Visiting the Zoo

This weekend I took my first Metro ride and went to the zoo. I managed to figure out how to purchase and use the reusable electronic card with the help of some nice strangers. I also managed to get on the train going in the correct direction and get off at the correct stop. It was so warm, I figured it was the perfect time to go to the zoo. Here's some of the photo's I took. More to come later. I would explain what all the animals are, but if it's not obvious what they are, I probably don't remember either. The lion and the tiger tied for my favorite of the day. The Lion posed so nicely, but the tiger was playing with his toys and that was pretty entertaining to watch.

Penguins at the Hyatt

One of the things I loved most about Maui was that my property was right next to the Hyatt and the Hyatt has several different types of birds at their property including penguins. If you're feeling sorry for the Penguins thinking they must have hated the warm weather, you should know these Penguins come from South Africa not Antarctica and are used to warm weather. The last couple of months I was there Brandi and I walked over to the Hyatt at lunch time for a little exercise, so I got to see the Penguins a lot. The day I took my camera along there was also a Heron fishing in their pond.

Last Days at the Maui Ocean Club

One of my last days at the Maui Ocean Club I walked around and took some final photos of the property.



Here is where the high tides washed out the bank and also part of the beach walk.


The falls and pond just under the Welcome Center.

Part of the super pool.

Another part of the super pool and the water fall and cave you can swim into.


The pond and waterfall in the lobby.

Another view of the falls and pond under the Welcome Center.

The view of the pool from the lobby area.

The waterfall and pond by the front entrance, along the circle drive.

Brandi by the waterfall at the entrance.

Where I Live Now

It's been a while since I have blogged, but I am finally moved in and mostly unpacked. It is just the pesky little things like hanging photos and organizing my craft stuff in the second bedroom that still remains to be done. I don't want to take any pictures inside until I get rid of all the empty boxes and paper and the boxes of stuff for the Salvation Army. I'm so proud of myself for how much stuff I am giving away. I am a consummate pack rat and it's hard for me to give away or throw away things even if I haven't used them in years. I always feel like I'm going to give it away and then the day will come that I need whatever it was.

I love my new place. The kitchen and bathrooms are outdated, but lets face it- that's to be expected unless you're willing to pay a significant premium for a brand new or newly remodeled place. The location is great- really can't be beat. I'm in a little town that still has lots of stores close by, I'm close to the interstate for getting to work, and I am right on a lake.

Here's some pictures of the outside of the buildings:

Notice how the snow looks surprisingly shiny? We had an ice storm earlier this week. That was my first ice storm ever and it was pretty interesting. My car looked like a giant ice sculpture and it took me almost a half hour to chisel the ice off the windows so I could drive to work. The upside? All the schools were closed and there was much less traffic on the roads so I made it to work in about 20 minutes.

Here's the view from my balcony. It's hard to see the edge of the lake because it is frozen over and white like rest of the ground is:

You can kind of make out the foot bridge and trail (white strip) in the picture above. Here's a close up of the bridge (also taken from my balcony).

Here's a picture of the lake I took from a different spot along the shore this afternoon. The trail is still really icy, but I was able to get down to to the shore at this spot because it's by an open grassy area where more of the ice was melted.

The Adventure Continues!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, but I have finally arrived in DC!

Last week was very busy with the arrangement for the move and going away get togethers. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to wish me well and a big thank you to my team for the beautiful necklace they gave me as a going away present. I've been afraid to let it out of my sight! Here's a picture of it:

Now I'll always have a little Hawaiian sun with me!

This week has flown by at warp speed. Monday my travel arrangements were finally made. Tuesday the relocation company finally decided how my stuff was going to be shipped. Tuesday was also my last day at the Maui Ocean Club. Wednesday my movers came and packed and loaded all of my stuff and took my car. The pack and load went much more smoothly than I anticipated. The movers arrived just before 8am and were done around 1:30 in the afternoon. Thank goodness they sent 4 people this time. When I moved to Maui from Minneapolis they only sent 2 people and it took ALL day. Wednesday night a friend from work came to clean my carpets. A big thanks to Dave for that (and to Aaron for telling me that Dave has a carpet cleaning business) since I only found out last Thursday from the property management company that I needed to have the carpets cleaned to get my deposit back. I spent Wednesday night at the Wailea Marriott, then flew out Thursday afternoon (A big THANK YOU to Brandi for driving me down to Wailea on Wednesday and then picking me up and driving me to the airport yesterday). Nope, no Thanksgiving for me this year :( And finally, this morning I landed in DC.

After picking up my rental car this morning, I was supposed to swing by the Marriott right by the airport to pick up my air mattress from Jackie. Lucky for me she came out here to visit her family for Thanksgiving and brought my air mattress in a spare suitcase (I might have to move into my apartment before my stuff gets here if it takes too long). Since she is a premier member they don't charge her for her bags (unlike me!). I managed to get lost right away after leaving the car rental place and spent the first twenty minutes trying to get back on the right highway headed in the correct direction. Sadly, the airport is surrounded by toll roads and it cost me $7 in tolls before I got on the correct road headed in the correct direction. Finally, I got over to the Marriott and retrieved the air mattress.

After that, I headed over to Gaithersburg, Maryland where I am staying and checked into my hotel and had a little breakfast. After that my first order of business was to drive down the road to the shopping complex near the hotel and buy a GPS for my car. That was the first thing Jackie told me I had to get when she saw me, and after all of the highways just getting from the airport to here and my fun experience getting lost on toll roads, I figured it was a good idea. Luckily for me today is Black Friday so I got a really good deal ($100 off!). The other lucky thing- there is a Super Target just down the road! The two story kind just like the one in downtown Minneapolis, with the cart escalator and everything! So much fun to just walk around in there and marvel at the selection and the prices! Hello- everything is super cheap here!

Once I finished my little shopping expedition, I came back and unpacked then took a nice 5 hour nap. When I woke up I went back down the road to the shopping complex again and had dinner at Macaroni Grill. Can you believe my seafood pasta, salad and drink came to $20 exactly! Can I just mention how cheap everything is again! Brandi- I'm going to eat the Fettuccine Alfredo for you soon- and it only costs $12 ($1.50 more if you want a salad with it). Craziness!!!!

And for everyone who thought I was going to go into shock from the cold and sent me weather reports on DC over the past couple of weeks - I am not in shock and yes, it finally feels like winter and Christmas! I stand by my previous claim that once you have experienced winter in Minneapolis, nothing will ever seem as cold (heck, it's only 30 degrees here. That's about 60 degrees warmer than the coldest temperature I experienced in Minneapolis). For everyone who has been concerned that I did not have proper clothing anymore- My ski coat is working just as well as it did in Minneapolis and in the mountains skiing. My gloves work just fine and I was able to break out all of my scarves again (although I only brought one with me in my suitcase).

Life is good!