Alaska Trip - Day 18 -- IN KODIAK!!

Well...we made it to Kodiak today!!

We arrived via ferry at 8am this morning. The boat docked and we walked down to the car loading area to get ready to leave the ship. We were excited to see that the dogs did well alone in the car all night...the ferry would not allow them to come up to the deck. So, for 12 hours they were alone in the car. They were SUPER EXCITED to see us when we came down!! ...super thirsty, super hungry, and needing to pee...but they were really glad to see us!

As we pulled out of the ferry...towed car & everything...we saw the Chris' new Senior Chief, Chief, and 2 of his fellow airmen. They were all there to welcome us to Kodiak. We pulled the car off to the side and got out to greet them. As Chris went off to greet his new coworkers, 2 women came up to talk with me. They were from the Kodiak Spouses Association and they knew I was coming...I was surprised and flattered that they came out for me!! It was really nice of them!!

We talked with everyone for a little while and then Alex Major (Chris' friend from San Diego who is now stationed in Kodiak) took us off to get all checked in with the appropriate offices. Chris got checked with the Admin offices quickly, and then we were off to the Housing Offices. This is where the "Happy Story" becomes a little sticky.

We walked in and the lady there pretty much said "Welcome to Kodiak, we have no room for you." She went on and on about we should consider renting an apartment in the City because the Coast Guard Housing was full...even went as far to give us the daily listings of open rentals. The whole time this lady is trying to give us bad news...I'm just thinking...Holy Shit! Where will we go now?!?! -- We hadn't made any reservations at a hotel because a few weeks ago the very-same-Housing Office said that they had "plenty of housing" and we shouldn't be concerned. Well, needless to say...they lied.

We are now #8 on the list and waiting to get a house. She said it could be a few weeks before we get a house; and when something finally does become available we will need to take-it-or-leave-it...basically saying that if we don't like what's available we're up Shit-Creek! (sorry for the 4-letter-words...I'm so upset right now) We were under such different expectations!

We called the 1st listing on the ad which did not say "No Pets" (there were about 7 listings total...no one wants pets) and the 1st listing we called said he'd prefer No Pets, but might consider us. However, the location wouldn't be available for another few weeks. So, we'll be stuck in a hotel for at least a few weeks!!!!! SHIT...we've been in a hotel for 3 weeks already!!!!!

Speaking of which...this is where I am writing from...yet another freak'n hotel! We were able to get into a local hotel which actually accepts dogs...thank God!! And, I guess we'll be homeless for a little while longer.

Oh...it gets better... let's talk money... I know this is a "foopaw subject" but we're going to briefly discuss it. -- The Coast Guard does not pre-pay our current hotel stay in Kodiak while we're awaiting housing! We need to put the money up-front for the hotel and we "should" be able to get about $140/day to spend on a room, however the room is costing us $180/night, but they don't care...and we can file the form after a ten-day period, and then it takes about 3 weeks to get reimbursed. (Hell, I just got reimbursement last week for a claim they owed us for Chris' expenses while he was in North Carolina Jan-May!!) So, basically...we're going to front a hotel stay for about 2 weeks at a rate of $180/day for 14 days...um, that comes out to roughly $2500 out of our own pocket!! And then the Coast Guard will pay us back like a month later. Again...Holy Shit!!!

So, that's the story right now. It's a little after 1pm, and Chris is out doing some more admin stuff...so I might have an update for you again later.

By the way...we got a phone call this morning to tell us that all our stuff arrived today! So, our "house" is here, but we still don't have a home!!