From Georgia to Colorado: Our First PCS

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First, let me begin by telling you that this journey was not easy. We had five days of travel, two special needs kids, went through three time changes, spent two weeks in and out of hotels, and went through six different states (Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado)!

We knew about two months in advance that we were PCSing and the amount of work it took to get everything together for our two special needs kids and to buy a house was ridiculous. But somehow we did it! I look back and I am amazed by the goodness of God.

Our First PCS: First Stop Chattanooga, Tennessee

We left Georgia the morning of March 10th, and made the three hour drive to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Living in Georgia the past six years, I had heard a lot about Tennessee, especially Chattanooga.

A few days before we left, I asked on Facebook what were the best places to see in Chattanooga. The top places we were told to go see were:

A lot of these would have been great had we more time there and no kids (some were not great for young children), I hope someday I can go back and see more as it was a nice area and so much to do! We ended up choosing to go to The Creative Discovery Museum. We wanted to visit the antique carousel, but it was raining and we didn’t have enough time.

The Creative Discovery Museum was great. There was so much to do and something for every age! The kids had a wonderful time playing and exploring and we had fun watching them. This was their first visit to a museum and it went well!

Our First PCS: Second Stop St. Louis, Missouri

Our second stop for the night was St. Louis Missouri, but before we arrived there we had one special stop along the way!

Before we ever left for our trip, my friend Ashley told us about a place that we just had to stop at along the way: Metropolis, Illinois – Superman’s “hometown.” Now my son is a huge superhero fan so I just knew he would get a kick out of it!

Superman Square had a 15 foot tall superman statue that we got to take pictures with and they also had a SuperMuseum and Gift Store which was also pretty cool! My husband is a big superhero fan and growing up I had two brothers who loved watching the old superman re-runs. We ended up touring the museum and getting some superman memorabilia for the kids as well!

After visiting Metropolis, we still had a couple hour’s drive to Missouri. My goal had been to go visit the Arch in St. Louis, but we didn’t have enough time to do so. However we did drive near it enough that I could see it, and it was pretty amazing!

Our one night in Missouri was the best night yet, because we got to stay with long-time friends of my family that I hadn’t seen in over eleven years! The Marais family has been friends of my family since high school! I went to school with their boys, their dad helped teach me to drive, and my mom was their mom’s best friend and they still are best friends today.

When my mom heard that we would be driving through, she told me we just had to stop and visit. They invited us to stay overnight in their home which was a nice break from the hotels. They had never met my husband since we didn’t meet until college so we got to catch up and talk about old times. It was a lot of fun!

Our First PCS: Third Stop Kansas City, Kansas

After we left our friend’s home we headed to Kansas City for a fun surprise for the kids. We were going to Legoland! I did some research before we left Georgia, and I found Legoland to be one of the biggest family attractions in Kansas. We all loved The Lego Movie and my son loves all things “lego” so this was a good pick for us.

We had a rough start to our drive with having to stop at a Verizon store in Topeka, Kansas to get my dead phone fixed, but once we arrived we had a lot of fun. There were rides, and lots of fun things for the kids to play with. Both kids loved playing in the lego pits, and my son just loved the ride where he got to “shoot” the bad guys!

That night, we stayed in a hotel in Kansas City. I was really sick that night either from the exhaustion of travel or the stress I’m not sure, but thankfully I made it through the night and was okay to start our drive the next day.

Our First PCS: Fourth Stop Burlington, Colorado

Before made it to Colorado, we had a six hour drive through Kansas. That was probably the hardest part of the trip as there is absolutely nothing out there but wind and windmills…

We didn’t have any special plans for our next stop in Burlington, Colorado, as it was a very small town and there was nothing there. We chose to use this time to rest a little as the time changes had really gotten to all of us. We had Daylight Savings the week before we left, a time change in Tennessee, and another in Colorado.

Our First PCS: Last Stop Colorado Springs

After we left Burlington, we were so excited to get to the Springs. This was where our new home was going to be! It was only a three hour drive, and a few hours before, it was clear enough that we could see the mountains in the springs. It was amazing! We couldn’t believe this was going to be our view for the next four years at least!

Colorado Springs is huge. It’s been a long time since I’ve lived in a place this big and I feel as though I am ready! The next two days we stayed in temporary housing on the Air Force Academy which is nestled right below all the mountains. The pictures below was our view…

Since then, we have closed on our house and settled into a new way of life. We are still getting our kids set up with their doctors, therapists, and specialists, still unpacking our house, and still need and want to make lots of new friends.

I am excited for what God has for us here in this new place nestled below the mountains. It’s one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and I am so thankful we can be here.