On the move.

Wow.  It was an amazing vacation...  amazing.  Sterling and I saw so many beautiful places and things. Porcupines, bears, seals, whales, bison, mountain goats, prairie dogs, bald eagles and so many more things that I'm sure I haven't remembered.  The ferry rides, the mountains, the glaciers, the Pacific Ocean, the aspen groves, the wildflowers...  And a fantastic travel companion who could put up with me and I with him, so happily.  It was an epic vacation...  truly a once in a lifetime trip.  

Sterling and I prepare to enter Alaska.

We celebrate our entrance to Alaska!

A false front in Dyea: a town that was the starting point to the Klondike Gold Rush (and the Chilkoot Pass) in 1898.  Hardly anything exists there today.

Sterling is happy to be on the ferry, headed through the Inside Passage.

A labyrinth that we walked outside of Juneau.

Sterling in front of the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau.

Calving off the Mendenhall Glacier.  The ice always has a blue tint.

Sterling and I are happy on the ferry.  I loved the ferry so much.

We pause on a troll bridge before hiking around Petersburg.

Trying to find some whales.

Hiking around Petersburg, the entire path was board-walked due to such marshy ground.

The bald eagle posed for quite some time for us.

Stopping at Whistler and checking out the last Olympic site. 

Watching the sunset in Washington and searching for rocks.

We hike up to Olympic Dome where we meet some leashed goats.

Stopping south of Seattle to visit Sterling's Aunt Julie and her husband Steve.

Sterling in front of the dock that washed up from Japan on the Oregon Coast.

Visiting my good friend, Jason, in Portland.  He got some bear spray for his birthday!

And then visiting my dear friend, Lois, outside of Corvallis.  She made a delicious lunch for us!

A brief walk down the beach at Battle Rock.

Looking out over Battle Rock.

I am happy to be camping at Humbug State Park in Oregon!

Our campsite in northern California, right on the coast.

Sterling in the Giant Redwoods in northern California.

Half-Dome in Yosemite...  I'm in the middle of the Ansel Adams shot.

Standing in the middle of a giant Sequoia in Yosemite.

The highlight (or low-light) of Death Valley National Park.

Showing off our day, starting at Yosemite, driving through Death Valley and stopping in Paris!

And then we returned to Phoenix and the heat on Friday afternoon.  It was a whirlwind weekend, as is our style.  Sterling and his sister packed up the house and I went to my last day of work at Good Sam.  And then we quickly packed up our stuff in the heat and said our goodbyes.

I did get to spend time with my dear friends in Phoenix, including a lovely morning at a coffee shop in downtown Phoenix.  I will miss these times so much.

My last morning in Phoenix...  a delightful one with friends.

And we were able to take off on Monday afternoon, caravanning with Jennifer across the country.  We made it to Indiana on Thursday at 2:30am for a very brief stay in Greene County.  And then we headed out on Friday midday for some more moving truck driving (not my favorite thing...) with a couple of cats in tow.

And we arrived in Baltimore yesterday morning and dropped off the truck and rushed into town, making it just in time for the end of the first open house.  We looked around and had several appointments yesterday, and started again this morning.  And lo and behold, our last appointment at 1pm was the place that we had been looking for!

We are moving into Charles Village into a spacious, sunny 1 bedroom with a giant kitchen and living room.  And there is a Johns Hopkins shuttle stop right across the street.  We will be able to move in on Wednesday (happy 4th of July!) if all goes well with the lease.  And in the meantime, orientation starts tomorrow and I meet my new classmates.  And on that note, I need to get ready for bed.  Cross your fingers that all goes well tomorrow!

Our future home!