Home from Tampa

Phillip and I arrived home about 12:30 this afternoon. Let the laundry begin. And the mega-logistics of having him housed in Tampa by January 5th. That sounds easy enough, but the problem is that his job is contingent upon him having a Florida driver's license and being ready to obtain a Florida CDL license. He can't get those licenses unless he's a Florida resident. And he can't rent an apartment without having a job, especially since he has no rental history. However, his employer is going to provide him with a letter of intent that includes his salary (we still don't know if he's a Level A or B mechanic) and that should be sufficient for renting a place.

Yesterday we did the majority of the apartment hunting. We went to a couple on Wednesday afternoon, but by the time Phillip knew that he had a job, it was late afternoon, and most leasing offices close by 5 or 6 p.m. We started our search via McDonald's wifi, and one of the areas Phillip wanted to look in is Davis Island, south of Tampa. It was a short, nice drive, and the island is delightful. One side is mostly houses, and the other side is mostly rentals (apartments and condos). Here are a couple of the houses.

The southernmost part of the island has a small airport, and this is what we saw there.

I should have made pictures of the apartments/condos that we saw, but I didn't think about it. He could probably afford these places, and he liked the idea of living on an island. However, what you don't find out via the Internet is what these buildings truly look like, and how old they are. The places we saw looked like they had been built in the first half of the last century, with very little updating done since, except for sawing a hole in an exterior wall in order to insert an air conditioning unit. So, Davis Island is pretty much out.

We did find two or three good possibilities in his price range close to work and on the bus route, since he gets free bus transportation. Now, it's a matter of nailing it all down.

As we started toward home yesterday evening, Phillip tried to make a picture of a beautiful sky behind us. It didn't work so well through the Cruiser's back window, but it's still an interesting shot.