our new apartment, so far

 Moving is always exhausting and always disorienting, and Ben and I have both had some pretty epic moves over the past couple years (Pennsylvania to Oregon in only a car, anyone?). However, this particular move was the biggest yet I think, because it's officially the first time that we've moved to a place we officially have together, and also the first time we've really combined all our stuff that's been hiding in basements and storage.

Since we were only moving across the state, I was down-playing everything in my head. How stressful could it really be?? Well, then we discovered our new apartment had been vacated hours before we arrived, and hadn't been thoroughly deep cleaned in what seems like 15 years, and we had to go to Michigan to get Ben's furniture, and then the huge heavy couch wouldn't fit through the door so we had to give it away, and then it turned out we had SO. MUCH. KITCHEN. STUFF. and nowhere to put it, etc etc so I honestly have no idea where the past two weeks have gone, other than into a vortex of cleaning and unpacking and giving Target all my money. 

But the hard work has been paying off and we have curtains now. And a new couch. So it's really starting to feel like home. Ben has been working hard to get his new classroom ready for next week and busy with orientation stuff, and I've been in this strange place where I freak out because I don't have a job but I'm also glad I have time to work on our home and cook good food and explore our new neighborhood. We're pretty far from the Loop so it hardly feels like we're in a big city at all, until I drive around and hit the awesome six-way intersections that are EVERYWHERE in Chicago because of the awesome one-ways and diagonal streets.

But despite the stress and uncertainty that seems endless I am extremely happy to be here in this place, physically and mentally, and in life in general. Moving has been a great distraction from wedding planning, but I guess I should get back on that bandwagon now that we're only a month and a half away. And I know I'll find a job when the time is right. Geographically we are now equidistant from both sides of our family and have lots of friends and family in the city as well, so I am excited to begin this new huge chapter. Best of all, I'm starting to realize that Ben and I will proooobably never have to be long-distance again, and that feels almost too good to be true.

summer wishlist

photo

This isn't really a wishlist as much as it is a wish item.

I need an ice pop mold, stat.

Think of the frozen possibilities...

Memorial Day scenes

 historic mansion

 craft fair

 ancient little chapel

 Union troops

Snow White-esque little chapel in the woods

 extremely loud cannon

Civil War reenactors

The cute little town of Boalsburg, PA is {one of the apparently several small towns that claim to be} the "birthplace" of Memorial Day. To celebrate the day, the town has an extensive festival complete with carnival, streets of art, craft, and food vendors, an antique car show, and of course Civil War reenactments. Living in the town next door, we had to check it out despite muggy temperatures in the 90's (I am so glad I was not stuck in a poofy wool 1860s period dress!!). It was a fun way to recognize and celebrate the holiday and a nice kick-off to summer, for it is definitely summer now in these parts. 

yosemite

 

While I was out in the field this summer

(field: -noun, the mystical place where physical scientists conduct their research in the off-season)

we took a weekend off to roadtrip down to Yosemite National Park.

Yes, this place is as glorious as it looks in pictures.

(although the pictures never show the hordes and hordes of tourists and vacationers, but what do you expect from one of the most famous parks in the world)

The park itself is massive, but the most well-known and photographed part is the valley, where the Merced River has cut through the granite outcrops and meanders through meadows and woods.

There are endless trails to explore, but since we were limited to only one full day, my glory-seeking guys made the master plan to hike Half Dome. Fifteen miles, 4800 ft elevation gain, no biggie. HA. 

I am so happy to have had the chance to be conditioned for this hike (the previous six weeks of daily high elevation hiking allowed us to make it in less than half the recommended time..woo!)

It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, but definitely the hardest physical challenge I have ever experienced.

We took the Mist Trail, which passes by Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. 

The mist is not so welcome when you are headed up in the chilly dawn air, but by the time we were heading down in the heat of the day the thought of making it back to the mist was probably the only thing keeping me going!

 This is Vernal Falls. The trail is mainly an enormous staircase cut into the sheer granite, going around and up over the falls.

 Nevada Falls, the second waterfall on the mist trail. By the time we reached this point the sun was coming up over the mountains and making rainbows in the mist.

 

[just looking at this picture makes my legs ache]

Most of the trail goes through the woods and is gorgeous, until you reach the final ascent of death up the bare rock. My legs were falling off my body after 7+miles of huge granite stairs. To be honest, there were parts where it felt kind of like Frodo's death march to Mt. Doom.

BUT the views are worth it!

 Once you reach the flat sub-dome area, you are greeted with this:

HALF DOME!!! dundundunnnnnn
 Yes, those are people. Climbing up the cables to get to the top of the dome.

Confession: by this point I was dizzy from the sun, my legs were dead beyond any point of death they had ever experienced, and all I wanted to do was collapse and inhale a pb and Nutella sandwich.

So I didn't attempt the cables, and I do NOT regret that decision. I don't think another couple hundred feet make the view any different.

It's kind of scary how they let anyone climb up to the top, regardless of age or physical ability!

 I can't wait to go back to Yosemite and camp for at least a week or two to explore the other trails and parts of the park. I can see myself hiking Half Dome again, but it is not one of those things where you forget about the pain when it is said and done and are left with only the exhilarating memories. I definitely am going to have to let a little more time pass before I destroy that mountain again. 

Chihuly at Meijer Gardens

The other day I realized that I never shared the most gorgeous pictures from my little Michigan trip last month.

Ben and I took a daytrip to Grand Rapids on a hot and muggy day to visit the Frederik Meijer Gardens, an enormous botanical and sculpture garden. 

This summer there was a special exhibit featuring Dale Chihuly, an incredibly talented glass artist.

Chihuly specializes in blown glass sculptures that have an organic look and feel to them, like some sort of freaky flower or creature you might unexpectedly come across in nature.

The exhibit was breathtaking. You would be wandering around the expansive gardens and lawns and turn the corner to find another exhibit of technicolor glass. It was so cool!

 

 

[each swirl is a separate piece, numbered and mounted on a metal frame]

Oh, and the actual flowers and botanical part of the gardens is equally gorgeous.

They even have a "carnivorous plant" exhibit! The biology nerd in me was super excited, but it is basically just a little room filled with pitcher plants.

 

 

A couple of my favorite sculptures...
"The American Horse"

enormous

The alphabet people 

And I think Ben's (and maybe my) favorite part of the whole place was the Children's Garden. ;)

It has a special secret entrance....

A flowing model of the Great Lakes system

and wooden boardwalks and treehouses in the forest.

Overall, I would definitely recommend a trip to Meijer Gardens if you are ever in the Grand Rapids vicinity. They have different seasonal exhibits and even concerts in an outdoor amphitheater. It's definitely one of those places where you can wander around all day and feel like you are in a different enchanted world.

a little visit to Michigan

In the short space of time between coming home from California and heading back to Pennsylvania (which flew by wayyyy too fast) Ben and I made a roadtrip to Michigan to spend a few days at his mom's new home.  It was a perfect mini-vacation, filled with sunsets, ice cream, blueberry picking (and of course pie making), beach walks (so cliche but nice), and new kittens.  Michigan in the summer is pretty amazing, and the blueberries can't be beat (by PA's blueberries, at least).