Moving to Italy: part two

Yesterday I left you with us arriving in Georgia. We had a few things to finalize and finish up in the Peach State before we could continue on our journey.

The first, of which, sucked. We had to say “see ya later” to more friends. The women I met in that tiny, middle Georgia town are like family to me, and you know how hard it is to say bye to family! The day before we left, they threw us an American-themed going away party, where we chowed down on fried chicken, pizza (greasy, totally-bad-for-you, American-style pizza), mac ‘n cheese, and good-ol’ fashioned apple pie! 

Chowing down on crunchy fried chicken! Classy, I know.

Natalie even went one step further and made these charming ruffled streamers, and hung them up all around the clubhouse (thanks for the idea, Pinterest)!

Meet Natalie, the woman behind Oven Love‘s apron 🙂

The next day I went with my husband to work while he did his “final out,” and snapped this picture. His call sign with this squadron was Beaker (because he kinda looks like Beaker from the Muppets and he always drinks coffee from a large, glass beaker)! 

Then it was off to run errands, sell a few last essential items (thank you to the couple who finally bought our washer and dryer!), and head out of town. She didn’t know it at the time, but this was Bella’s last time for running around in the backyard. I started getting misty-eyed as I took this picture.

Driving away from our house left me with the Ugly Cry.

That day, to make it a bit easier on Bella, we only drove to Atlanta. (She gets car sick, so we got her some fantastic medicine to help with it the entire trip.) We had a wonderful meal at Fleming’s Steakhouse one last time. The next day we drove to North Carolina to spend the night.

*Side note: A lot of people were extremely worried about the fact that we were bringing Bella with us. Our plane to Italy was flying out of Baltimore, and we had the option of flying from Atlanta to BWI, but choose to drive instead of putting her on a plane twice. Driving meant a few extra days of traveling, but we felt it was the best idea for us. She stayed in her crate the entire time and we didn’t have a single issue. Before our trip we got her used to the crate, so it was a comfy and safe place for her.*

After North Carolina we spent two nights in Baltimore. The best part about the three weeks leading up to our move was seeing so many family and friends, and our last stop was no exception! We met up with my husband’s cousin and her fiance and dined on local seafood before getting a tour of Baltimore! 

I can’t even tell you how freaking delicious the oysters on the left were. And the fish in the middle was ginormous! If you’re in Baltimore, definitely check out Mama’s on the Half Shell.

The next day was our last full day in America, and since we were so close to our nation’s capital, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spend our day there. My husband had never been there before, so it was exciting to spend a few hours walking around Washington D.C.

We even brought Bella along for a puppy adventure! 

No ducks were harmed in the taking of these pictures.

Before we knew it, our day was over. We knew the next day would be a long day at the airport and on a plane, so we went to bed early(ish). 

Part three coming soon… 🙂