Final adventures on the East Coast

Well, it’s coming to an end! I am leaving Virginia tomorrow morning.  It’s almost like a whole other study abroad in itself.  Saying goodbye to places and people I have been seeing everyday will not be so fun!

I have been so privileged and blessed to have been able to see and do everything I have in the past 8 months of my life.  It’s almost like an 8-month vacation.  I really can't believe how much of the world I have been able to see.  I have taken the best pictures of my life this year!  So, its time for me to get back to the hard work of being a full time student, trying to figure out where life is going to take me after I graduate college in May (gulp..).

Jason and I took a spontaneous trip to Virginia beach a few weeks ago.  It was perfect weather! We woke up early to make it to the beach for the sunrise and I can just say, God must have so much fun when he creates the sunrise everyday.  It was so beautiful and unique and oh yeah, over the ocean! We were able to spend the whole there realizing on the beach and enjoying just being together.

The most recent adventure I went on was a trip to Washington D.C.  This was in the works for a long time, ever since I knew what my summer plans were.  My roommate, Cristina,  for this coming school year has been interning out there this summer so we knew we wanted to meet up this summer at least once! I was able to get a good chunk of time off from work and hang out with her for a weekend, and then Jason joined me for a few days once she had to start work on Monday. 

So! She lived about two blocks from the Capitol, so that was casual!  So generous of her to let us stay with her.  We were able to bring our own groceries and save money by not eating out much so that was also such a blessing.  It was awesome to tour parts of the city with a ‘local’ and have a place to stay that was so close to many of the main attractions.  I realized how much I missed walking everywhere while being in the city!  I won’t bore you with all of the details of my trip but I will share a few of my favorite moments, sights, and foods while I was there.

My favorite museum was actually the National Archives! This is where the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence are located.  D.C. is cool because most museums and attractions are free.  Well, they are paid by our tax dollars, but hey we don’t have to pay anything while sightseeing there!  Anyways, my favorite part about this museum was actually a section where they had original copies of letters written by famous historic Americans usually writing to the current president.  For example, Amelia Earhart wrote a letter to the current president inquiring about receiving help from the Navy with her flight around the world.  There were also things like a football and soccer ball signed by winning teams that were gifted to the current president.  There was also a Jersey signed by the Iraqi soccer team that won their league that was gifted to President Obama.  I had not really planned on going here but I am thoroughly pleased with our impulse decision to spend some time here!

A favorite moment of mine is from one morning when I was waiting for Jason’s flight to get in, I decided to get up for an early run.  I wanted to be up and around the monuments for the sunrise and although it was pretty early, it was so worth it.  I think the hour before and after the sunrise is my all time favorite time of the day.  There is something so special about watching the sun peek up over the horizon and begin its journey for the day.  I made it to the Washington monument just as the sun began to shed light onto it, and the silhouette of the monument against the rising sun is quite a sight to behold.  I loved being out and about during this time because there are no tourists.  It is a stark difference from the middle of the afternoon when the mall is crawling with people.  The quiet of the morning combined with the beauty of the monuments, the Capitol and the sunrise made for a morning I will not soon forget. 

Another one of my favorite moments is after Jason arrived, we spent some time touring the capitol and walking around the monuments and such.  We stumbled upon the white house at dusk and then headed over to the Lincoln Memorial.  We ended up walking past the reflection pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial right as the sun was setting and the colors that were reflected in it from the sunset was so pretty!  We ended up sitting on the steps of the memorial for quite a while, resting out feet, chatting and casually gazing on the Washington monument all lit up when it got dark.  The walk back to Cristina’s was probably at least 2 and a half miles which was fine but we had probably already walked 5 miles that day! Our feet were so destroyed, so Jason lent me his shoes because I had blisters everywhere and I looked like such a clown.  It was still really fun to slowly make our way back there and laugh about how silly I looked.

I think the best thing I ate while I was there was a milkshake from a restaurant called Ted’s Bulletin on a dinner date with Cristina.  I guess it’s quite an establishment among D.C. locals and I can see why! It was a cool atmosphere and really good food.  The street it was located on had many other restaurants that were busy with nightlife and people like us getting milkshakes J So it was a fun area to walk through and just observe what a typical local might be doing on a Tuesday night.  My milkshake was toffee almond flavored, it was unique and delicious! 

Before we left we also made a stop at a bakery called the Sweet Lobby.  It is famous for its gourmet cupcakes and macaroons and for good reason! The woman who owns this little shop won the show called Cupcake Wars on the Food Network, so I basically had to go and get cupcakes when I heard about this place.  And Jason patiently came along and kindly humored me and my sweet tooth.  There were so many flavors and varieties I just wanted to try them all.  Maybe I will just open my own shop and learn how to make gourmet cupcakes, yeah? Good idea Steph.

So, D.C. was awesome.  Jason and I commented on how we could never fit in there because we just don't know politics.  It would sure be a fun city to live in but I just don't think I could handle all of the constant politics! 

The last noteworthy thing I did was to visit Jason's grandparents in Pennsylvania and see an old friend from camp.  It was a short trip and I went with Jason's incredibly generous mom.  We had a good time and it was so good to finally meet those grandparents and learn more about that side of the family.  And seeing Lisa was awesome too!  I got to see the Amish farms and houses and see them riding around in their horse and buggy.  

 I have been so blessed by the things I have been able to experience this past year.  I have seen more than most people see in their lifetime, and I need to keep pinching myself to make sure that it was all real and I actually saw and did all these things! Thank you to the people who have been a part of these experiences and mostly a huge thank you to my wonderful loving and supportive parents.  None of this would have happened if it weren't for your   encouragement and support.  I love you!

Well, I think thats all I need to say about the end of my summer.  This will be it for posts from VA, thanks for following my life for the past 8 months!  

Virginia Beach sunrise

Virginia Beach boardwalk

Cristina and I in D.C.!

Sunrise run past the Capitol

Washington Monument

Jason and I at the WWII Memorial

Kisses and laughter

Capitol loving

Sweet Lobby!

My last day of work at Runk and Pratt

Farm country in Lancaster

Corn maze with Ms. Vicki!

Corn maze with Lisa :)

Mom comes for a visit!

Hello again, here I am still working away at Runk and Pratt and enjoying the amazing mountain views this state has to offer.   Its been a bit since I last blogged, but there are only a few noteworthy things that have happened.  Not to say they weren't important!

As you may have seen, my sweet mother came all the way out here to visit me and see where I am living, working etc.  We had so much fun together! I really enjoyed being able to spend some quality time with her and catch up on things going on in our lives.  We did some sightseeing, shopping, ate some good southern food, and enjoyed the company of Jason's gracious family (as if they could be any more gracious).

The main things we saw were the natural bridge and the caverns that are located near the natural bridge which was about an hours drive away.  I think Natural bridge is a pretty popular area to sightsee in Virginia and I can see why, it was pretty cool! There was a large sign as we walked in that read "One of the seven natural wonders of the world!"  We were like 'Awh nice! No way, thats so cool!'  Only to find out later that this is very false information and I feel like they shouldn't be allowed to claim that if its not true!  Anyways that was memorable... The caverns were also very cool, literally! I was freezing in my shorts and tank top because we were a long ways below ground.  Apparently they are the deepest caverns in Virginia?

Anyways, we also went and visited Thomas Jefferson's retreat home which is right here in Forest.  We got a tour of the house and the grounds and it was very interesting to learn a bit more about Thomas Jefferson and his private life.  He came to this house when he wanted to get away from the busy life at Monticello.  He would actually spend a few months here at a time during each season, so it was not just a summer home.  It sure was beautiful, you can see why he chose that spot as a getaway!

I tried to give my mom a little better taste of southern culture by going to Chick-fil-a, eating ice cream while looking at the mountains, drinking sweet tea, and experiencing the incredible hospitality of the Faixes :)  It was so much fun to have her here, but so very hard to see her go.  I have less than a month until I make the trek back to Minnesota which blows my mind! Where has the time gone? But, I am ready to be close to my family again.

It has been a hard week as my family is headed to the cabin soon, and as of now it looks like I will not be able to join them.  I LOVE being at the cabin, it may be one of my favorite times of the summer so I am real bummed that I am missing it this year.  But, I am planning some trips to sightsee a bit around the east coast and hopefully I will be able to make that happen :)

On one of our days off, Jason and I also went hiking up Sharp top mountain which was about a 45 minute, 3 mile hike.  It was a beautiful day and it was really fun to spend that time with him as we've been working so often.  It is a treat when we can spend a whole day together!

Thats all for now, thanks for being interested in my life!

Ivy Lake at sunset

Mom :)

Natural Bridge!

Natural Bridge

Natural Bridge with my beautiful mama

Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest vacation home

My adopted dog, Buddy!

From the top of Sharp top mountain, it was SO beautiful!

Summit Selfie

Jason is such a hippie :)

A favorite spot to get ice cream! Such a beautiful view of the mountains.

Its JULY?!

WHOA.  Its already past July 4th.  Hard to believe!

Things that have been going on in my life lately:
-Workin with my favorite people, the residents of Runk and Pratt!!
-Vacation with the Faixes extended family to Atlantic Beach, North Carolina
-Volunteering for an organization called World help (http://worldhelp.net/work/)
-Fouth of July!
-Getting ready for a visit from my momma :)

Work is work.  I am so blessed that I have the opportunity to work with these seniors.  I am lucky that I even have a job in the first place and I am SO thankful for that.  Even though the early mornings can be a drag, overall I have enjoyed my time there.  It has confirmed my passion for seniors! I have always had a soft spot for the elderly but working with them and serving them has confirmed this.  I hope to work in a senior care facility someday with my nutrition degree, but we will see!

Family vacation! Jason and I managed to snag a few days off from work so we could join the fam in the beach adventure.  We met up with Jason's dads side of the family which ended up being around 30 people (?).  It was overwhelming to meet all of them at once, but I am glad I was able to meet the aunts, uncles and cousins I have heard things about.  Everyone was so welcoming! AND we got to lay on the beach, play in the ocean and get a tan for a few days.  It was a win, win.

I have started to volunteer for an organization called world help which is a sponsor organization for needy kids all around the world.  Its a pretty cool thing they do there!  I have gone to help out with electronic filing, and scanning documents that need to be filed and such.  I will definitely be going back!

Yesterday was the Fourth of July! Happy Birthday America!  Since I have no friends here besides Jason and neither of us felt like being social, we hung out and had a little party by ourselves.  The weather has been perfect the past few days.  Sunny, a little breeze blowing and not very humid at all! We went kayaking on a nearby lake then did some grilling and hanging out at the house.  I made such a yummy fruit pizza and decorated it patriotically which was so fun for me! Even though it was just the two of us we still had quite the spread.  We headed to a nearby country clubs golf course to watch some fireworks.  It was nice because it wasn't so crowded, like it is at the fairgrounds (for those of you in Cambridge).  It was nice and spread out and we had snacks and sparklers and it was just perfect! One for the books.

Last but definitely not least, my mom is coming to visit TOMORROW! WEE! I have missed my family and just being home this summer A LOT.  Every time I know they will be together my heart aches because I am a 24 hour drive away! I am excited to show her around the area, maybe tour Runk and Pratt, do some sightseeing and just hang out.  SO excited.

Well, here are some pictures from all of these happenings.  Thanks for being interested in my life!

Atlantic Beach

North Carolina is a hidden gem.  Its like something out of a Nicholas Sparks book!

Selfie.

Beautiful sunset.

I could be a Liberty Student, right? Here are the beginnings of my fruit pizza!

Kayaking

Watching fireworks. Jason will probably be so sick of selfies by the end of the summer! :)

Sparklers!

More sparklers

Last selfie I promise!

Thanks again for reading! Things to come: Visit from mom! Hopefully a trip to Washington D.C. in August, hopefully seeing my friend, Lisa from camp last summer (She lives in Pennsylvania), and maybe another trip or two to see some of the sights on the east coast! Hoping for Philadelphia or maybe Ocean City, Maryland.  All of this costs money, so we will see... 

Three weeks in..

Well, I've ben in Forest for about 3 weeks now! I can hardly believe it.  I have been able to hang out with Jasons family a good amount with him being gone in Charlotte.  I have seen him a bit too :)  He has been able to take me to some of his favorite pizza spots or out for ice cream.  (Of course everything is about food).  I have really enjoyed being able to cook and bake a bit here and there.  I have been able to try new recipes and bake a lot and I really like that!  I am also settling in to my roles at my new job at the nursing home and I am beginning to build relationships with the residents.

May I just say I think I will learn more from these residents than I ever thought I would.  They are truly something else.  The way they have good attitudes and outlooks on life after everything they have been through.  Today, I got to hear one of the residents stories during a break.  She shared with me many of the struggles she has had in her life and how evident the Lords hand is on her life.  It was a truly moving experience to have her share so much of her life with me after only knowing me for a few weeks.  Almost a complete stranger to her, but it is so evident that this woman and many of the others just have so much love to give even after all of the hardships they have faced in their lives.

I have had some challenges myself being away from home, again.  With Jason being gone a lot, I have been feeling like I am here for no reason but I know that seeing him on weekends is better than not at all.  He will be done with job training this week as well so now we will settle into trying to coordinate our work schedules to be able to do some fun things!  I am definitely homesick, Minnesota sick and actually camp sick.  I think being in America but not being in Minnesota, near my family has been the hardest.  When I was in Ireland, it was so completely different that although I missed home, it was so different that there wasn't much to compare it to there.  This is a different kind of homesick.

Being camp sick is also a surprise for me.  At least to the degree that I miss camp! I knew I would miss it some, but seeing some of my friends head up there for the summer is making me yearn for those long days on the water that I used to dread sometimes.  It is a special place that is for sure.  I hope to visit or maybe even work a family camp at the end of the summer.

Next weekend I am heading to the beach in North Carolina again with Jason's family and extended family. I am excited for the ocean again and meeting a lot of Jason's family.  After that, my mom is coming to visit!! I can't believe that its already almost July.  Well, sort of.  Anyways, I can't wait to show my mom where I've been working and do some sightseeing with her.  I miss my family!

Anyways, that is all for now.  I am off to try another new recipe :)
Thanks for keeping up with my life!

Thai food that we ordered in :)

This is an area where I have gone running a few times.  Its called backwater creek and its so green!

The mountains are ever always in the background of almost any view.  This is turning into the neighborhood where I am staying.

I told Jason I was capturing everything this summer soo too bad for him I will be taking a lot of pictures!

Settling in to southern life

Hello everyone!

I have been in Forest for about a week now and it feels like so many things have happened!

Jason was gone most of the week for job training in Charlotte so I spent a good amount of time with his family.  Jason's mom is so great, she says to live here I need to act like one of her kids.  I feel a little uncomfortable sometimes with that but I'm getting used to their house and their patterns and such.  So while Jason was gone it was my main goal to find a job.  I am not sure how many places I asked for an application and filled it out and turned it in but it was a lot.

I landed a job at a nursing home called Runk and Pratt.  Strange name, I know, but its probably the nicest nursing home I have ever been to.  These people have a lot of money and the facilities reflect that.  The residents have it reeeeeeeaalll good.  I mean especially when they have someone like me serving them their meals right?  :) Anyways, that is what I do there.  I serve them breakfast, lunch and dinner depending on which shift I am working.  So basically I have 20 new friends all over 65 years of age.  I love it. There aren't many residents because this facility only opened up about a week ago! So gradually there have been more residents moving in and others taking tours and such.

The people I work with are really fun and it is such a positive atmosphere.  They will tease me and call me Minnesota and the chefs give me samples of banana bread or soup or let me have a cupcake here and there.  The residents are awesome though.  They are what makes the long hours and sore feet worth it!

So there is that.  This past weekend Jason was home and we got to do some real summer stuff and it made me feel like its actually summer! Its been weird for both of us because the past two summers we were at camp and its like I don't even know what summer is supposed to be like without camp.  But I think we will figure it out quickly, ice cream dates, swimming and boating in lakes, hiking, swimming in rivers, and the list goes on.  We packed a lot of things in to the few days he was home!

One of the days that I had an early shift and I was done at 2pm, we drove up into the mountains and hiked to a place called Devils Marbleyard. We looked at the sign at the beginning of the hike and it had a 1 next to Devils Marbleyard so we were like oh yeah 1 mile we can do that it'll be easy.  Well, it was a lot farther than a mile let me tell you and it was a lot more straight up than we expected too.  Oh well, it was good exercise for sure and the view was amazing and we made it out alive! I am excited to do some other hiking while I'm here too.

On my day off, Sunday, I went with Jason's family to one of their family friends lake homes.  It was a cloudy day but not too cloudy to keep us out of the water.  I got to wakeboard for the first time this summer and it sure made me miss camp and the beautiful boat that I got to drive last summer.  It was fun though, it almost felt like Minnesota..

Somethings I have really enjoyed about being in Virginia is 1) seeing the mountains all the time.  I am probably 20-30 minutes away from one of the mountains that I could hike.  They are so cool and I don't think I could ever get tired of looking at them. 2) Mostly everyone is SO nice.  I know they say its Minnesota nice but I don't know if thats really a thing because people are so cheerful and welcoming here.  I love it.  3) The sweet tea and southern drawls.  Its kinda fun learning more about the southern way of life and listening to everyone talk.  You can really pick out those rednecks because they will usually have some chew on the inside of their cheek.  Yuck.  But so fun to observe.

This week will be filled with work and uh work.. and some relaxing and maybe doing some cooking for fun! Thats all, here are some pictures of my life.

My adopted dog for the summer, Buddy

This is from the end of the street I'm living on. Mountains are everywhere!

The Faixes house

View of the mountains 

Devils Marbleyard

Nice and sweaty from the hike

Ivy Lake- we swam here the other night

Good book and a sweet tea on the back porch :)

Family Vacation in North Carolina

Well friends and family, here I am again! This is my new blog for the summer.
For those of you who read the Isanti County  news, I am NOT spending the summer in New York, but I will be in Virginia.  There are a few other notable false informations but oh well :)

So, I will be living in Forest, Virginia which is near the city of Lynchburg.  My boyfriend, Jason's, family lives here and he goes to school in Lynchburg, so I am the following girlfriend to be near Jason after being apart for 5 months.  I will be living with his parents while he is living in a townhouse near his school.  I am pretty excited to experience a new state for awhile! Virginia is beautiful.  I was able to take a trip there with him last summer and I love the mountains and the fact that you can drive to the ocean and back in a day.  I am also excited to spend some quality time with Jason's family as well.

Currently, I am on the other Emerald Isle in North Carolina.  My family has been planning a vacation with everyone for awhile so I have been looking forward to this for awhile!  Everyone, means 10 people plus my baby nephew so its quite a crew we have and its a big deal to have everyone in the same place for a whole week and on the beaches of North Carolina is an even bigger deal!  Emerald Isle is a little island off the coast of North Carolina with beaches and beaches.  We are staying in a beautiful house right on the ocean and its just like something out of a Nicholas Sparks book.  Its like paradise!!

We have had such a good week here and the weather has been awesome.  Its been so fun to hang out with my family after being away from them for so long! We have enjoyed the sun, the ocean, reading books and sharing meals and laughs together and of course cooing over my darling baby nephew, Charlie.  The beach has been our playground!  Its been such a fun week so far.  Jason was able to meet us here for a few days too so of course I enjoyed that :)  Seeing him after 5 months apart was so weird and actually I felt more relief than anything.  It was pretty fun to spend a few days exploring the beach with him.

Its hard to say how much of a culture shock I have had yet because I am on vacation and of course I love it here.  The first few things I noticed while being in the airports in the U.S. have been a) the dollar b) lack of Irish accents c) large people are more common  and d) African American people are also more common.  But the most significant thing I noticed was the absence of those beautiful Irish voices.  We will see how much more of a shock adjusting to life in Forest will be.  I think that driving to any of my destinations outside of the house and neighborhood will be the biggest change.  I also think that adjusting to the southern lifestyle might be a bit of an adjustment as well.  Ah well, change happens all the time in life and we just have to roll with the punches.

Here are some photos from the family vaca..

With my Bernie boy in Minnesota before jetting off again to the east coast

View from the beach house

Sunrise

Sunrise with my boy

Jason's parents came for a visit!

Jason :)

Baby Charlie

The whole fam

The girls! Plus Charlie

Well there ya have it.  Two more items of importance.. Good news is that I have an interview for a restaurant on Tuesday for a waitress position.

Bad news, real bad news, is that a friend of mine from high school passed away this week in a four wheeling accident.  I was very close to going back to Minnesota for the service to be there with and for my grieving friends but alas the money and the timing just didn't seem to work out.  Being so far away for something like this really makes me appreciate when I get to be home.  I think me and all of my friends are still in shock at how quickly a life can be taken away and how hard it can hit when it is someone so young that shouldn't have died so soon.  Kory Poissant, you will be missed by so so many! My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

So sorry to end on such a depressing note.  My next post will be about adjusting to life in Forest and updates on jobs and things like that!