Day 5 - Homeless

June 16th

We leave Memphis and head out toward our next pit stop, Knoxville.  Cassie and I are getting a little quieter in the car, and as we start seeing the scenery change and become more "southern" we cry a few times.  We are getting closer, and we can feel it.  Rest stops in this part of the country are wonderfully beautiful.  We enjoy our lunch at a picturesque picnic table, after going through a little bit of rain in Nashville.

Thankfully the pretty drive to Knoxville is uneventful, and we arrive at our hotel safely.  Things are starting to look familiar to us, and I'm wondering if we are close enough to Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge to take  Cassie there for some sights that we saw on our vacation there last year.  As we are getting the dogs and all the luggage into our - yes second floor - hotel room, I drop Herman.  His bowl flips in the air and lands on the lid.  I can't believe he has made it so far on this trip, documenting it for us on Facebook and now I may have killed him.  I quickly get him inside and on the sink.  He is swimming, looking none too worse for wear.  Thank goodness. Today I'm a little worried about Soo because she hasn't eaten hardly anything and now isn't drinking much either.  Later that night she throws up.  Maybe she was just car sick.  I get to work cleaning, luckily I have some carpet cleaner with me.

While on the road, Chris had found out that our mortgage company was no longer agreeing to the terms of the loan. When we get to Knoxville, he is really stressed, saying we have no home to move into when we get to Greensboro.  When we finally reach the hotel, we find out that the loan had been approved based on Chris' contract with the company he had been working for in Phoenix.  We were supposedly approved and all we had to do was sign the papers once we got there.  They decided to do one last credit check before we arrive, and found out the Chris had already started the job in Greensboro for a different contracting company.  They consider this a new job, and want at least 30 to 90 days of pay stubs when starting a new job.  We explain -again- how technically he is still doing the same job he has been doing since 2005.  Norma is the mortgage broker and she is telling us that she understands, but we need to get the underwriters to understand.  She tells Chris he needs a letter from his new employer at HP.  We feel we are back at square one again, and now are worried - will this all fall through at the last minute??  Chris sends a quick email to the HR guy that hired him, and then we drink beer and play Parcheesi, trying to relax. Cassie and I paint our toes, and use some flower stickers that I bought.  We love it!!!