Summer Trip 2017: Day 15 - Last day in Moscow and Flight Home

We had to check out of our hotel at noon.  Our flight back to Kazakhstan wasn't until after 9:00 p.m.  We asked the hotel if we could leave our bags, and they graciously let us keep them in a room in the back.  We went and had a late breakfast/early lunch, and then checked out.  We had decided that we would go and watch the new "Despicable Me 3" movie in the theater.  We had looked at going to ice skating, but the ice arena was too far away, and the reviews didn't make it seem like a good option.

We took the Metro and found the mall where the movie was showing without any problem.  The movie theater was quite small, but nice.  We bought popcorn and water and settled in to watch. The Stice family just had to go off what was shown on the screen, but our girls could understand it.  The movie itself was a bit of a disappointment, it was quite disjointed and didn't seem to have the same heart as the earlier films.

Adan and Eve fountain we found on our way to the movies.

While looking for the movie theater, we went the wrong direction and found this beautiful church!

After the movie was over, we decided we'd go and see the Moscow River up close.  There was a canal and an industrial area right across the street, but a cross street led to the river, so we started walking.  After two blocks, we were at the river, and we found ourselves right across from the Kremlin and Red Square.  The view across the river was amazing, and we spent a few minutes watching the boats come by on the river, and looking at the view.  The Metro station was the same either direction, so we walked across the bridge and for the third time in three days - onto Red Square.

Red Square across the Moskva River

Beautiful

About halfway across the square, it started raining, so we made our way quickly to the Metro station.  We took a quick trip back to the hotel, got our things, and then back to the Metro to the train station.  We took the AeroExpress train back to the airport.  The journey was nice and we arrived at the airport at about 5:30 pm.

We went to the Burger King and had a slow relaxing meal.  Then we went and stood in line to check in for our flight.  We got through that process and had a few hours to wait for our flight.

The flight back to Astana went well.  It was a bit turbulent, but no problems.  We arrived and got through passport control and customs without any problems and were back at our house by 6:00 a.m.  We had been gone for fifteen days, three countries, five cities, and a whole lot of walking and adventures.  We had a lovely time.

The Joys of Homelessness

Homelessness is a serious problem and we have empathy for those that find themselves in that situation unintentionally.  We are currently homeless, but this is a blessing in our lives - and entirely temporary.  This is the second time that our family has been "between homes" and both times have been a good experience.

The first time that we were homeless was in the summer of 2008.  We had a three year old, a two year old and twins  who were only about two and a half months old.  We sold our house in Logan at the beginning of July, but were not moving to Iowa City until the beginning of August.  We spent that month living mostly with my Aunt Kathi in her large house in South Ogden.  The basement of her house was larger than the house we were living in.  In addition, she cooked for us and we got to swim in her pool.  That was a great experience for all of us.

This round of homelessness is more meaningful for us because of our house in Iowa City.  We had it under contract to sell when we moved to Las Vegas last summer.  The financing for the buyers fell through, and by that time the market had slowed.  That meant that for the past year we've been paying for two houses.  The house in Iowa got an offer on it in June.  The offer was lower than what we were planning, but we went with it.  Then the house flooded.  We ended up getting some insurance money, and making some cash concessions to the buyers, but the house sold and we don't have to worry about it anymore.  The house sold on July 17th.  We moved out of our Las Vegas house on 21 July.  We are truly homeless, but not without a place to stay.  We've spent time staying with my mom and with my sister and her family.  We fly out to Kazakhstan in a few days and we know that we have an apartment there waiting for us.

Our Penske Truck Packed and Ready to Roll: Leaving Las Vegas

Until then, however, we are basking in the feeling of being freed from the burden of an unsold house - and free from paying rent for two weeks!