper work and crossed our fingers that the banks would give us a loan with our current situation.

For the rest of the fourth we took a break from finding a place to live and went to Pioneer Park which was right around the corner from the hotel and allowed your walk around with your dog. There were of course festivities going on and we thought we would try the Salmon Bake they were advertising. Anyway, because Thor is such an outgoing and interesting dog, we met a friendly couple. He was the president/CEO of a local credit union here and she is a hair dresser. They were quite nice and we had a very good conversation. We told them about our situation and he said that the credit union looks at not just the money situation people are in, but also their potential and can be creative sometimes. He said if we needed help when we found what we wanted to come see him and he would see if he could help make it happen.

It just so happens that that was the first financial institution that was tried for the trailer load and the loan was denied. That was until we went to see our new friend. All is well that ends well right? We are now the proud owners of a new trailer, have a plce to park it month to month that is quite nice and are moving on with our lives.

I have been back to work for three days now and Scott started back on Monday. Things are looking up and we are doing well. In fact, I am sitting outside the trailer on a very beautiful evening with bright blue sunny skies. Thor is sleeping quietly here beside me as I wore him out with a long walk along the river. Scott is at a meeting about the new Gas Pipeline and all is well in our world.

My only complaint right now is that the park we are in does not have wireless internet. They have a connection in the building, but it is not always open. I have been working a deal with them though. I gave them my wireless router and made the park wireless. Unfortunately it does not quite reach where we are. I plan to try a repeater and see if I can get a decent connection, but that will have to wait until I can find a repeater to extend the signal.

Well, I have work to do for my class and the St. Pete project, so I better sign off. Scott can add more later if he feels up to it.

You are all in our thoughts! – S&S