This Is The Place

To quote the Morman prophet Brigham Young as he led his people over the Wasatch Front and into Salt Lake City, "This is the place!"

We are officially moved into our house in SLC and we are loving life here so far! Sure, there are still lots of boxes scattered around the house and pictures stacked on the floor that need to be hung, but its starting to feel more like home. We were a little nervous to see the house because we had only previously seen pictures online but we were far from disappointed! The house is a big upgrade to what we had in Boston and we definitely did our part to stimulate the Utah economy to buy things to fill all the rooms.

One of the best parts of SLC is that we're living in a house in a neighborhood (woo hoo for no upstairs neighbors!) but we are still less than a quarter mile from downtown. There is a grocery store about 5 blocks away, we are both working about 3 miles away, and the entrance to City Creek Canyon is 2 blocks down (more on this another time).

Here are a few pictures:

The front of the house

The living room

The kitchen

The basement family room

Bryan trying out the in-home gym

And to save the best for last, here is the view we have from our deck! Yes, that's the Wasatch Front and its endless hiking, skiing, biking and running trails that we get to stare at every day as we sip our coffee or enjoy a beer (see, not Morman yet!)

Hope these pictures make you want to come visit!

PS. I figured that the blog could use a little renovation too (new life, new blog!) so I hope you like the new design :)

I Don't Think We're In Kansas Anymore!

Today we left Denver on our last day of driving! We decided to take a slightly longer route in order to pass through the Rockies and have more of a scenic drive. The car resisted a bit as we started rising some 6,000 ft above Denver which is already at 5,280 ft (duh, "the mile high city"). We definitely had one of those I think I can, I think I can moments but it was a beautiful drive. We stopped in Vail Village for a bit and then in Glenwood Canyon which was just beautiful.

Driving through Denver with the Rockies to the west

Through the mountains

Glenwood Canyon

Glenwood Canyon and the Colorado River

Bryan with his feet in the Colorado River

Not even out of the car for 5 minutes and I find this! I guess I better get used to seeing these around!

It was interesting to see the change in geography as we traveled further west (and further away from civilization!) but we were both REALLY happy to see this sign.....

Yeah, it was hot out but there was only 12% humidity!

Tonight is the last night in a hotel and then we move into our house tomorrow morning!! The movers are set to arrive early, we are excited to see the place, and the kitties are very happy to only have a 10 minute drive tomorrow :)

We don't have our internet set up at the house yet, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to blog next. But when I can, expect pictures of our new home and SLC!

Follow The Yellow Brick Road

Yesterday Bryan and I made the very long trip through Kansas and into Denver. I have always thought of Kansas as flat and frankly, I was dreading this state the most. Man, was I wrong! The eastern part had rolling hills and was actually quite scenic and the western part was just cool to see all the farms. We both agreed that Kansas was one of our favorite states although we wished it was just a bit shorter!

We saw lots of cows and their babies!

And lots of wheat fields! Did you know that Kansas is the largest grain producer in the US? We had to laugh when the top news on the radio station was the price of grain. They went through all the different price changes and then mentioned the DOW and NASDAQ...priorities!

We came across this cool wind farm that had 150+ windmills!

An old, run down, and deserted farm house

Then we crossed into Colorado and found that eastern Colorado looked a lot like Kansas! After another 11 hour day in the car, we were VERY happy to see the Rockies on the western boarder of Denver!

Made it to Denver

Yesterday Bryan and I drove through the loooong state of Kansas and into Denver, CO. It was another long 11 hour day in the car so by the time we got into Denver we were exhausted and hungry. I'll write more of a blog about yesterday's drive tonight but just wanted to let everyone know that we did make it :)

Today we are finally going to enter UTAH and SALT LAKE CITY!!

Gateway To The West

Day 3 of our drive finished off Indiana and took us through Illinois and Missouri. While we weren't able to stop and see much because of the cats and the 98 degree heat (!!), we were able to pass through the official gateway to the west, the Saint Louis Arch.

We also experienced a first for both of us in our adult lives by driving across a time zone. It was nice to gain an hour as we passed from Indiana into Illinois and made the trip feel one hour shorter. We both commented that Missouri is more rolling than we expected. I'm expecting Kansas to be opposite of this! We finished the day off in Kansas City, MO and some fantastic BBQ!

Bryan started the day off...coffee in hand

A fitting place to stop for gas

You can hardly see me since the Arch is so huge!

The (flooded) Mississippi River

Bryan standing in both the East and the West

Bryan enjoying his BBQ

My dinner...the "before" shot

And the "after"... I know you are impressed :)

Next up tomorrow is Kansas and into Denver. After driving 1500 miles to date, we are more than half way there!

Greetings from Indiana!

Day 2 of our cross country trip is complete! With only one minor hiccup, we made it from my parent's house outside of Philadelphia to Indianapolis today. It is our longest planned day of driving and overall it was smooth. The scenery through PA and WV had lots of rolling hills but after Columbus things are getting pretty flat and there's lots of corn to look at. Here are some pictures from today.

No trip would be complete without some Wawa Coffee...last one in PA!

Cruisin'

Country road, take me home, to the place, I belong...

One of our very brave and well behaved passengers!

Clearly Tigger settled into the hotel

Just under 1000 miles between Sunday and Monday! Tomorrow we're off to Kansas City, MO via St. Louis....see you then!

I Love That Dirty Water....

...oh, oh, Boston You (Were) My Home!

Before we leave Boston, Bryan and I decided to spend one last day as tourists in our home town. You know, do all those things we never do because we're locals. We took the T down to Government Center to walk around for the day.

We walked through Quincy Market and Fanuil Hall remembering all the nights we spent with friends in our "younger years" at the bars down there.

We had clam chowder and lobster rolls at Legal Seafoods by the Aquarium.

We watched some kids having fun in the fountain (one nice thing to come from the Big Dig!)

It was a fun last day spent in Boston and we talked about how some day we'll have to bring our kids back to show them where mommy and daddy once lived :)

When A Home Becomes Just A House

There's the old saying "A house becomes a home" and I remember thinking that when we moved into our house in Boston. It was 5 years ago. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday and other times it feel like ages ago.

As we pack up this place, its again feeling like just a house but with lots more memories. This is the house that Bryan and I first lived in after we got married. The house that we watched our two kitties grow up in. The house that I know running routes from that take me virtually any distance necessary. We truly made it our home. And now its empty.

Today all our worldly belongings were picked up by the movers. We are here until Sunday as we have Bryan's residency graduation dinner on Friday and one of my running friend's weddings on Saturday. Without any belongs (or beds) we are sleeping on a borrowed Aerobed (thanks Lex!) and eating out for dinner. A few more days and then we're off! (No, it still hasn't hit me yet)

Me packing box...after box....after box...

Bryan tries to figure out how to fit everything in the crates

Packed to the gills!

Our first class sleeping arrangements....an aerobed in an empty room (Tigger doesn't seem to mind)

Although the light clearly seems to bother him!

Poor Clover lost her favorite sleeping spots so she's gone belly up on the basement steps