Wanderlust

Oddly enough, we are moving into our new house on the exact same weekend that moved into our old house, exactly ten years ago. Coincidence, perhaps. Or maybe just an example of the circular nature of the constancy of change. Either way, we are happy. And if you step back and look at the big picture, we've been lucky enough to have been able to get to this point fairly quickly. The strange thing about this unpacking and settling is that it's more permanent than it's ever been. We have sold our fifth wheel and waved it goodbye down the road with a twinge of sadness. Realistically though, it was too big to take on a camping weekend anyway, and we didn't need to squat in it anymore ourselves. It's obviously more the memories of what we did in it and where we were than the actual trailer, and luckily we still have those. Well... at least oodles of pictures since we both can't seem to remember shit very well on our own.

Welcome to our home, come visit us!

Happy birthday Wendy! This year we actually got to see her on her birthday, it’s been a long while since that’s happened. Granite City (our fav brewery from when we were in MN) was having a tapping party in Omaha that night so we went there for the occasion. Ironically enough, the pregnant lady won the growler of beer, go figure.

Jason Mraz was coming through Omaha, so we snagged tickets last minute and went along with Daniela and Bridget. It seems to always happen to me, but I like singers early on then kind of dead-off when they get popular. He sang mostly new stuff, but it was still a fun night out and a chance to see the Plain White Ts open, who we had attempted to see last summer here in Omaha but was a rainout for us.

The baseball team here, the Omaha Royals, had a night called Bark in the Park. This was crazy shit – you bring your dog to the baseball stadium and watch the game. Funny. Daniela and I had heard about this when we went to the Dog Park Fundraiser a few weeks ago. We took Charlie and met up with Elvis and his family there too. It wasn’t as chaotic as you’d imagine, only a few barks here and there. The dogs were sectioned off so that you couldn’t be seated next to someone allergic or a cat person instead, good planning on their part. And the game was great too, a win in the bottom of the 9th – can’t beat that.

While here, we missed two events we usually go to every year – the Race for the Cure in Boise and Spokane, good thing mom still represented!

While we are getting used to our surroundings, there are some similarities and differences here compared to other places we've stayed. Like the humidity - although it hasn't fully kicked in, I (am the only one who can) still feel it now, and it reminds me of Florida. After all, I did spend the first 30 years of life in the desert. The dampness extends to food - if you don't seal it up tight, it's not crunchy or fresh next time. Animals - there is a beaver or badger or something brown and close to the ground and walks like a fat labored old man here. And rabbits? I wish I ate them because I'd never have to buy meat, I swear I see a dozen a day. It does help that when I walk Charlie, she runs and chases them out of the brush, but they are so plentiful here it's crazy. They don't seem to fear anything either. Good thing they are so fast. The other varmint is not so quick so he's harder to find on a daily basis. My favorite - black squirrels! Seriously, it's a squirrel that is jet black. They still have the typical brown squirrel but I have seen a black squirrel twice. And two animals I haven't seen yet are a raccoon and a possum. One that I have seen that I'd rather not was a snake. I realize while I'm writing this just how easily amused I am. Forget the zoo, sit in a chair outside for a damn minute!

It's been a while, so apparently the universe has decided that ample time has gone by for Cujo to have another accident. This one was the eye, again. He has had issues with his eyes before, good thing they are supposed to heal the fastest. It's true, I believe, as he has had debris and acid in there before and can still see. This time was a shard of metal and who knows how it got there. Poor guy had to actually get his eyeball drilled to reach it. Drilled. With a bit. And a mechanical motor drill. Ugh. His eye was dilated into this huge all-pupil eyeball with no iris color left. Have you ever seen those huskies who have two different eye colors? That's what he looked like. On one hand, it's pretty cool and enchanting; but on the other, it's kinda creepy and unsettling. Even now, it's still dilated two days later. Not the same extent, but definitely bigger than the other. He IS healing though, and that's all that matters at this point. Very lucky it wasn't worse.

They do graduations here. Often. In Idaho, we graduated once - from high school. Here in Nebraska, they graduate from kindergarten, (which people here call kindygarten) sixth grade, and high school. Oh, and throw in eighth grade too, if you go to parochial school. I say, hey, works for me - another reason for a positive get together isn't a bad thing. Congrats to Kirsten, our niece, who will be going into middle school next year. She has been quite the stellar scholar here at her grade school, being the president of her class and receiving awards from the Omaha mayor, we are so proud of her! She also was given a Presidential award, complete with a letter from President Obama. Keep up the great work, kiddo!

If change was the key word of the election last year, it must've really struck a chord with us. Lots of changes abound in life, including a new address and a new baby. Spring always feels like new energy and especially now does it feel full of optimism and possibility. Although there is plenty we will miss about our vagabond lifestyle and our home base of Idaho, we are looking forward to experiencing yet another novel and unfamiliar (to us) way to live. We’ve had a whirlwind last couple months, with packing up a house and spending time in four states for work and vacation, which drove Charlie to the bottle. Now she is a seasoned pro just like us.

Luckily we were able to meet up with some dear friends in that week we were in Idaho, though unfortunately I didn’t get pictures of all the reunions/farewells, nor did we get a chance to tell everyone goodbye.

Has anyone ever mentioned that moving is not fun? Although I did get to drive a big moving truck through snowy Wyoming, and if that’s not fun I don’t know what is. Wait, looking for a new house - that *might* be funner.

In our true fashion, we were welcomed to Omaha with a blown tire on the trailer. I actually saw it go, pretty crazy watching the smoke and flying tire. We were fortunate to have not caused an accident, been so close to an exit, and had a spare. Oh, and of course a strapping young man to change it.

I know all these pictures really do look the same, but here is the formal introduction:

More big news is that my mom is retiring! A 30 year career anywhere now a days is almost becoming unheard of, so we are very proud of everything she's accomplished and excited to take part in multitude of possibilities of freedom. You've definitely earned it, Mom!

Congratulations to Tracy, Brian and Maddy on Charlotte's safe and healthy arrival! Can't wait to meet her!

Again… a drive home in snow. Good news though, we made it back home in time to snag a meal with Michi. Michi is an old friend of my moms from Japan, and it had been the 80s since we’d seen him last. He had spent that short week with my mom, and was headed back home the next morning, a very quick international trip. He’s a very interesting and friendly person who has great insights and attitude about people and traveling.

Off again… in the snow… this time to Omaha. The temperature gauge says negative 12!

The day we got in happened to be Hailey’s 1st birthday party, and we were glad to be able to be there celebrate, catch up with family and meet new member Dakota.

For Daniela’s high school graduation present last year, we gave her a trip to Washington DC. It took nearly a year for our schedules to jive, but at last moment, we decided now was the time to do it.

It has been years since we’ve seen Chad and Megan and the kids. They live in the Baltimore area, so we drove over to see them while we were close. The kids have grown so much and it was great to get to see them again. We all grew up together and had some crazy and hilarious times in high school. It’s amazing we are all still together and in one piece. Chad and Curtis were each other’s best man at the weddings, must be good luck.

Washington D.C. - where even the license plates have a platform.

The White House

The National Cathedral was such a beautiful place full of rich history. There are over 200 people buried inside, they host all types of events and speakers, not only the daily Episcopalian services, but also the Reagan funeral and the Dalai Lama. One thing our guide impressed upon us was that they welcome people of all faiths, or no faith at all.

All in all, we had a great experience on the metro. Only once did we (read Cujo) panic and get off the train, then realize that we were in fact on the right train, and rush back onto the train. The worse part of it (besides the amused looks) was that after walking miles and miles your feet and legs tend to get sore, and we had given up our precious seats.

The exhibits were so in depth and so haunting, as you would expect from the Holocaust Museum. The highlight was that day there was a survivor speaking at the museum telling her story during that time. She was just a child but still has pretty strong recollection paired with documentation. Her final thoughts were to pass on that it really did exist and it really did happen, she doesn't understand how some people think it's a myth.

This has to be our best picture of the Washington Monument ever, and check this out – a girl walking by us took it while laying down on her back on the cold ground just so she could fit the top in.

The WWII Memorial is new, but fits in just perfectly – it’s not too big or overwhelming and it looks just like it’s always been there and belongs.

It’s quite the moving feeling when you stand at the Lincoln Memorial and you realize so much that has occurred at this very location. My personal favorite phrase from the north wall is ‘…malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right…’

Cujo found a Vlasak this time at the Vietnam Wall – not sure why we never found it before.

Arlington

The Supreme Court wasn’t sitting that day, so we got to look in the courtroom. For the separation of church and state, there were an awful lot of biblical statues in there.

We took a guided tour of the Capitol with Idaho’s congressman Walt Minnick. Well, not Walt Minnick himself, but his office representation. And come on, but is it seriously too much to ask that that person BE from Idaho? I would imagine there are plenty of young people in Idaho that would jump on that experience. Especially when she didn’t make the best impression by explaining that Pocatello is in western or northern Idaho, right before proclaiming her knowledge of the state. We were also a bit nervous and curious when we had to tell her exactly how to get to the Capitol entrance, and having to wait a half hour for our tickets we needed to ‘just run in and pick up’ the day before. However… it wasn’t all bad, we did like the fact that with her, we got to take the underground tunnel from the Capitol building back to the office – the walls along the tunnel are adorned with artwork from kids from each state. The really cool thing about the Capitol was getting to go into the Gallery and see some people we actually recognized – Barney Frank, Ron Paul, and the rep from Nebraska Lee Terry. Later than night we saw the actual argument we witnessed first hand, and no it wasn’t on CSPAN - it was on CNN. Barney Frank has got to be one of the most entertaining speakers, no matter how you feel about him. The room would laugh whenever he’d make his jab – that’s not something you see or hear on CNN.

We got to take a tour of the Diplomatic entertainment area of the State Department. This is where the Secretary of State and other officials host diplomats. There were only seven or eight of us actually on the tour, and we had 3 guides and 2 security guards. I never thought I’d be able to steal that candlestick, go figure. As for the flags, they hang US flags on each end, and flags representing countries we have affiliations with in between. When those affiliations or ties are broken or reestablished, the flags then go up or down. The rooms were magnificent, and it felt like we were in an episode of Antique Roadshow. One poor guy on the tour actually had the balls or ignorance to sit down on an antique couch during the walk-through. He was told very nicely to stand back up, while the rest of us giggled to ourselves. Being in this building doesn’t create instant maturity, sorry. The plate was among others that had been around hundreds of years, and belonged to Martha Washington. The items they have here are just remarkable - that they still exist and are in such great condition. There was one rug that was a hundred years old that weighed 6000 pounds, I was shocked they still let feet walk on it. And that it still was holding up. I swear I bought a rug last year that looks like shit and is fraying and holey. I sound like an old biddy but it’s true about quality of years ago versus products today. The bookcases were hand carved by young men and each had their own style and signature. Antique Roadshow in the flesh, I tell ya.

Chinatown

The Library of Congress is one of the most beautiful buildings ever, so ornate and detailed. The magnitude of information it contains is no less incredible. They had an exhibit which held part of Benjamin Franklin’s personal library, which was just amazing to be surrounded by books so old that had belonged to someone so influential.

Oh yeah baby, we travel in style. And yes, that is a beer in a bag.