This is a story with no pictures, mainly because it was so long ago. If you choose to not read, that's fine too.
Back in 2000, we had a 6 year old and a 3 year old and were living in an apartment. We had big dreams, but they were somewhat vague and involved art and traveling. At one point, in an effort to gain focus and stop distracting ourselves, we gave up TV. These were the quiet days before cell phones so we had time in our heads to ponder. It became clear that what we really needed to do was pursue the original dream we had- art school. An animation program, to be specific.
So...being the research-oriented person I am, I started looking up animation programs. Yes, we had Internet (and indoor plumbing!) I gather and condense information as a way of life so I basically had this list of schools. One of them had won the Chuck Jones Award for Excellence (or something similar) and seemed good. State school so tuition was decent. Great program. Good size with smaller classes. But...it was 600 miles away in Pennsylvania.
David was really excited by that one so we sent away for info and mentioned it to a few people. The first response we got was, "You're kidding! I know someone who lives there. And she's an artist!" Someone that lives in a town of 7000 people 600 miles away. Seemed like a sign.
We got the info and made the decision to move there. It was crazy, but it was right. David applied, got accepted and we started telling people. Then we started the moving process.
We made contact with the artist we were introduced to (she and her husband said we could stay with them for the weekend) and my dad rented us a van for the drive up. We went up in April, knowing we were moving there but knowing nothing about what THERE even was. Looking back...yes, it was crazy. But it was adventure!
Next up- Part 2- The Trip