Travels Around the US

I have taken advantage of my time off the last week and a half and have been traveling. I finally arrived back in NC on Saturday and will be here until next Sunday when I fly to Germany. Here are the highlights of my adventures around the US.

First, I went to Tucson, AZ for a reunion with the girls from my family medicine residency program. We spent the majority of our time just reconnecting, playing with my friend, Tracy's, infant son, eating ice cream (Cold Stone, I love you!) and seeing movies (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 was just right for this group). Two of the four of us will now be living in the area, so it will make it easier to get together. While some things have changed over the last year, our friendship still remains!

Next, it was a red eye flight to DC to see my sister, my cats (yes Jennie, they are still MY cats) and my cousins/little cousins. It was a bit interesting squeezing seven people (one preteen and teenager included) into a two bedroom apartment with one shower, but we managed. After avoiding the Holocaust Museum for three years under the pretense of not being mentally stable enough to go to it, my cousins, sister and I ventured there. It was very well done and emotional and allowed me to practice reading some German. It's amazing to think that I'll be living in Germany in less than a week and more amazing to think that the museum shows what Germany was like less than 70 years ago. For a more relaxing experience, we then went to the Native American Museum, ESPN Zone and then up the Washington Monument. All in all if was an interesting, if somewhat tiring, day. We then spent the next day and a half relaxing (somewhat). I was great to get to see everyone! Good luck, Cecilia, with starting high school this week!

Then it was off to the Baltimore Airport to pick up my friend Augusta (one of my roommates from medical school) and travel to Lancaster, PA to visit our other friend, Heidi (another of my roommates from med school). Amazingly, when I got to baggage claim to meet Augusta, I ran into my friends, Pat and Lynn, who were with me in Korea and who I was going to be visiting in PA the next day! It's definitely a small world!

Heidi, August and I spent our night reminescing and going to Issac's (great restaurant where they have soft pretzel sandwiches!). The next day Augusta and I walked around downtown Lancaster (they have a wonderful farmer's market), hunted for a church (long story, unfortunately we didn't find one that had Mass) and then headed off to Hershey's Chocolate World.

Anyone who has met me probably knows of my love of chocolate. I went to Penn State MedicalSchool which is located in Hershey, PA. I can't say that being located in Hershey was the main reason for choosing this school but it definitely didn't hurt! Chocolate World not only has a multitude of different Hershey products for sale, but it also has a ride where you learn about the making of chocolate. And the best part is that you get a free piece of chocolate at the end of the ride. Okay, I'm a sucker for chocolate! Of course, we (Augusta, Adam and I) went on the ride (Adam had never been there so we did not subject him to our full rendition of the "Hershey's chocolate, Hershey's chocolate, it's a Hershey's chocolate world" theme song on the ride) and then got ice cream (Reeses peanut butter cup sundae w/ chocolate peanut butter ice cream for me of course!) All in all it was a great trip!

Last, but definitely not least, it was back to Lancaster (Manheim, technically) to my friend Lynn's parents' house to visit her, Pat, Adeline and her parents. If you've never been to Lancaster it's beautiful and a great mix of old and new culture. Lynn's parents have a wonderful house, a large lawn, a little pond w/ fish and beautiful flowers! I also got to see how much Adeline (now almost 18 months) is growing and learning. She now definitely knows the meaning of the word 'no' and how to use it. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing. It was great to see them all and I could definitely see myself living in that area (I mapquested and found that there's a Starbucks 8.6 miles away, so it's definitely do-able!)

I had to include lots of pictures of Adeline here b/c she's just so darn cute! (I know her parents and grandparents would agree!)

All in all it was a great trip despite the many flights! I'm now back in NC and will be living for Germany on Sunday. I'm both excited and nervous, but know that I will have the chance to meet many wonderful people. The invitation is open to anyone (well, anyone I know) to come and visit. I'll miss you all!