Less than two weeks to go!

In two weeks from today, we will be coming home from Baton Rouge.  Which means, in less than two weeks from now, we will be down there exploring!  I don't think Mike or I could be more excited.

We set up appointments to view seven (seven!) apartment complexes.   The map below shows their location, as well as the location of our major landmarks-- LSU, the airport, and of course, Trader Joe's.  Oh yeah, and that big spiny thing? That's the Mississippi River.  We will be living next to the mighty Mississippi.  What life is this?


Major landmarks and apartment complexes of interest in Baton Rouge
courtesy of Google maps

After scouring the internet, we have some favorites.  Our top two are Maison Bocage and Evergreen at Coursey Place.  The apartments are wonderful (and such a change from those in the Capital Distric of NY, because they offer spacious, open floor plans including big kitchens with lots of counter space) and laundry in the apartment itself.  Let me tell you how much we are looking forward to being in our pjs, doing laundry while we watch TV or work, rather than schlepping it downstairs, outside, to the next building, and down into the basement.  We will be spoiled.

Is it obvious that I'm (we're) fairly neurotic?  Does the map give it away?  The best was calling to set up the appointments and responding to the inevitable question, "When are you moving?"

"Well... [pause]... my husband was offered a job

in Baton Rouge recently and we'll be coming to the area at the

end of February but we're not moving until August 1."

 

Either people were in total shock that we were thinking about this so early, or they praised me for our planning.  It's probably just me, but if I'm going to pack up all of my wordly possessions into a truck, drive for 22+ hours over two or three days and relocate to a completely different geographic location, culture, world... I want to know I have a good apartment waiting for me.  The best possible apartment we could find for our budget, in fact.  So yes, we may be neurotic, but I refuse to fly by the seat of my pants on this one.  Not when everything else in our lives is changing.

We made all of our appointments for the first two days that we'll be there, so we'll have the third day free to explore Nola or hit the beach.  We're sort of playing it by ear, but any suggestions for restaurants, things to do or places to go would be lovely!

Other than that, we have just been continuing to sell books online and Craigslist things we no longer use, need, or want to move with us (anyone need some random speakers or a dead macbook shell?).  It's amazing how much stuff we have accumulated in the past three years that we've been living here.  It feels good to release things and lighten our load a little, because before we know it, we will be in the car on the way to our new home.