Officially in Austin, Texas

Well, the move to Austin, TX, happened last week.

Vik and I flew with the dogs to Houston on Continental. That way, it was a direct flight and Continental has the best reputation with pet transportation. They did great. Then, we drove to Austin. The trip should take 3 hrs or so, but took us 4+, what with frequent stops to give Ariel breaks — at age 14, the car ride was the hardest part of the trip for her.

The furniture arrived on Thursday and for the past week we've been slowly unpacking the 150+ boxes of stuff. Sounds like a lot (and it is), but not when I tell you the boxes themselves are quite small (liquor store boxes mostly).

The weather here is still in the 80s during the day, though night time temps have dropped as low as 45. I can't tell you how divine it is to sit on the terrace with my morning coffee! In the afternoons, I've been taking the dogs to the lake. Wilbur has been intrigued and has waded as deep as his chest into the water — one of these days the kid will swim, I can feel it. Ariel looks at me like, "You and what army?" when I say I want her to come in the water with us.

I bought a GPS system before coming here, and so far I've not gotten lost. I've scouted out all the most important things — Starbucks, grocery store, video store, burger joint — and next week I'll try to do some real exploring. I want to start horseback riding and to find a nice yoga place for starters. It's been 4 weeks since surgery, so I think it's safe by now.

Tomorrow is Halloween and I'm just hoping we get some kids, because I have soooo much candy, it better not stay here making eyes at me!

That's all she wrote for now. More updates when I've more to tell :)

Stay well everyone!
Anniina