The East Coast Tour
#ipackedtoomuch
We have officially started on our trip, although in a very circuitous way. We sent Adam and the kids out of the house early so I could spend four days cleaning and packing. I found the closer I was to being done, the slower everything was. You are down to the junk drawers, as opposed to pots and pans. You know what I'm talking about--the pens, cards, receipts, letters, random things....
The trash piles were something special in those last two weeks. If any Monroe garbageman ever sees this, I want to say thank you for allowing me to violate all the quotas that I'm sure exist and just taking everything with a smile.
I am now in Virginia, and sort of recovering from the trauma of the move.
The worst part was this. I sort of grabbed a lot of things to bring in the last day to Virginia by train. This meant things like couscous for my mother, and peaches off our tree, and wait, did I already pack contact solution? And deodorant? I'll just throw another one in the bag. And bug spray? I can't remember. And suddenly, I became very, very serious about my reading list. I will become educated and read that book about Occidentalism and the one about Golda Meir. And that cross-cultural psychology book could be really crucial when I consider course development. As you can imagine, what should have been one small suitcase and backpack became one small suitcase that weighed about 788 pounds, one backpack, and one duffel that weighted another 654 pounds.
Thankfully my friend Kevin helped me get these bags to the train. But the worst part?
Somehow I ended up on the last train car. And had to walk these bags all the way from Maryland (where I'm pretty sure my car was) to Union Station, DC. This walk was not fun. I was sort of, well, looking in such a way that at least three people volunteered to help in some way (which really, how can I ask someone else to drag heavy bags because I'm trying to bring couscous and tomato soup to my mother's??). By the time I saw Adam, it was like an oasis in the desert. Unfortunately, due to him moving our suitcases during his travels, he couldn't really help because he hurt his back. But he did inform me that my duffel had a hole and tomato soup seemed to be leaking out of the bag. OH CRAP!
Lesson: I'm not sure what happened to my minimalist travel ideas. We are from here on out only taking 4 suitcases (large), 4 suitcases (small) and 4 backpacks. This amazes people but do know that each suitcase currently weighs about 4 human bodies.
Love the pools in Northern VA. To say nothing of the optometry selection here of kid size glasses (yup, Sivan is starting to wear to see the chalkboard). And since we are now travelers, I'll leave you with the take homes on Arlington, VA.
Arlington VA pros: Free zoo, free smithsonian, swimming pools, parks, diverse food, everything is close, and great medical care.
We have officially started on our trip, although in a very circuitous way. We sent Adam and the kids out of the house early so I could spend four days cleaning and packing. I found the closer I was to being done, the slower everything was. You are down to the junk drawers, as opposed to pots and pans. You know what I'm talking about--the pens, cards, receipts, letters, random things....
The trash piles were something special in those last two weeks. If any Monroe garbageman ever sees this, I want to say thank you for allowing me to violate all the quotas that I'm sure exist and just taking everything with a smile.
I am now in Virginia, and sort of recovering from the trauma of the move.
The worst part was this. I sort of grabbed a lot of things to bring in the last day to Virginia by train. This meant things like couscous for my mother, and peaches off our tree, and wait, did I already pack contact solution? And deodorant? I'll just throw another one in the bag. And bug spray? I can't remember. And suddenly, I became very, very serious about my reading list. I will become educated and read that book about Occidentalism and the one about Golda Meir. And that cross-cultural psychology book could be really crucial when I consider course development. As you can imagine, what should have been one small suitcase and backpack became one small suitcase that weighed about 788 pounds, one backpack, and one duffel that weighted another 654 pounds.
Thankfully my friend Kevin helped me get these bags to the train. But the worst part?
Somehow I ended up on the last train car. And had to walk these bags all the way from Maryland (where I'm pretty sure my car was) to Union Station, DC. This walk was not fun. I was sort of, well, looking in such a way that at least three people volunteered to help in some way (which really, how can I ask someone else to drag heavy bags because I'm trying to bring couscous and tomato soup to my mother's??). By the time I saw Adam, it was like an oasis in the desert. Unfortunately, due to him moving our suitcases during his travels, he couldn't really help because he hurt his back. But he did inform me that my duffel had a hole and tomato soup seemed to be leaking out of the bag. OH CRAP!
Lesson: I'm not sure what happened to my minimalist travel ideas. We are from here on out only taking 4 suitcases (large), 4 suitcases (small) and 4 backpacks. This amazes people but do know that each suitcase currently weighs about 4 human bodies.
Love the pools in Northern VA. To say nothing of the optometry selection here of kid size glasses (yup, Sivan is starting to wear to see the chalkboard). And since we are now travelers, I'll leave you with the take homes on Arlington, VA.
Arlington VA pros: Free zoo, free smithsonian, swimming pools, parks, diverse food, everything is close, and great medical care.
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