The return trip north by automobile was a little hairy, especially in the mountains where we encountered a good deal of snow and ice. There were no snow tires in those days and chains could quickly wear out and were almost impossible to purchase. I breathed a sigh of relief when we finally reached Philadelphia and proceeded to drive to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where Valley Forge General Hospital was under construction. We searched Phoenixville for private housing and found to our dismay that almost nothing was available and that rents were simply out of sight. When I applied for extra gasoline to travel to Philadelphia I was told rather bluntly by the commanding officer, Colonel Henry Beeuwkes, that I was asking for more gas than he used and he refused to approve my application. I found out later that the commanding officer obtained his gas on the post at minimal or no cost. This did not make me happy, but perhaps it served a purpose because Ardean and I decided that we would have to set up housekeeping in Philadelphia and I would live on the post in the officers’ barracks and commute by train to Philadelphia when I could. We were also quite concerned about Ardean's elderly mother who was boarding with relatives in Maryland. We had friends in Philadelphia and with their help we finally located an apartment at a rental we could afford. Soon Ardean and “Miss Annie” were living together, and Ardean obtained a position at the Graduate Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania as assistant directress of nursing under her good friend, Miss Helen Hawthorne, directress of nursing. Ardean's first position after graduation from the Philadelphia General Hospital School of Nursing in 1928 was as head nurse of the Children's Service at the Graduate Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; so it was like coming home again. Helen and Ardean, both graduates of that marvelous nursing school at Old Blockley, were almost like sisters, a friendship that endured for the remainder of their lives. Ardean's stipend helped augment my Captain's allotment. Fortunately, she was a good manager and she made a dollar go a long way. Life in the Army in wartime is always unpredictable. There was no guarantee how long we would remain in one assignment or another. We were advised to travel light and be ready to move on short notice.