Saturday April 18, 2009

Wow, Chicago was a lot of fun. There was so much to do and not enough time, so I was unable to stay on top of the posting. We have tons of pictures to share, so I am going to make this entry brief. The city was beautiful, the Art institute was phenomenal (we were granted special VIP access: a.k.a. Thursday nights are free between five and eight), the river walk was stunning, the parks were great, the public art was superb (or at least way above average), and the people were friendly.
We were fortunate enough to see Brendan, my old college roommate who stood up with us at the wedding, and his girlfriend, Megan. He is doing very well for himself as an engineering sales representative for Rockwell Automation.
If you have any specific questions or want more details go ahead and call us. We loved Chicago and highly recommend it. In fact, we joked about how we would just stay there instead of continue on our journey—it was only rhetorical though. Next stop, Washington DC.

Wednesday April 15, 2009

The bus wasn’t the worse thing that has ever happened, but I would never sign up to do it. On the other hand, Alex says that she kind of enjoyed the bus ride because we were able to see the sunrise: I woke her up and played Circle of Life as we watched the beauty of a new day—it was magical and made everything perfect for her; we also passed a sign for Alexandria, MN, which was special. The good news is that we are back on the train, where there is more room to bring the computer out and lounge. Despite the bus, or in Alex’s case including the bus, we are enjoying ourselves.
We packed too much stuff--those of you who were there to see us off will agree. Consequently, we are going to ditch a couple items in Chicago and free up space to pack other things away that have no home and to make the load a little lighter.
It is currently 2:30 pm. Alex and I are expecting to get to Chicago at around 6. I am excited to stay at the Embassy Suites and even more eager to have a nice bed that doesn’t move or shake. Thank you Jean. I’ll write again tomorrow and probably phone some of you tonight.

Tuesday April 14, 2009

This is awful!! The primary and detouring tracks are flooded. The Red River runs north, and Fargo is flooded because the lake that the river dumps into is still frozen over. Stupid weather. However, Amtrak is getting busses for us to ride, which will take us from Minot over to the Twin Cities. The bus will take ten hours to reach its destination, but worse things have happened.
Besides that, everyone on the train is really nice. We get to sit down to our meals with two other people—complete strangers—and chat. The train is a community full of older married couples who have a lot of life experience and advice. Our neighbors across the aisle are a retired elementary teacher, Dan, and a retired school secretary, Eileen. They are my favorite out of everyone we have met on the train, so I am glad we see them often.
As was the case in Seattle, everybody is excited for us, a further sign that we are doing the right thing. God has planted this desire in our hearts, we’ve prayed about it, and He has not sent a soul in our path to discourage us from doing this; in fact, we are getting green lights from every direction. No worries, Alex and I believe and have faith that this was the plan from the moment we were placed in the protection of each other.
We already miss everyone, which explains all the phone calls we are making. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, and this seems to be the case with us immediately.

Monday April 13, 2009

And…we’re off. It was really great to have some of our family see us off, and everyone else put a lot of effort to see us prior to our departure, so we want to thank you. Your love and support means so much to us, and without that encouragement who knows if we would even be leaving for such a grand adventure. You are what we will miss while in New York, but we’ll be back—plus, we want everyone to visit.
The train is fun and relaxing. Alex and I are eager for this trip and the progression all the way to New York. I am nervous that we will get bored, but we have plenty of games to play and things to be excited about. I am using this time to adjust my mentality and center myself by increasing my focus on the reality of moving. Alex is still a little in shock that we are actually going, in a good way. I’m nervous about the reality of the move: the apartment situation, finding jobs, having some sort of family support, and stretching our money. I am keeping all of this to myself, so I don’t worry my lovely wife, but I want all the parents to know that I am already looking out and planning—though currently it’s all hypothetical, since there’s no practical work to accomplish.
We want to say that we love you all, and please stay in touch through adding comments or e-mailing either one of us. Check out the video of the cabin as well—it’s tiny.
We would also like to give special thanks to Christina for being such a wonderful friend and helping when there was no familial or duty obligation, Cale for storing all of our furniture while try to sell it, Justin for helping us sell our stuff, and everyone who took something from our apartment; we really appreciate it and know that it has a good home.