the life of a retiree

this summer has been more about catching up and reconnecting with friends and family than it has been about traveling...i've traveled in order to see people, but not so much to see new places...(i've seen a few new places this summer, but not so many as is normal for me)...
my next visit was to ft walton beach, florida, to hang out with a buddy i met during the summer i interned for the navy in iceland...this was the 4th time i've visited ft walton beach, i almost feel like i know the town:)
my buddy is a florida state fan, a braves fan, and a cowboys fan...i don't understand...i cheer for michigan, indiana, and the white sox...i don't much care for the NFL, NHL, or NBA...
i didn't plan the visit more than a couple months ahead of time, but not long after booking the tickets, my buddy found out his mom had stage 4 lung cancer...awful, just awful...my buddy had retired at the beginning of the year, so he has been able to spend time with his mom every day, taking advantage of what time he has left with her...because of her illness he and i didn't get to spend as much time together as either one of us would've liked, but she clearly took priority in his time...

during the last two days of my visit, i spent a lot of time paying attention to the weather forecast...there was a hurricane coming, it wasn't sure where the storm would make landfall...i seriously considered flying out early, but in the end i decided to wait and see what happens...everyone who has lived on the florida panhandle has had to deal with hurricanes...people who have lived there their whole lives often don't do anything until they're sure they'll be in the line of a direct hit...it would be funny if it weren't also so very serious...the hurricane ended up hitting really close to new orleans, just where hurrican katrina hit...
one of the fun things about hurricanes is called storm surge...miles and miles away from the storm, the coast is hit with storm surge waves...my buddy took me and his son out to the beach for a few minutes, just to see what was happening...needless to say, both of us kept an eye on the kid as well as the water...(we met because we were both lifeguards that summer in iceland, that's a job that never quite leaves you)...he was 9 yrs old, and fully capable of listening to directions not to get anywhere close to the water, but we still watched...

while in ft walton beach i also got to have quick catchups with other friends i've met during other visits...a set of twins and their mom (dad was out of town at a softball tournament) and a husband (wife was at work?)...
one day my buddy let me drive his truck to the beach while he spent time with his mom...as usual, i was an idiot and completely forgot about sun cream...i wasn't out for long, but it was too long...whoops...hours later that evening, my entire body not covered by my bikini was red, and for the rest of my visit standing up, sitting down, dressing, undressing, etc, were all rather painful...why don't i ever learn my lesson???
i would be happy to live in fwb beach for a year or two, though during summer days i wouldn't be a very productive person...i can be such a beach bum:)

peaches

everytime i go through atlanta, i try to get together with a couple friends from my years in germany...they both grew up in the city, and both have the accents to prove it...hee hee...when i met kim and rachel they'd just moved to germany, ready for a year of adventure...they were both single, both finished with university...
years later, rachel is married to a guy she met in garmisch, they have a cute 1 yr old...kim and i are still single:)
i figured out directions to rachel and erik's house, i got there before they did...fortunately, i had a book to keep me entertained...:)...soon after, kim arrived, as did rachel and erik, who also had their little one...sooooo many people i knew in garmisch are so grown up now:)
it was erik's night off, he decided to stay home with the tot, so kim, rachel, and i went out to dinner...just because we could, we decided to go to the restaurant where erik is head chef...called leon's full service...it's good...really good...proper serving sizes, a menu that changes from time to time, good customer service...of course we were treated pretty well because they all know rachel...i would describe the meal, but i'm not really one of those food porn type of people...
i really recommend leon's full service...really really really recommend:)

Leon's Full Service

after dinner we drove rachel back to her house and said goodnight, then i followed kim to her flat...she let me stay in her extra room, then saw me off early in the morning as i drove back to the airport...she lives super close, it was awesome...or maybe it just seemed super convenient because there is very little traffic at 0600...hee hee...

low country

one of my best friends during uni was a girl named mel...i met her my second year of uni, we've been close ever since...our lives have gone in totally different directions, but that's how long term friendships work, and i still love her...i was lucky enough to see her in korea when her job sent her to seoul for a conference, but that was back in 2006 or 2007...since then she'd left that job, worked another job, met and married her husband, and had two kids...i've continued living in different countries, traveling around even more countries...mel's family is small and tight, i travel everywhere independently...
mel now lives in a very small town in GA...the town is called ludowici, and it is not possible to get there by public transport...i took advantage of this situation to hire a car, and planned to drive to her house...two things made this a particularly adventurous decision...one, i didn't have a map, and two, mel's house is in such a newly developed area that it does not yet show up on GPS, or google maps...hmmm...
i figured out how to get to her house, and took off from the airport in atlanta...the first part of the drive went really well...i got to the right highways, singing along to country music on the radio...at one point the directions i'd printed out said to exit onto a smaller, state highway...i never saw the exit...(later on, i figured out where the exit should've been, and i think it was marked with another number, since that particular road was actually 2 different roads that joined up for a while)...ooops...missing that exit meant i ended up driving all the way to savannah, which wasn't my intention...
this actually ended up being a good thing though, as i drove into savannah, and saw a sign directing me to tourist information...i figured they would have people who could answer my questions, and, more importantly, i hoped they would have georgia state maps...and they did...it turned out the little old lady i talked to knew exactly where ludowici was located, she'd even lived there...the map i picked up made it much easier to get to where i was going...easier, but not quite easy...
i finally made it to mel's house, though it took me a couple hours longer than expected...(and without a phone, there was no way i could call or text mel to let her know where i was)...mel was in the same group in uni with the two saras i got to see in DC...mel and i sat around and talked until her husband came home from work...he'd been texting throughout the day, asking if i had arrived, he was wondering where i was as much as i was while i was driving...
a few years ago, mel got married to a guy named eric...they married quickly, but it's easy to see the relationship is a good one, and they're both happy...he's in the army, hence the reason they live where they do...they'd just moved from one base to another, so the house wasn't completely organized, and they didn't have their kids with them...(they didn't want to live in a hotel with the kids until the house was bought, moved into and set up, paperwork arranged for everything in the area, etc)...the kids were up in indiana, with mel's parents...her parents were going to drive down sometime in the next couple days with the kids, mel and eric were both really happy for the upcoming reunion...
dinner the first night was one of eric's favourite meals...chicken something i think? i'm terrible at remembering specific meals...it was nice to have a proper, homecooked meal...i helped with cleanup afterward, i try not to be a total mooch when i'm visiting someone:)...
the next day mel and i decided to drive to savannah...since i'd already been there, the highways entering the city seemed familiar, but i didn't know anything else about the area...savannah is a typical "old south" city that somehow escaped being destroyed during the civil war...
you get to see the riverfront area, which is now covered by restaurants and touristy shops...it's a nice walk, and at the end of that area is a statue of the girl who is said to have waited there every day for the sailor boy she loved...(he never came back, but she was greeted by many people on the ships that sailed the area)...
we also walked bull street, the other famous area of the city...lunch was at a cafe, mel chose the place...since she'd been in the area a few weeks already, she'd explored savannah a bit before i got there...i expect she'll know the city really really well by the time she and her husband move to his next posting...

many of the houses and other buildings on the street are now museums that give you a good idea what life was like back during the days of antebellum living...we didn't go in any of the museums, i know i'd have wanted to see more than one, and the entry fees aren't the cheapest, as well as adding up quickly...it's fun to soak up the atmosphere, and see the old styles of architecture...driving on bull street would drive me crazy, as every other intersection is actually a square, with a big memorial/statue/park in the middle...constantly stopping, turning, etc would be soooo annoying...
we visited a nice fountain, and a cemetary...both of which are supposed to be known, neither of which do i remember the names...whoops...
the next day mel and i just hung out in the house...as much as i love traveling, i love doing a whole lot of nothing, just catching up with a good friend i haven't seen in a long while...
the next day, i left...it was easier to get back to atlanta this time:)

newport news/williamsburg

the advantage of keeping in touch with people from different times/places in my life is in experiencing relationships that grow and change...i love it...
my train arrived in newport news, VA, over an hour late...since kelley had loaned me an ipod touch for the summer, i was able to take advantage of the free wifi on the train to email my host and let him know i'd be late...unfortunately, he didn't check his email, and didn't get my message...so he was at the train station, just waiting and waiting and waiting...august in this part of the country is hot and humid, so he was sweating...on the train, the aircon was turned up (or down, as i feel is more accurate) big time, i was nearly frozen...

by the time i got off the train, i felt like an ice cube...i wasn't hungry, even though i hadn't eaten since lunch, and it was already after 8pm...don (a friend from my years in high school) got dinner for himself on the way home, while i held on to his dog in the car...gypsy is a jack russell terrier, one of the awesomest dogs ever...she loves to make friends and chase squirrels...
after a quick tour of the flat, i went to sleep...
the next day don went to work, i hung out with gypsy in the flat...she loves when people come to visit, because she doesn't have to stay in his kitchen all day...i played on the computer, napped, did laundry, and was generally useless most of the day...except for taking gypsy out for a couple long walks...we had dinner delivered that night...
the next day was pretty much the same...for dinner we walked to a takeaway place in don's neighbourhood, gypsy loved the walk...she loves any chance to be outside as long as it isn't raining...if it's raining, she resists, to say the least...

saturday don and i did something touristy...we went to visit colonial williamsburg...the area is really close to the campus of william and mary, it is set up as towns were during colonial times...every day in colonial wiliamsburg is the same, the date is always a date when virginia was technically still a colony of the british empire...it's need to see everyone dressed in the clothing of the times, speaking the way they did back then...you get to see the governors house, shoppes and an inn, houses of 'regular' people, the post office, etc..the jail was particularly small, the lady running that said it was more of a temporary place, rather than a place people were jailed for long periods of time...i loved seeing all the different levels of society..

we spent about three hours wandering around, which felt like enough...the lady who sold us the tickets said half a day wasn't nearly enough, we thought it was plenty...i suppose one could explore every building, take all the tours, read all the signs, in which case half a day definitely wouldn't be enough..there are evening programs from time to time, i suppose we could've stuck around for one of those...i don't know how often they take place.. my favourite place was the blacksmith shop...the men working in their must've been HOT, because they were working with open fires! we also particularly enjoyed the building in which all the guns were kept..one 'employee' in there talks about how the militia worked, how each different type of gun worked, etc..i wonder what it would be like today to have such a building in each town..
after walking around for a while, we drove to krista's house...krista is another friend from my hometown...we used to swim together, and we've kept in touch ever since...i visited her in 2009, though she and her husband now have two children, and live in a house they own...krista had made arrangements for a babysitter so the three of us could go out to dinner...good food, good conversation...before leaving, we made plans to get together again before i left town...

we started driving again sometime sunday morning...there are heaps of historical sights in the area, but you have to drive to all of them..thank goodness for GPS:)...first we headed to a former army post called ft monroe...it was decommissioned in 2011 (i think?) and is now open to the public, you can even live in one of the historically designated housing units on post...general lee once lived there, and there is a museum...the post was built way back when, complete with walls all the way around...the best part of visiting ft monroe is the chance to walk around/on the walls...there are also nifty maps showing how the fort fit into the surrounding geography, you can see why the spot was chosen in the first place...we decided first to walk the walls, then check out the museum...

after walking just a short way, we found a distance marker, which made me wonder if there was/is a race run on the walls...a mile long race, something like that?
when the post was active, there was a tradition of burying deceased pets on the outer walls of the post...even though the post is no longer active, you can still see all the grave markers...i think we found them from as far back as the 1930s?  interesting to see how the names of dogs and cats have changed over the years...with all the people who lived on and around the post, i wonder if there was some sort of qualification necessary to be eligible to bury your pet on top of the fort walls?
unfortunately, the wind picked up, and before we knew it, there was rain...ugh...I HATE RAIN...to me, rain is far worse than any other type of weather...
we went through the museum, though neither of us was really in the mood for it...the museum is in the old fort walls, so the rooms have low ceilings, and everything seems a bit dark/dank...the museum has displays about battles in which the fort was important, changing uniforms over the years, the changing military over the years, etc...

hopping back in the car, our next destination was the chesapeake bay bridge tunnel...a model of modern engineering...it wasn't clear enough to see very far, (hence my total lack of photos,) but it was still awesome...it's both a bridge and a tunnel, i don't think i've had that experience before...as you are driving along you can see the bridge go down, and the tunnel come up..it's hard to describe, but it really is rather neat.. on the other side (in maryland) we got lunch at some random roadside place...fried diner food, yum...(yes, i realize it wasn't AT ALL healthy...i almost always love such food, but don't eat it often)..there isn't much in the way of civilization when you first get back to land, which surprised me..somehow i expected there were be a town or city right up to the edge of the land..

after the bridge tunnel, we continued driving to virginia beach...not too long ago, my cousin moved there with his wife and two kids...i thought the kids were 4 and 2, though i'd never met either one of them...the last time i saw my cousin and his wife, she was 3 months pregnant with the first child...my cousin wasn't home, so we didn't get to see, but it was nice to see his wife...and i learned that the kids are 6 and 2...ooops...kathy's dad was visiting, making it even more of a family visit...to say that don felt awkward is putting it mildly...he was social though, and having gypsy with us made for some entertainment...how often do you meet extended family of someone you're not even dating?!?! hee hee...

we expected bad traffic on the way back to newport news, but it wasn't bad at all...the whole area is a peninsula, with very few roads to get around...traffic from virginia beach going back inland is often bad, i'm glad we didn't have to deal with it...
i don't know why, but i had it in my head that i was leaving tuesday morning, but don thought it was monday morning...it's a good thing i checked my email, it turned out he was right...i had to call krista to tell her i was an idiot and we wouldn't be able to get together again...argh...my flight left super early the next morning, so i went to bed super early...all in all, a good visit:)

later in the summer i visited the area again...it was a shorter visit, we didn't do much, at least not in the touristy sense...we got together with krista again, don and i even babysat one night...kids are fun:)...
one day we again drove to virginia beach, the weather was fabulous...we all (don, me, gypsy) enjoyed the walk on the beach...mid september is past tourist season, so it wasn't crowded at all...if it had been a little warmer i would've wanted to wear a bikini, and lay out to soak up sun...i'm sure don wouldn't have had the patience to do that for long, but i am the queen of laying out:)

taxation without representation

washington DC is the capitol of my country...i transited through the city at the end of 2009, but that didn't involve anything more than getting from the airport to the train station...i didn't see anything...when i was a kid, we had a family trip to DC, but i didn't remember much about the city...i only remembered heat and humidity...
one of my friends from uni just moved to DC...it's a part of the country i've wanted to visit for a while, and this seemed the perfect opportunity...a number of friends living in the city, or in the DC metro area, and historical sights...woo hoo:)
my flight arrived on time, and sarah met me at the airport...she lives in the city, her flat is only a block from the metro, conveniently on the same line that comes from the airport...yay...as the train came to the station, i mentioned that i was hungry...early early flights usually mean i don't eat breakfast, and my flight landed after noon, so i hadn't had solid food in a long time...
we opted for a place called ben's chili bowl...it's a DC landmark, and has been running for 50 years or so from the same location...i think it's a single restaurant, not a chain...if you are bill cosby, or a member of the obama family (the immediate family, i think) you eat there for free...obviously, that isn't me, but prices aren't high...the menu is simple, i went for chili...and a piece of red velvet cake...they only take cash, and there is an atm in the restaurant just in case you don't carry cash...we got our meal to go...

after getting to sarah's flat, we hung out for a while...until sara came...sarah and sara were both in my closest group of friends from uni...i hadn't seen either of them since then, which means 11 years...we've all grown up in that time, to say the least...
we went out to the mall area to see the sights...the washington monument, the lincoln memorial, the vietnam memorial and more...i took a lot of photos of course, and we talked nonstop...
dinner that night was at a place across the street from ben's chili bowl...i think the place was ulah's bistro? i don't remember exactly, but it was good...good appetizers, main course, and drinks...the dessert wasn't wonderful, but it wasn't awful either...we all ate too much though, the short walk home wasn't nearly long enough to work off the uncomfortably full feeling...
none of us was particularly quick waking up the next morning...eventually we got out the door, and sara was kind enough to drive us to the grocery store...since sarah doesn't have a car, yet lives in the city, it isn't easy for her to get groceries...a lot of stuff is available at convenience stores, but fresh fruit and produce aren't so easy to find...
after returning from grocery shopping, sara took off back to pennsylvania...boooo...it wasn't nearly long enough to catch up, but it was better than nothing...

i went out to see what i could in the city...i took the metro to arlington national cemetary, it wasn't a quick trip as the metro doesn't run nearly as often on weekends, and there was some work being done on the rails so the trains came even less often...when i finally got there, it didn't take long to get to the cemetary, which is huge...the cemetary was founded during the civil war, on the grounds of the former estate of confederate general robert e lee...anyone who has served in the military of the US is eligible to be buried in arlington national cemetary, with a few restrictions...spouses are eligible as well, and minor children...it's also possible to have cremated remains inurned...
one of the more famous names to be buried in arlingtion national cemetary is JFK...there is an eternal flame near that grave...other famous names buried in the cemetary: president william howard taft, general john j pershing, as well as senators robert kennedy and edward kennedy...i only saw JFK's area...i also walked to the tomb of the unknown soldier, which is really impressive...as i walked to the tomb, i realized there was a ceremony of some sort going on...a wreath laying ceremony...quite a few old vets were there, at least one was wearing something telling me he had been awarded a purple heart...at some point during the ceremony, all active duty in attendance were supposed to salute, and all civilians are supposed to put their hands on their hearts...

after the cemetary, i walked across the bridge, back to the edge of the area with the lincoln memorial...only this time i turned a corner, and made my way to the FDR (franklin delano roosevelt) memorial...it's bigger than i thought...there are several 'panels' for lack of a better word, each showing different aspects of his life...he was president for 12 years, something that is no longer possible...
not surprisingly, the next stop was another memorial...the jefferson memorial...it's not as visited as the lincolm memorial because it's on the other side of the water, but it's still nice...and even if you don't make it all the way to the memorial, you can take a photo or two from across the water...
all this walking was getting to me, so i walked back toward the green area between all the smithsonian museums...i took the chance to sit for a while, just watching people...DC is full of tourists, both domestic and international...as i was sitting and watching people, it was fun to try to pick out languages and accents...to say that fashions vary between countries and regions is a bit of an understatement...

after sitting a while, i walked more and found a bookstore...i'm a sucker for bookstores...
then, finally, i went home...sarah and i took it easy that night, lovely!!
the next day started with a reunion with a high school classmate...i hadnt seen katie in years and years, and had in fact lost contact with her...(in this day, that's tough to do!)...it turned out i had just missed her wedding (which took place just before i left ukraine) and my family had been invited to a reception in my hometown, so i was able to email katie's mom, get katie's email, then set up a meeting in DC...she doesn't live in the city, but she's close...we ate at ben's, i love the place...
after the meeting i got on the subway again and went back to the historical middle of the city, and walked toward the white house...i have very vague memories of seeing the place from a family vacation when i was 10 or so...since that was loooong before september 11th, i was expecting a lot more security around the perimeter...but i didn't see much...(just because i didn't see security doesn't mean it wasn't there)...

one of the most popular photos in DC is of someone standing in front of the fence, with the white house in the background...i think i first strolled up to the fence on the back side, so i just took a photo, i wasn't in the photo...there were a lot of people along the fence, but far fewer than i expected...(maybe because this was august, when it's hot and humid)...walking around the side of the white house takes you close to a couple office buildings and another statue...i think walking around the edge takes you close to the white house gardens, from which a lot of fresh produce is taken to feed the first family and others in the building...
on the other side of the white house the fence continues...this is the front side of the building, though that didn't seem obvious to me...across from the white house is a small tent city, as well as a few signs...gotta love free speech...across the street from this side of the white house is lafayette square...each corner of the square has a statue honouring someone of historical importance to my country (i could name and give details of each statue, but do you really want to add even more to an already ridiculously LONG entry?)...i got a photo with me in the photo from this side...

on the way back to sarah's flat, i went to the train station and got my ticket for a couple days later...by the time i got home it was dark, and my legs were tired...so much walking for days in a row is something i love, but it's exhausting when i haven't done it in a while
the next morning i went to mcclean, virginia for another meeting...my friend lynnae, who just had her second baby the week before, had just moved to the area with her husband and older son...i've seen some wee little kids, but i've never held one who is only a week old...i took the train to the end of the line, lynnae picked me up at the station...her mom was visiting too:)...it was nice to spend a couple hours catching up on life...
after taking the train back into the city, i went back to sarah's flat...we had made plans the night before to go to the holocaust museum as soon as i came back from mcclean...

back onto the subway, walking to the museum...it's free, but you have to have tickets, which we'd ordered online the night before...you can also get tickets at the door, but if you want to do that, it's best to be in line in the morning as there are only a certain number for each day, and they run out fairly quickly...each ticket has a timestamp, the whole idea is to keep traffic through the museum from being totally crazy...
the museum has a LOT of information, and great displays...the amount of information is stunning, and rather overwhelming...it's really intense, and really sobering...if i ever get the chance to go back to DC, i'd like to visit this museum again, more slowly this time...
for dinner that night i met up with another friend, this one from a visit to germany in 2009...i love seeing travel friends in different places around the world:)...since i'd already eaten at ben's several times during this visit, i figured why not eat there once more...after eating, we walked around the neighbourhood, found a quiet bar/restaurant and stopped in for drinks...

eventually i went back to sarah's place for my last evening...
my train the next day wasn't until 1430, and it seemed a waste not to do anything before leaving the city...washington DC is a pretty big city, and even though i had more days than i usually do in one place, i didn't come anywhere close to seeing everything...or, for that matter, even close to seeing everyone i know who lives in the area...when my next visit rolls around, i should do a whole lot more planning...a LOT more planning..(that's a guideline i need to apply to my next trip to the states in general, not just this city) since so much of what happens in DC is related to the government, i decided to go see the capitol...the building where so much of the power in DC resides...there are offices in the building, historical spots, important people, and the rooms where my nation's government is living.. there are tours of the capitol leaving quite regularly...entry for all visitors is through a huge visitors entrance/center, which is actually underground...this entrance isn't very old, but after events of this century, security has been increased all over the capital city..i walked in, got my tour ticket, was handed the earphones i'd need to hear my guide, and got in the correct queue...this is a popular tour, there are heaps of people in each group...since the accoustics all over the building make sound quite loud, the earphones are necessary if you want to hear your guide..

my guide was short, but was quite spunky, for lack of a better word..she knew her history, and was proud to show it off.. during the tour you get to see the rotunda, the old supreme court, the crypt, and a couple other places..i was a bit disappointed that i didn't get to see any active rooms, but i can understand why..if you contact your representative ahead of time, it is possible to arrange those tours, and quite easily, if i understand correctly...i took photos, listened to the stories, etc... my train left at 1430, and i was on the train...too bad the arrival of the train was over an hour late at my next destination...

painesville

i met charlie years ago at church camp...i don't know what year we met, but it feels as though we've been friends our whole lives...the crazy thing is, we only ever spent the one week a year together, and it was probably only 5 years or so that we were both at camp...friends are amazing...
anywho, charlie married his high school sweetheart, and four kids later they're both still happy and in love...the last time i visited, in the summer of 2008, they only had two kids...i was excited to visit again and meet the newest additions:)
the drive from bloomington to painesville was easy..around 6 hours i think? i got there a little earlier than expected, so my greeters were charlie's daughters, who are7 and 5...the house has a nice front yard and a big back yard...plus it's toward the end of a dead end street, so there is very little street traffic, and the kids can play in both yards w/out parents worrying all the time...
since my visit was before the beginning of the school year, all the kids were home, except the youngest boy, who was with amber (charlie's wife) who was out grocery shopping...the oldest boy (who was 2.5) was sleeping...after he woke up i understood what charlie and amber were saying when they said if they'd had joey first, they would only have had two kids instead of four...he's energetic, and enthusiastic, to say the least...about everything...

this was another visit that was all about spending time with friends and family, not so much about seeing somewhere new...i stayed mostly in the house, hanging out and enjoying time together...
one night, we walked to the end of the road, which has a farm on the end...the kids love the horses, even though they're also a little scared of the horses...so cute...
one day we drove to geneva-on-the-lake, to eat at a place called eddie's drive in...geneva-on-the-lake is a small town, mostly touristy on the shores of lake erie...it's the kind of town where families used to have summer cottages...swimming in the lake is one of the few things to do...there are restaurants along the main street, which runs parallel to the lake...back in the day, i'm guessing the town was the kind of place families spent the entire summer...that doesn't really happen anymore, but people do come for a week at a time...

eddie's is a classic place...not much on the menu, none of it healthy...fries, burgers, hotdogs, shakes, fish sandwiches, etc...a 50s style diner...we parked, got everyone out of the car (with all four kids in car seats, getting in and out of a car isn't easy or fast) and figured out what everyone wanted...the meal itself wasn't great or bad, but it was fun...and my shake was tasty:)...i think all of us fell asleep in the car on the way back to painesville...food coma and all that...
that night, after dinner, chrissy and her husband nathan came over...chrissy is charlie's little sister, i think the age difference is 10 years...chrissy is married now, it's amazing to see her all grown up...the last time i saw her at church camp i think she was 12 or 13? i got to go to her graduation party when she graduated high school, back in 2008...awesome to catch up with her:)
the next afternoon, my last afternoon in painesville, herb and linda came over for a while...herb and linda are charlie's parents...i've known them since church camp as well, their entire family came every year...herb tells the corniest jokes ever, and everyone always laughs...you can't help it...it was fantastic to see the entire family during the days i spent in painesville...they're awesome...
my last morning, i was up really early, in order to make the drive back to chicago...a long drive...and an expensive drive, the tolls in northern ohio and indiana are crazy!!!

b-town

bloomington, indiana is my hometown...howeva, i haven't lived there in a while, so every time i go back it feels completely different...stores change, restaurants change, road construction gets in everyone's way, etc...
i drove from chicago to bloomington, it was my first time driving in about two and a half years...(just in case you are wondering, yes, my license is still valid)...i've gone that long without driving at least once before, it was again very strange to be behind the wheel...since i don't drive very often, my idea of speed is rather slow compared to most drivers on the road...
i drove straight to my sister's flat...since she and mom came to korea, it had "only" been 14 months since we'd seen each other...my sister let me stay with her while i was in bloomington, which was fabulous...
my visit to bloomington was all about catching up with family and friends...having breakfasts, lunches, dinners, with as many people as i could see...other than getting together with people, i wasn't very active...i'd had the idea that i would get out and take photos, but that didn't really happen...the photos i've used in this entry are all from small towns in the state...

it's always interesting to go back to bloomington because it changes so much...my high school friends are married and have kids, my former bosses are still awesome...i almost always do a lot of shopping while i'm in bloomington, simply because i know i can get stuff i can't get in ukraine/korea/whereva i'm living...i go to doctors because i can ask questions and get answers i understand...
bloomington is a university town...it's a big university, over 40,000 students on the bloomington campus...it's a big research university, with a bit international population...all of this means bloomington is more liberal than than other towns in southern indiana...i love it:)