Upon extending our assignment in Tunis to August 2024, we were mandated to take home leave back in the States for at least one month. We decided to take 21 days and left Friday, July 15 for Virginia. An interesting start to the journey when in Paris, our flight ultimately got canceled due to mechanical issues. We ended up in a hotel that evening and took a subsequent flight the next day. In retrospect, I should’ve taken the incentive of 600 Euros to volunteer instead of waiting and hoping the flight would depart the same day. We still have a claim with AirHelp to receive some compensation for our troubles.
The first week of home leave was devoted to doctor and dentist appointments and fortunately, Aiden didn’t need tonsil removal surgery which freed up our plans. We decided to take two trips to the South which were Williamsburg and Charleston and spend 10 days total touring through those areas and seeing the sites. We made some new experiences including zip lining, Escape Room, and water slides. I tried out Planet Fitness and was impressed with the facilities and the price.
The other big news is purchasing another investment property in Manassas on the same street as our other property on Ratcliffe Trl. We closed in record time after submitting multiple documents and working with various stakeholders including Redfin agent, owner, and closing company. We closed on August 10 after sending another wire and secured a tenant for move-in August 19. The deposit was received on August 12 (my birthday) and Pop coordinated the cleaning of the condo on August 15. My birthday was great with cake and Thai food during lunch. Then we went to Barnes and Nobles to buy some books for all of us.
The next day we departed back to Tunis and felt good accomplishing a lot of our goals and excited about managing four properties and might add a 5th in a year or so or even look at buying an apartment building!
