Pictures: Peter at Wesleyan; Peter and Leah; the New Mexico landscape; Peter at the PTC golf cart Parade on July 4th; Getting sworn in to the GA bar with Judge Edwards, Daddy and Mama.
More Pictures: Peter and Steven at the Seattle sculpture park; Debby, Joanie, Debbie, and Hermione in Amherst; Peter and Erin in Brooklyn; Peter with twin nephews Ben and Owen; Robyn drives a U-Haul.
Well, it has been a while since I wrote and updated things. Last I wrote, we were in NYC at our friends Erin and Jeremy's apartment--fresh off the plane from Africa. Tomorrow marks our one month anniversary of being back in the U.S. It seems like we've been here a lot longer! Maybe it's just that one can do an incredible amount of stuff very efficiently here in a short amount of time, in contrast to many of the places where we have recently been. . . .
In any case, after leaving NYC, we traveled to Philadelphia to see Katie Davis and then to Amherst to see Peter's aunts Debby and Joanne and to celebrate his cousin Robbie's bday--happy 30th, again, Robbie! We took the train up to Amherst, which was really relaxing. While there, we took a day trip to Middletown, CT and I finally saw Wesleyan University, where Peter went to undergrad. After our sojourn in New England, we flew to Seattle to say goodbye to so many of our good friends there and to relieve our friends Emily and Jules and Peter's cousins Chris and Maylynn of our stuff, which they had been graciously storing for us since February (Thanks again, guys!) We stayed with my brother and his boyfriend Woody, who welcomed us in style and we were so happy to see that our cat Isabelle was thriving in their care. We also visited with Sonja and Brandon and met their son Cole. Sonja and Brandon were nice enough to also have Rachel and Gabe over, so we got to see them, too, which was great! And, Sonja let us do our laundry in their new washer and dryer--we REALLY appreciated that! We got to visit with Judge Pechman and everyone in chambers in the middle of the Sonics trial; we drove up to B.C. to see my old friend from Geneva Dagmar and got to meet her husband Andrew and adorable son Theo; we lunched with our friend Kristen; we saw Courtney and Andy; we saw Nick and Elizabeth and Andrew and Thomas and many other very dear friends, though there were also many that we did not have time to see. . .too soon, we were on the road with our U-Haul.
In any case, after leaving NYC, we traveled to Philadelphia to see Katie Davis and then to Amherst to see Peter's aunts Debby and Joanne and to celebrate his cousin Robbie's bday--happy 30th, again, Robbie! We took the train up to Amherst, which was really relaxing. While there, we took a day trip to Middletown, CT and I finally saw Wesleyan University, where Peter went to undergrad. After our sojourn in New England, we flew to Seattle to say goodbye to so many of our good friends there and to relieve our friends Emily and Jules and Peter's cousins Chris and Maylynn of our stuff, which they had been graciously storing for us since February (Thanks again, guys!) We stayed with my brother and his boyfriend Woody, who welcomed us in style and we were so happy to see that our cat Isabelle was thriving in their care. We also visited with Sonja and Brandon and met their son Cole. Sonja and Brandon were nice enough to also have Rachel and Gabe over, so we got to see them, too, which was great! And, Sonja let us do our laundry in their new washer and dryer--we REALLY appreciated that! We got to visit with Judge Pechman and everyone in chambers in the middle of the Sonics trial; we drove up to B.C. to see my old friend from Geneva Dagmar and got to meet her husband Andrew and adorable son Theo; we lunched with our friend Kristen; we saw Courtney and Andy; we saw Nick and Elizabeth and Andrew and Thomas and many other very dear friends, though there were also many that we did not have time to see. . .too soon, we were on the road with our U-Haul.
For the first leg of the trip, we drove down through Washington, Oregon and Northern California, stopping off briefly for lunch with Peter's friend Leah and staying overnight somewhere on I-5 close to Crater Lake. Once we entered California, we realized how bad the wildfire situation is--there was smoke everywhere and our visibility, even on the interstate, was limited. After 2 days, we made it to Santa Cruz where Nadja, Peter's godmother, hosted us in her yurt. It was very cozy! As with Seattle, we had lots of people to visit in Santa Cruz and did not get to all of them. However, it was VERY nice to see Amanda, Casey, Jesse, Nadja and Ginger, Victoria, David, David, Tracy and the twin boys, Ben and Owen, as well as old friends Herb and Ellie. Soon, we were back on the road again, traveling ever south until we hit I-40 right outside of Barstow California.
At Barstow, we turned East, our trajectory for the next three days. That first night, we stayed in Williams AZ. The second day took us through the beautiful red rocks of Tucson and on into and out of New Mexico. We stayed that night in Amarillo, Texas. The third day was mostly spent crossing the long state of Oklahoma (a new one for both of us) and we slept in Lonoke, Arkansas (just east of Little Rock). The fourth day, we arrrived at 6 p.m. in Peachtree City after crossing through Memphis, TN, Mississippi, and Alabama. It was so good to finally be somewhere that we knew we would be for a long time!
My dad helped us unload the U-Haul the next morning and we returned it to the store, which was extremely satisfying. We were so happy to have everything done in time for the holiday weekend! Peter celebrated his first 4th of July in Peachtree City this year, which must have been very different for him from Santa Cruz Independence Day celebrations. In the morning we went to the "golf cart parade," in the afternoon we went to our friends Danny and Susie Lucsko's home for swimming and grilling, and in the evening, we gathered on the golf course with so many other families for fireworks. Peter kept remarking on how everyone was dressed in red, white, and blue and how the whole scene was so "All American" and wholesome. The next day, we were lucky enough to get to visit with our friends Dave and Shannon, who were visiting from Nashville. The four of us, along with Shannon's mom Ingrid, went to a Braves game. The Braves lost, but it didn't matter in such good company.
That brings us to the beginning of this week. This week we have been applying for jobs like crazy. Yesterday, we went up to Athens to meet with a friend who gave us some guidance on the criminal defense and immigration fields in GA. Today, we were sworn into the GA bar! Phew! It is hard to believe how much we've done this month.
I plan to continue writing this blog as our lives unfold in GA. We have too many good friends in too many places, scattered all over the world. It is my hope that writing a little something now and then will help some stay close for a long, long time.
