"Can We Move Here?"

"Can We Move Here?"...Top Spot #2

C.A.L.I.F.O.R.N.I.A

Oh California...

You + Me = One Long Love Affair

SAN DIEGO

My entire life, especially the pre-college portion of it, was traveling back and forth from Orange County to San Francisco and back home, several times a year. My whole extended family lives there, so it became a second home to me.  The beach, the palm trees (again..my favorite tree), the shopping, the skiing, and eventually all the memories made in that great state that are always kept near and dear to my heart. Now, my memories coming back to Oklahoma---crying and lots of it (and it wasn't pretty crying either).

California stole my heart. 

Needless to say its about time for Will and me to venture to the west coast for a bit and indulge in their free spirited way of life.

I can't picture myself living in Orange County, San Francisco, and defiantly not LA (gag), but I visited San Diego last May and BOY oh BOY I couldn't stop convincing William how great it would be to live here. The soft wind in our hair and an actual chill in the air that left goosebumps on our skin...at the END of MAY (who would have thought?). There is an energy about the city that promotes life, a kind of life that makes you addicted to spending all your free time outside, a life that is indulged with the serenity of the ocean at your footsteps, and a possible work commute that drives along the west coast.  Everyone seems happy, unstressed, and really enjoying the way of life that San Diego brings (which is so not LA).

The convincing seized when we were at Urban Outfitters and lo and behold, people were taking their dogs shopping in the store. Yeah, we are those kind of dog loving people.  But, I think the cherry on top was the train ride from San Diego to Irvine, the ride left us drooling over the spectacular views of the west coast and kept making me think "Seriously, why DON'T we live here?".  I hope that maybe (just maybe) we can live there when William grad-u-ma-tates.  Until then, I give you San Diego....

*Even on a gloomy day, this coast is still so beautiful*

Torrey Pines

 View of Downtown San Diego

William on the lawn of Petco Park

San Diego ZOOOOOOO!

the scenic views on our train ride

You can't beat dinner on the water..

Thanks for Reading

686 more days until William graduates...

"Can We Move Here?"

Every summer when William and I travel our hearts out (or at least try to), I always ask the inevitable question: "Can we move here".  Sometimes it is asked as quick as the plane landing on the runway, then asked again mid vacation, and then eventually it's all I can talk about at the end of a fabulous vacation. 

"Can we move here?"

"Can we move here?"

"Can we move here?"

(Am i annoying you yet? )

William's responses:

When the plane lands: "OH GAH, your already starting this?"

(he is a patient man)


Mid Trip: "Maybe"

Flying out of destination "YES!" The wheels in his head start spinning with "I can do this ____", I can work here ___", "I can maybe get my LLM at _____"

I guess this is why I married this one...

I can honestly say that I am fortunate to have the opportunity to have visited several cities all over the country, some even several times.  I always have this burst of energy to power through all the sites, indulge in all the food, and take in each cities culture and way of being.  Some cities I just love to visit and the others I just fall head over heels in love with. 

My #1 City that the inevitable question is asked "Can We Move Here" about 1.5 million times is:

CHICAGO 

I.LOVE.CHICAGO.  No words can express the happiness of when the thought of Chicago pops in my head.  It's euphoric. Your probably thinking at this point I am a freak...well you clearly are mistaken and have never visited the GREAT Chicago.

When William I flew into DC last month, we had our connection in Chicago.  As the plane took off to DC, I pressed my nose against the plane window and as the buildings got smaller and smaller, I secretly thought about stealing a parachute, jumping out of the plane, and well if I was James Bond landing right on the beach of Lake Michigan.  Yup, that's how much I love the GREAT Chicago.

I have to admit the first time I stepped foot on the soil of Chicago...I wasn't truly.madly.deeply.in.love. I had just visited NYC--and well the dynamics of both cities are quite opposite (your thoughts may differ).  NYC is fast paced, HUGE, attractive in the sense of being a tourist, yet parts of the city seem very cold and the people...are kinda loud and mean.  Chicago has a slower pace (which took me awhile to get used to), yet it is clean, young, attractive in sense of actually living there, the people are kind hearted...you know in that wholesome mid-west charisma kinda thing, and the city itself glows to me day and night.  It didn't take long on my first stay to grasp what this city has to offer and I left that fabulous vacation feeling very smitten. 

  

View from the John Hancock building 

 

 

Beautiful

 

 WHITE SOX!

Do I like Baseball? No

Do I love the White Sox? Yes!

My first baseball game I ever attended...and they win the world series...Thanks Chicago

Am I a biased bangwagon fan?  You betcha...sorry Cubs you always feel the need to have away games when I am in town...

Do I like Football?  I love football
Da Bears are our #1..

Okay...I don't want to bore you my little readers (I hope I have readers?).  My #2 top spot, you will have to wait and see....

Thanks for Reading!

689 more days until William graduates...

then Chicago HERE we come! <----Wishful thinking again...

Travels

Wordless Wednesday

For my semi wordless Wednesday, I figured I would finally end my posts about DC by telling you all about my tour at the Capital.  A little birdie (AkA Will's Uncle Jim) told us if you contact your state representative, they will give you a free tour around the capital.  Well thank goodness our state rep gave us the time of day and had an intern give us a grand tour around our amazing capital.  This was BY FAR my favorite site to see and it was a little sweeter that we got to have a private tour, we were inside in a well air conditioned building, and we even got to cut the lines (there was probably 10 elementary schools worth of children running around and standing in lines...if that gives you any indication how grateful I was to cut the lines).

 I'm glad our little birdie gave us this sweet insight, otherwise we would not have the experience we did.

the newly renovated visitor's center at the capital....$621 million dollars later...and I thought we are in a recession?

rubbing our feet at the very center of the capital for good luck...

if you know me....I love love love chandeliers...I would love to have this in my house...well dream house that is :)

old supreme court chambers

the dome of the capital

that would be George Washington in the middle of all those angels...he was a very humbled man...

actually he really was...he refused to think of himself as a "God", like everyone told him and portrayed him

each state has two statues in the capital...Oklahoma has Sequoyah

and Will Rogers (dUh)...before Will Rogers died (in his infamous plane crash) he requested that his statue have his head facing down and facing outside of the senate chambers...so when all the senators come out of their meetings they have to look him in the eye....clever man that one is...

the family in front of the replica of lady Freedom (the statue at the top of the capital)

Side Note:  No other statue can be as tall or weight as much as THE lady Freedom in the capital

Happy Wednesday! Thanks for reading!

691 more days until William graduates...

Travels

                                                The Library of Congress

As promised in the previous post, I am dedicating a couple of posts to William and I's great adventure in DC.  One of my favorite sites was the Library of Congress.  There are not many pictures from here, since it was one of the few sites that didn't allow photography.

 As soon as you walk into the Library of Congress, you are faced with "The Great Hall". No words or pictures can accurately describe the beauty of this place. Your eyes take you up the long columns until you reach the highest point, the dome. The dome is filled with rich colors and deep beauty of the murals painted by great American artists. The murals and architecture continue on throughout the entire building.  Each room is filled with artifacts and documents that made this country what it is today...it's a must see!

The Great Hall

You can tell this really is the only room in the place to allow photography, hence all the pics from this grand room :)

admiring the beauty...

Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and Vietnam Memorial

Our journey around DC led us onward to the Lincoln Memorial.  We killed 3 birds with one stone with this grand site.  The Lincoln Memorial is not only home to...well..Mr. Abe Lincoln, but is also home to both the Vietnam and Korean War Memorial. OH, I might mention, as you admire all of the memorials, you cant help but be awe struck by the amazing view of the Washington Monument in the background.
 

Oh... Hey Mr. Abe Lincoln!

Great View!

I couldn't help but picture the movie Forest Gump, all over DC, but particularly when I stared down into (<---)this pond and could picture the scene when Jenny jumped into the pond chasing after Forest (or something like that). I won't lie I wanted to jump into the pond as well, but for different reasons, like cooling down after a very humid walk up to see Mr. Abe Lincoln.

*thinking about jumping into the pond*

Korean War Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

Thanks for Reading!

697 more days until William graduates....

Travel

Washington D.C. 2010

For Memorial weekend, William and I trotted our way up to Washington D.C.  This was my first time to DC and I have to be honest, I had some pretty low expectations.  Why?  Well you see, I am not a fan of history and this trip had history written all over it.  Instead of paying attention in history class or being mildly interested, my eye lids grew heavy and my mind went elsewhere.  Needless to say, as soon as I stepped foot on the concrete that surrounded DC, I was pretty blown away by our great capital.  I think history class should be taught all over the east coast, especially DC and not in a classroom (if I could only run the world...).

I was enlightened by all the amazing Smithsonian museums, awe struck by the architecture, and was breathless when I encountered the murals in the Capital and Library of Congress.  Every building was truly amazing...and free to see I might add :).  Sadly, William and I didn't get to see everything we wanted,
but we will defiantly be back <-----Maybe a future home for us?? 
 Wishful thinking???...

If there is one thing I learned on the trip, DC is very hot come May.  It was an exhausting few days, with humid conditions that left you feeling thirsty, sticky, sweaty, fatigued...but I won't complain :).  Just FYI:  Cotton dresses, comfy shoes (hasta la vista cute gladiator sandals), lots of water, and an air conditioned bus to take you everywhere is the way to go.

I will admit these thoughts did run through my mind as I tackled the weather:  

"Do you think if I wore my swimsuit around tomorrow, people would stare?" 

my thought immediately after:

"I knew I should have started working out two months ago"

"Screw it, I think I would still be hot and miserable"

I blame the sun for taking my sanity away...

William's take on the trip was a wee-bit different.  This one being a fan of law and all things history paraded around DC like a kid in a candy store.  My non-directional challenged hubby lead my family all over DC, ignoring the heat and practically running from site to site to site.

On another note, William and I also got to experience the Gaylord Resort and Hotel and it was spectacular!  I am always grateful that my mom throws an amazing conference every year and well, William and I piggybacking on her a-mazing hotel room!  If you ever are in the area, you must stay there!

Lastly, I have contemplated for awhile on how I wanted to write down my experience in DC. considering William and I took over 300 pictures with lots of video.  I have decided to spread the love on DC and share my experiences over a couple of posts instead of one. 

FYI: If you are scrolling down through the pictures you will notice they have nothing to do with the sites...these are all the "other" pictures we took :)

The start to a great trip---Union Station, Washington D.C.

West Coast F-A-M-I-L-Y

Love my Family!

Gaylord during the day...
 
Gaylord at night...soo pretty!

Breakfast every morning on our balcony...I really got use to this...to bad reality isn't a vacation everyday...:)

The fountain show..

Mom's Conference

Thanks Mom for a spectacular trip!!

"Can we move here?"  The inevitable question always asked by me when William and I go on vacation..

 If you have read this post through its entirety, then Congratulations...No you don't get a prize..it's just that....I think I even annoyed myself with how much I just posted...

Thanks for Reading!

703 More Days Until William Graduates....