Day 1 of Grand Adventure: Playing Pac-man and Getting Settled

So...  the adventure has already been adventurous! 

The flights all went well yesterday.  Lainey was a champion flyer.  And the airport food we found along the way was actually mostly quite tastey. 

On the final descent into D.C, we snaked along the Patomac and were giddy to have an amazing view of the Washington Monument, and Jefferson and Lincoln memorials.  That was just a treat. 

We'd been set up the day before to have a Taxi come to get us from the airport and bring us to the family lodge even though we were coming a day early.  When we landed at 1:25 am, we headed to the baggage claim and looked around for the taxi and driver.  But said taxi and driver were no where to be found.  Andrew asked a few different Taxi drivers if they were there for us and they all said no.  Our flight had come in a little bit late, so I guess we just missed him and perhaps he there was a snag with the cell phone number or a miscommunication about the flight information.  Whatever, we didn't have a ride.

So Andy found us a Taxi willing to drive us from the airport to the NIH.  The ride was....  interesting.  Our driver was apparently feeling the effects of the late hour and he was also apparently a fan of Pac-man, because he seemed to think the dotted line was something to lead him along and not a barrier to stay inside.  Also, he nodded off a couple times at red lights.  On a more positive note we again got to see the beauty of the monuments at night as he drove through the city. 

The driver also wasn't hugely familiar with the medical center and we had quite a time finding a security gate through which we were authorized to enter.  We finally arrived at the right one and didn't expect what we found there.  Since we're Navy folk we're pretty accustomed to going through security gates, but as soon as the Taxi pulled up and the windows were rolled down we were ordered to get out of the car.  No pleasantries, or explanations, just "GET OUT OF THE CAR."  Eventually Andy pleaded with them to explain a little better since we were all very tired, and one of the guards softened a bit and let me sit down in the car while the ID situation was taken care of and the car was searched.  It was a little unsettling, but I'm sure not representative of the personalities we'll encounter overall.  It did make for a memorable entrance!!!

I trust that our driver got out of here ok.  I hope so.  I'm pretty certain he cut us a deal on the rate which makes up some for the....  somewhat nerve-wracking ordeal of a drive. 

Today we mostly have lounged around and rested up in the family lodge which is JUST BEAUTIFUL.  The
wonderful, and amazing Shauna stocked us up with some groceries in the kitchen without our even knowing it until we got here so we didn't even have to go out for food. 

We'll hit the ground running early tomorrow morning and find out what this is all really about.  I'm anxious, very anxious but even though I've done my share of hand-wringing today, I've also been blown away by the blessings that God has provided for us even down to the details of things.  We will get through this.