Tales From the Fremont Troll to the Land of Pizza

Flash back to Saturday and I could be found in an overcast Seattle riding around in a Prius with Jimbo and his daughter looking for the Fremont Troll. For those of you unaware of this entertaining sculpture, it is a humongous cement image of a one-eyed troll under the Fremont Bridge that has an actual Volkswagen Beetle in its clutches. I have a tendency to lean toward odd tourist attractions for their sheer amusement factor, and it's even better when it's free of charge to visit. I waited for a few other tourists to snap pictures before I climbed up onto the troll hand to pose for the camera. Lana soon joined me and grabbed a sign that was on the ground to hold up. The sign said, "There is no prize." Whatever that means...
Our next stop for the day was Pike's Place Market. After a few U-turns, we found a parking lot with obnoxiously tiny stalls to park in. It would have been easier to climb out a sunroof than to open a door, but a digress. We ventured over a little overpass that we decided to name "The Catwalk" since there was a bunch of random street art portraying cats. One was supposed to be Marilyn Monroe standing by an air vent, another was a soldier, and then there was an office nerd. Continuing up the street we saw a restaurant named The Spanish Table and a store named Ugly Baby and La Ru. I'm still confused by it all, but I guess that's allowed.

Wandering around the public market on a Saturday probably wasn't the best idea given all of the people, so it was hard to maneuver. I seemed like every shop was burning incense of some form, but that doesn't mean I wasn't thoroughly entertained. I think my favorite part was when we wandered into this random art shop and there were two guys chatting. Since the shop was so small, it was hard not to overhear what was being discussed. Soon I was keenly engrossed in this extremely preposterous story that all started with some dude breaking the back window of this guys car in front of a cop. The guy who broke the window ended up getting arrested and going to jail for an unknown period of time. The man telling the story apparently had to pickup somebody from the airport the day his window was broken, so he was none too thrilled. Whenever the perpetrator got out of jail, I guess he kept telling the man that he would help pay for the $700 worth of damage he had done to the man's car. But that apparently will now never happen because one day the perpetrator, at the age of 42, got thrown out of the window of a building and died. The end, that was all the guy said before asking us if we needed help finding anything. Thankfully Jim answered him because I was too busy trying to stifle my laughter while my back was turned to him. I by no means find it funny that the man died, but the story was just so super random, it was hard not to laugh.
Soon we found ourselves wandering again, stopping in record shops and a book store. Lana and I both looked at kids books. I flipped through the lovely story Everybody Poops while she looked at a book about people farting. Why children's books have to be about bodily functions I'll never quite understand. As we wandered through the store, the clerk began asking us questions and singing some responses. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation, but then again, my life is always a bunch of awkward moments pieced together for the world's amusement.
Sunday we went to church, I helped stack some firewood, and had dinner with some other family. Monday was a beautiful sunny day, of course since it was the day before I left. Just to get the torture over with, Lana and I went to the mall to find a prom dress for her. Like me, she wanted to avoid pink and obnoxious sparkles. The thing about the mall compared to a thrift shop, though, is that it's hard to find what could be deemed a dress as opposed to a stripper outfit. JCPenney finally had something suitable in midnight blue, and then we took advantage of the sun and got some food to eat on the terrace. It was weird to actually be sweating while sitting outside. I don't think I've done that since last summer. On our drive home I caught glimpses of Mt Rainier in the distance and we restocked the icecream supply in the freezer.
When Jim got home, he did some yard before driving me to the town of Enumclaw in order to get a better view of Mt Rainier from the local fairgrounds. It was beautiful to see the snowcapped mountain off in the distance, rising up over the farms and pastures. We took the scenic route up SE Mud Mtn before making our way back to Renton.
Yesterday Jim was kind enough to drop me off at Sea-Tac for my flight home. I briefly chatted with a woman in front of me in line at security. I of course was in a line for one of the fancy X-ray machines, but hey, at least the TSA agent liked my mismatched socks, which made the experience not so bad. I read a bit while sitting at my gate until an announcement was made that my gate had changed to one in the other corner of that section of the terminal. I picked up my bags and wandered that way, picking up my book again to make the time pass.
We boarded around 8:30am and soon we were taxiing and taking off, bound for Newark International. I took some pictures of the Cascade Mountains as we flew over them before becoming engrossed in my music and playing Tetris. I saw some of the Great Lakes out my window during the middle part of the trip, too. I read a few pages of Undaunted by Christine Caine, and in no time, we were approaching the Manhattan Skyline. I got some pictures of the Empire State Building and the Freedom Tower. I also caught a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty before we banked right to head over New Jersey. I chuckled to myself as I recognized the one bridge I frequently drive across in order to get to the Lincoln Tunnel into the bustling metropolis of New York.

Once safely on the ground, I informed certain friends of my arrival like they requested before de-planing. I got a call from my brother telling me that he was stuck in traffic by the Holland Tunnel, so I made my way to the food court and made a beeline for Villa, which was serving pizza. I only ordered one slice, but it was huge and worthwhile. As I sunk my teeth into it, I was so happy to finally be back in the land of good pizza. Seattle made some decent attempts, but there is definitely something special about pizza made in New York. And with that, I knew I was close to home, and back where I belonged.

The Lumberjack Tourist

So far my first two days in Renton, WA, have been interesting. I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting out of the trip because I made no real plans other than booking my flights to and from Seatac. Okay, that's not totally true. I wanted to visit the Freemont Troll, too, but other than that, I was going about this trip day-by-day to see what it would present.
My first day, I slept in until 10am in order to beat jetlag before it had a chance to fully set in. I'm in a cozy little room and the end of the house, crashing on what would be a futon if I pulled it out, but I prefer sleeping on couches because I'm weird. After I showered, Jimbo asked if I wanted to go to the Museum of Flight since he had extra tickets. I was pretty excited about this prospect because my grandfather was an aerospace engineer who tested spacesuits with Northrop Grumman and then worked on F-14 tomcats and spiral staircase designs for Boeing.

Before the museum, we went to an eclectic diner named, Randy's. It had a sign proclaiming that they were "always open," which was tempting me to show up in the middle of the night to see if this was in fact true. Also, as we pulled into Randy's, there was this really cool drive thru Starbucks constructed completely out of shipping containers. It was a rather unique setup, but I digress. I enjoyed the interior of Randy's because it was decked out in military and flight memorabilia. There were books on the back of the benches to read if you were interested, and old bombshells and parachutes along the walls and floor. I enjoyed some french toast and bacon before we ventured over to the Museum of Flight.
Once inside, there was a man who kindly suggested that we check out the Amelia Earhart exhibit, since it was only going to be there for another week. Jimbo and I wandered down to that floor and spent lots of time gazing up at all of the planes suspended from the ceiling. We made our way to the exhibit, and in typical fashion, we managed to wander through it backwards. I enjoyed learning about her life and how she influenced aviation. It was intriguing to read her thoughts on marriage from a letter she wrote to her soon to be husband. From there, we went through the Space Exhibit, which was one of my personal favorites because my grandfather helped work on the original lunar excursion module, tested space suits, and knew a handful of the original astronauts from the Mercury and Gemini programs. Soon we wandered to the WWI and WWII exhibits, which explained how dogfighting in the air came into being. There were many stories about pilot survival rate, pilots witnessing their wingmen getting shot down, and differences in the planes utilized during both wars. After these exhibits, Jimbo and I took the skywalk over the road to check out the mockup of the space shuttle. I had to laugh at the awful music playing along the walkway; it was a step down from elevator music, all puns intended. It was amazing to see the capacity of the space shuttle and learn how much fuel it burned. We then ended our tour by wandering through the British Airways Concorde that was on the premises. There was some excess condensation in one of the windows, so Jimbo and I joked that it just needed some fish to turn it into an aquarium.
This morning I got up around 9am. Since the weather was decent, Jimbo and I opted to go do some tree work for a few of his clients. I was happy that I packed some plaid in order to maintain the classic lumberjack look. We stopped for breakfast at Jay Berry's and then made our way to the first job. I mostly supervised on the first tree, and took a few pictures to pass the time. For the second tree, I was manning the rope that was tied to the branches so they could be slowly lowered to the ground since they were so close to the guy's house. We then made a quick stop at Jimbo's mom's house for some pop and chit-chat before venturing to the last job. We needed to prune the top of a tree in this woman's yard, so I spent the second half of my afternoon up on a 12 foot ladder using a pruning saw and lopping sheers in order to cut off certain branches while Jimbo just climbed the tree like the monkey that he is. With teamwork, we cut the time of the job in half, and I was happy to learn a few new skills while helping out. I came home covered in sawdust, but was happy for my contribution to the work.

We finished off our day by going to see The Grand Budapest Hotel. As expected, it was completely, utterly, ridiculous, which was just what I was looking for. And as weird as this sounds, my favorite part involved Willem Dafoe and a cat...reminiscent of The Boondock Saints...sort of. But the whole feel of the movie was much like something out of Monty Python.

Faces in Airports

I’m currently writing this while I’m sitting at Gate A30 in Newark International Airport. This is the second airport in the past five hours that I’ve mingled in, but that mingling has evoked some interesting thoughts in my head that I felt the need to express and convey to others.

Earlier today, I was at JFK International Airport waiting for my brother to arrive from Germany. Up until yesterday I didn’t even know what airline he would be flying back on due to the Lufthansa strike. You see, the reason I’m in Newark is to fly to Seattle to visit a friend that I met while volunteering with Samaritan’s Purse. He’s been bothering me for a year to come visit so I could meet his daughter, since she always hears stories about us volunteering together. A few weeks ago he bothered me again, but I told him I’d get back to him since I was playing airport chauffeur for my dad and brother. I mentioned to my mom the possibility of going to Seattle and she jokingly told me to search for flights that were leaving the same day my brother was flying back. Low and behold there was a relatively cheap flight from Newark to Seatac, so I made the “plan” to pick up my brother and then make my way to Newark for an evening flight. The thing is, though, that plans don’t always go, well, as planned. And that’s been the story of my life, so I wasn’t surprised that two days ago my brother told me his Lufthansa flight home was already cancelled due to the strike and he wasn’t quite sure what to do. Even though I had my “plan”, everyone in the family joked about how he would get home. My Oma figured he could just swim home, and my mom joked that maybe he would fly home via Australia in case the volcano in Iceland decided to erupt. Neither of those things happened, thankfully, so he booked a flight back on Singapore Airlines, our typical airline when traveling to and from Germany. To stick with the whole God-laughing-in-the-face-of-plans theme, my brother told me over lunch that he almost wasn’t able to fly back today because he accidentally booked for April 3^rd as opposed to the 2^nd, but the booking agent thankfully got him onto the flight today. But I digress.

While waiting in JFK, I did my usual people watching interspersed with reading. I’m currently reading Packing Light by Allison Vesterfelt, which is all about living life with less baggage, both literally and figuratively. What I noticed while I stood around Terminal 4 was, not only are there individuals from all over the world with different styles, religions, and skin colors, but they all have a variety of facial expressions. Without even talking to any of the people who were disembarking flights, I could tell exactly how they felt. Some looked exhausted from their international flights. Others looked exuberant, ready to explore a new found city on their travel itinerary. Then there were my favorite, the joyous reunions between family and friends. You can just watch their faces light up with immense joy to be reunited with those that they loved. Still, there are others who, when you gaze into their eyes, you can sense a low-level panic just beneath the surface. For those individuals, I imagine they either aren’t comfortable traveling alone, or they are starting their lives over and are overwhelmed by all of the unknowns within their future. So many faces surround me, and they all hold their own story.

As I sit at gate A30, though, the faces are still different. Many look serious, probably in an attempt to get some work done while waiting for boarding. Others are kicked back attempting to relax while they wait. Some are sipping on overpriced beverages that they bought at the nearby food court, probably secretly hoping they won’t have to make a bathroom run too close to boarding. Parents entertain young children, while others shut themselves out from the world around them using any means possible, but typically this is in the form of headphones, laptops, or smart phones. Everyone desperate to connect with people, just not with those on the seats adjacent to where they’re at.

I hope that there are others who take the time to be as observant as me, willing to take in their surroundings and not miss anything amid the hustle and bustle of daily life. We are so easily consumed by distractions that we hardly ever take the time to look into someone’s face, let alone their eyes, to truly get a sense of how they’re feeling. The face tells no lies, whereas communications through devices are always deceiving. 

As I close this airport ramble, it is my hope that you will take the time today to not be so selfishly engrossed in your own world, but rather to take a minute to look outside it. Share a friendly smile or head nod with someone, or any other sort of acknowledgement so that you each know you’re not in this daily battle alone.

A Year Full of Updates...GO!

Gosh it's been awhile since I've written anything here. The shame of the matter is that I've been so many places and done so many things in the past year that I feel like this post could go on forever, but I would rather ramble than skip a whole year of my life. So I'll do my best to give the highlights and not ramble on aimlessly, but if I was smart, I would have been more diligent with travel updates in order to avoid this fiasco. Alas, I'm blonde, though, so bear with me as I try to flip through journals and remember/reminisce about my adventures.
Last you read was that I was on my way to Mississippi to volunteer for tornado cleanup with Samaritan's Purse. I did this for five days and it was a good experience. I spent most of my time picking up debris in yards and bonding with a couple from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There was also a group of college kids from Michigan that I slowly got to know throughout the week, and we finished things off by getting icecream at Bops the night before I began my drive north again. During the week, I was blessed with the opportunity to find a family Bible amid the debris and deliver it back to a family member. It was crazy that it was even still there considering hardly any of the house still remained on the lot. Most of our time was spent raking leaves, picking up shingles that were strewn across various properties, and disassembling portions of roofs that blew off of homes. I occasionally served as the safety spotter for the skid-steer operator, and also had the opportunity to assist with a mudout. This involved removing carpeting, padding, and particle board while others tarped the roof.

March 8, 2013, I ate breakfast with the SP crew, got a group picture, and then headed on to Memphis. On a scale between nanosecond and space odyssey, I opted for the Gilligan's Island length tour of Memphis. I went to the Peabody Hotel to see the ducks in the fountain in the lobby before wandering down Beale Street. I stopped at a Starbucks for a frappacino and Wi-fi. I happened to be wearing my Darling Parade shirt and the barista asked me about it. That gave me the opportunity to share about the band releasing their first album April 2, 2013. I soon found myself along the shore of the Mississippi River, gazing across at Arkansas, a state I have yet to set foot in. I then made my way back to my car, which was parked at a garage on Union Avenue.

I then drove through Franklin, Tennessee, jamming to Paramore, before heading up to meet up with my friend, Sarah, in Nashville. Her house is in a quaint suburb just outside the city. We ventured to Edley's for dinner and ran into some of Sarah's friends while we were there. Sarah and I caught up on life and I explained Samaritan's Purse to her so she understood why I was in Mississippi. After a long night of conversation, I crashed for the night on her couch.

The next morning we drove down Music Row and went to a bookstore across the street from Jackson's Pancake Place. After perusing the bookstore, Sarah drove us past the Belle Meade plantation and the surrounding neighborhood so that I could get a glimpse of the fancy architecture of the area. We then opted for a relaxing afternoon, watching episodes of Law & Order: SVU and eating pizza. To keep us from completing wasting the day, we went for a walk to Love Circle Park, which is close to Big & Rich's house. The park gave a lovely, overlooking view of Nashville, and the walk served to wake me up for the rest of the evening. Our first stop was the Opryland Resort, which is practically like wandering through an indoor tropical rainforest. Following Opryland, we drove to central Nashville to meet up with some of Sarah's friends at Legends to listen to some live music. Soon we wandered down the street to a different honky tonk called Second Fiddle. We mingled until about midnight before making our way home to sleep considering I had to get up early in the morning to drive back to Pennsylvania.
Leap forward in time to the end of April and I could be found in New York City. I went to Hillsong Church before I made my way to Central Park. The Central Park Running Club hosted a solidarity run in memory of the victims of the Boston bombing. I wrote a post elaborating on the experience here if you would like to read about the day in detail.
April 28-May 16th I spent in North Carolina. During that time I stayed with ERobb. I went to the beach, visited friends, went to Bible studies, played miniature golf, biked 20 miles, went to the Maritime Musuem in Beaufort, went to Boone to have breakfast with Jerry and tour the Samaritan's Purse facility, interviewed for a job, went paddleboarding, participated in the hash dash, attended the Beaufort Music Festival, and helped make a powerpoint and a spoof video of the "Safety Dance." May 18th I went to see Five Iron Frenzy and House of Heroes with Lulu, Scott, and Danny.
May 19th I went to New Jersey to participate in the Color Me Rad race with Jane.

May 30th I met up with Hannah and KK to eat at the Powerhouse off I-80. We considered visiting the monastery nearby, but opted out of that. Instead, we did a photoshoot in the restaurant parking lot, doing cartwheels and interpretive dances.
June 19th I went to the lakehouse in order to see Natalia who was in the country from Brazil. I then went to New York City to go to the OMusic Awards at MTV Studios. I met Erika and TJ while waiting in line and we quickly began chatting as a caricature artist and street vendor had a disagreement in front of us about their personal spots on the sidewalk. We finally got to head inside and up the elevator to the studio in order to see Darling Parade play. They were up for the "Make a Band Famous" award and actually happened to win. After the show I got my picture with the lead singer, Kristin. I mingled with Tj and Erika and then we bailed with Caitlin and Dandara to meet up with the band in Times Square. We chatted on the sidewalk for a bit and the bands manager got a group picture of us all. What was funny was that tourists started taking some pictures of us all too. Afterwards Tj and Erika walked with me back to my car since it was after midnight. Since I was parked right in front of a German bar, we went inside for last call before I drove home. June 23rd I met up with Jane at a rest area in Tuxedo, NY, so I could drive us to the ski resort for the 5K Foam Fest, which was the first mud run she ever participated in. I enjoyed myself and managed to cut my knee open pretty good, but I said it was just a flesh wound. I grabbed some leaves off trees as I ran to wipe the blood off.
Fast forward to August 7th with me waking up mad early in order to drive to Staten Island to meet up with ERobb and some of the RE:flect girls at a convent for breakfast. They were doing some volunteer work to help rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. We helped spackel and paint in a home and also went for a prayer walk. I stuck around for dinner and then we all went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle, which was definitely an experience. Getting there sure was an adventure in rush hour traffic. When we returned to the convent, ERobb, Emily, and Shannon prayed me out for my drive home to Pennsylvania.
August 9th and 10th I went to the lakehouse. First night played Author's Rummy with Mark and Beth and then went sailing. Second night chatted with people around campfire, watched people play flip cup, and played Author's Rummy.
August 11th I went to NYC for Hillsong Church. I then wandered to Jane Street to enjoy the vibe of the cobblestone streets. Read on a bench outside the Tavern on Jane before driving to the Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre. Met up with Erika, Caitlin, Dandara, and TJ. We all helped Darling Parade carry in their equipment for the concert before going to get pizza. Had some drinks in the venue during the first band and then went outside and watched TJ and Erika skateboard in the street. Enjoyed watching Darling Parade play and helped carry their equipment out afterwards. We all hung out and chatted. When Kristin learned I had a three hour drive home she gave me a Red Bull for the ride home and wanted me to tweet when I arrived.
August 20th Teresa and I went to Gramercy Theater in NYC to meet up with Erika for the Icon for Hire concert. Took pictures in the beginning and then headbanged and jumped around for the rest of it after Ariel commented on how people needed to experience the show and not just capture it on video. After the show got autographs and Adam the drummer said he saw my picture on Instagram earlier and thanked me for the shout out to the band.
September 21st went to Hunter College in NYC with Nick, Matt, and Nadine to see a performance of The Great Divorce. I then went to stay at Rhi's. The next day I went to her lifting competition and got to see her qualify for the American Open.
September 28th I went to Teresa's mom's wedding.
September 29th I started my drive to Niwot, CO. Got a little past St. Louis my first leg, which was 17 hours of driving. I got the Aurora, CO, by the night of the 30th. Made it in time for breakfast in Niwot with SP and Jimbo made me a sandwich for lunch. I was part of a spray team for the majority of my two weeks volunteering. Met lots of awesome people including a handful of chaplains, Amanda, and Dave. Got to see Lois and Chuck again, who I met in Mississippi. Helped with a mudout for four days and went through two tyvec suits a day crawling in the mud. The night before Amanda and I left we went with a few others to a health club in Boulder to soak in a hot tub. Then at 4am, Amanda and I went with Will to the REI garage sale. We were first in line, which was pretty cool, as were the temps since it was only 38 degrees out, so we all curled up under blankets and sleeping bags. When we got back, I confirmed my plans with Ryan and Jessica to stay with them in Kentucky on my way to North Carolina. For lunch, Amanda and I had lunch with Teresa and Christy.
October 12th I officially left Niwot in the afternoon. Around midnight I made it to the Nebraska/Iowa border. I opted to walked the bridge that spanned the Missouri River so I could say I walked from one state to the next. A young couple was walking and I struck up a conversation with them. I asked if they lived nearby and they said no but over on 118th. I said I was from Pennsylvania and I'm pretty sure that they thought I was crazy for stopping just to walk across the bridge. Slept at the Iowa welcome center and had an interesting encounter with a cop when I got pulled over in the afternoon. He thought I was possibly smuggling drugs, but he thanked me for volunteering with Samaritan's Purse. A full account of this can be found here. I visited Aunt Jan and Uncle Archie in Portage, MI. Got a good night of sleep and then ventured to Georgetown, KY, on October 14th to stay with Ryan and Jessica and meet their sons. We went out to an Italian place and shared plenty of stories over dinner. Relaxed when we got home by watching the Voice. I got up early the next day to head out to Morehead City.

October 15th I made it to ERobb's around 6:30pm, in time to make it to community group. In the course of my stay, which lasted until October 29th, I helped decorate a homecoming float, went to community group at Jim and Jeni's, went to community group, One Harbor, danced in the street in the rain after going to Jack's, went to a birthday dinner at the Ruddy Duck, fishing in the Beaufort Inlet, toured Fort Macon, had a campfire, helped work on building a website, played basketball at Rotary Park, dressed as a penguin for the Run Your Booty Off 5K, went to the kite festival, helped host Spooksgiving party at ERobb's, went for a boat ride, watched Pitch Perfect, and went with Jeni to New Bern to have breakfast at IHop with a woman from the halfway house. Jeni and I then drove around looking for Nicholas Sparks' house before I drove to Kernersville to meet up with my friend Kate. Went to Mellow Mushroom for dinner and caught up on life before getting some sleep.
October 30th I drove to Boone, NC, to meet up with Amanda who I met in Colorado. We ate at Chick-fil-a with some of her co-workers and then went back to her place on some random mountain road. Had a fire in the firepit out back before bed.
Drove to Kutztown on Halloween to watch the Bengals game with Scott. Took a detour through part of Shenandoah National Park on my way to Kutztown.
November 1st met up with Chrissy and picked up Teresa so she could join. Played cards and caught up on life before driving Teresa home.
November 2nd I went to Cici's with Jamie, Lulu, Jeremy, and Rachel. Then drove to NYC to go to the Tonight Alive concert with Erika and AJ. Echosmith, For the Foxes, and Downtown Fiction opened for them and were all great. Probably one of the best concerts I've ever been to.
November 11th I met up with KK at the Sands in Bethlehem. I had tickets to the Paramore concert, along with a skip the line pass. We ended up being in the second row from the stage, which was awesome!
November 17th was an afternoon of bowling with Jamie, Lulu, Jeremy, and Rachel before I went to Teresa's for some delicious leg of lamb, mashed potatoes, and Heineken.
November 19th I picked Rhi up from work so that we could hop a train into Manhattan and go to the Sisterhood gathering at Hillsong NYC. We then had a tasty dinner at a quaint Irish pub before we got some sleep.

November 24th I got baptized at the Tabernacle Bible Church in Honesdale. After the church service, I drove out to Morton, IL, to get some sleep at a motel before I volunteered with Samaritan's Purse after the tornado. Made it to Grace Church the next morning in time for breakfast with Jimbo and Shannon, my team lead for the week. Shannon's an arborist, so he led a chainsaw team. There was a group  of college kids from North Carolina who were also on our team. Spent time hauling branches and picking through debris. Thanksgiving we happened to salvage some furniture and a ceramic cat from a house. It was a perfect little setup for lunch that day. One of the greatest parts of the experience was helping cleanup a property for a family who had the tornado go straight through their house. We were able to locate some family photos and the family came to the church for dinner the evening after we completed the job, which they assumed would take them months. December 1st was my last day there. Shannon and I went to Elevate Church before I headed to Downers Grove. I checked into the Red Roof Inn and then ventured to the Brick House Tavern for dinner. The waiter was very personable and I shared with him about Samaritan's Purse. I then went to the AMC Theater to see The Book Thief.

December 2nd I went to Chicago in order to wander around while I waited for Mark to get out of work. I took the Red Line from Sheridan to Chicago Avenue to begin my adventure. I then made my way to the John Hancock Building so that I could go up to the Signature Lounge on the 95th floor. I had a Coke while I enjoyed the vast view overlooking Chicago. I then made my way to Water Tower Place before walking down Michigan Avenue. Since it was cold, I opted to go to the public library to get warm and enjoy the blessing of free Wi-fi. Mark got out of work around 5 and we met up along the river. We then took the Red Line back towards his apartment and we went out for deep dish pizza. I showed him the Time Magazine I had picked up at the Barnes & Noble as I wandered around. There was a two page spread that showed the path of destruction of the tornado in Washington. We then went back to his apartment and I showed him, his girlfriend, roommate and his girlfriend pictures from my volunteer experience. They all seemed pretty intrigued about the situation. I fell asleep watching The Hunger Games. The next morning I had some gourmet Crunch Berries before embarking on my twelve hour drive back to Pennsylvania.
Jump forward in time to February 4th and I was awakened by two friends who were kind enough to serve as my text alarm clocks at 3am. I made my way down to La Guardia to catch my flight to Chicago so that I could interview for a sports statistics position. I had an entertaining Irish man sitting next to me for the short morning flight. I had pre-ordered a taxi to pick me up and drive me to Northbrook for my 11:30am interview.  After the interview I caught a train back to Union Station in the heart of Chicago as the snow began to fall. I met up with Mark by his work and we went to State Bar for trivia night with his girlfriend and some of her friends. I got a 5 Rabbit 5 Lizard beer, which had a rather odd aftertaste that I still can't place. I enjoyed the tater tots and ordered a cheeseburger, only to discover that cheddar cheese has an odd texture in the midwest. We ventured back to Mark's in the snow and I fell asleep on the couch.
February 5th I woke up to emails suggesting I change my flight, but I held out, hoping the snow would pass. I ventured out into the frigid weather so that I could go to Eataly and enjoy breakfast at the Nutella bar. I had some bread and Nutella and checked my flight using the free Wi-fi. I left after about an hour in order to organize my stuff at Mark's before catching my flight. Come to find out my flight got delayed, so I raided his kitchen and had Tostitoes and a Sam Adam's for lunch. His roommates girlfriend stopped by and we chatted briefly. I then noticed that my flight got bumped up a half hour, so I ventured to the train station to catch the Red Line to central Chicago, where I transferred to the Blue Line, which took me to O'Hare. I chatted with a woman as we got off at the airport, and we continued our conversation until we reached our respective terminals. We wished each other well before venturing through security. The flight got delayed another 20 minutes, but we all immediately boarded and caught a nice tailwind to land a half hour early at La Guardia. I had to clean my car off and get my car jumped before driving to Nauman's, getting stuck at the end of their driveway and walking the half mile to the cabin. It was a beautiful reminder of God being in charge and that I enjoy nature.
February 6th I dug my car out of the driveway and made my way down to visit Jim and Jeni in North Carolina. I surprised everyone at Home Group and got a warm welcome from everyone. Afterwards I helped Jim and Jeni make the bed in my room and I got some sleep. It was a great ten days where I got to feed pelicans, play basketball, walk on the beach, go for a boat ride, shoot at a gun range for Valentine's Day, get snowed in with friends, go to a potluck dinner at Cru bar, visit the aquarium, enjoy church and community, and watch some movies. I did unfortunately get sick for a bit, but thankfully I got healthy in about four days. 
February 17th I packed my car and was 2 hours into my drive home before Jim called and said there might be a chance to volunteer with Samaritan's Purse in South Carolina. Though not in my plan, after two hours, I turned around and went back to Morehead City to stay with ERobb for the night. We went out to dinner with friends and I talked to Jim and Jeni on the phone about South Carolina.
February 18th I went and packed stuff into Jeni's car before we drove to her brother's to drop off the dogs and then go to Moncks Corner, SC. A complete account of that experience can be found here.

I was back in Morehead City by the evening of March 2nd and stayed with ERobb until the 5th. I got to enjoy an evening with the RE:flect girls, take Charlie to the groomers, and go to IHop for brunch with ERobb. The afternoon of the 5th I drove to Fayetteville so that I could see Darling Parade in concert. They were surprised to see me at a concert other than New York City. I got to tour Gus the Bus before the show and chat with the band before sound check. I enjoyed the show and stayed to listen to ARIA and bought one of their EPs before I ventured north. I slept for two hours at the Virginia welcome center before continuing my drive to Cresco to see the Nauman's. My GPS thought it would be fun to randomly send me to a park and ride off of I-95 during rush hour outside of DC. Other than that, though, I had a smooth drive back to Pennsylvania.