Pursue Your Happiness

Wow, it's been a hot second.

Every time I visit somewhere cool I think, wow, I should blog about that.

Arrested Development Narrator voice: And then she didn't.

It's been a full four months out here in Philadelphia, an overwhelming, good, hard, amazing experience. Since I haven't done proper posting, here are some highlights that I missed writing about. Pictures that I had on my phone included..... Justin is the master photo compiler. Check out his albums for a lot more awesome pictures.

• Fourth of July  -- we went to a picnic at Valley Forge. We went to Valley Forge when we first arrived, in March, because George Washington is one of my heroes, but it was lovely to see it in summer and blooming. Complete with Revolutionary War reenactors! I don't envy those long skirts and petticoats, it's very much "hot as hell," as they since in 1776, set in Philadelphia at the time the Continental Congress was meeting about the Declaration of Independence.

• The PA Department of Agriculture put out a kind of ice cream bingo called Pursue Your Scoops. For every local creamery on the bingo card that you visit, you get a stamp. Collect five, and you get a t-shirt. Justin and I visited our fifth last night. It was a truly delicious trek. My favorite of the five we went to was Chester Springs Creamery. Not only was the ice cream out of this world good, each flavor is named for one of their cows. How cute is that?? We also picked up some fresh produce and have been enjoying it at home.

• I've been in rehearsal for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for a couple months. My goal when I moved here was to be in a show for my birthday so I would by default have some friends. And I did! I'm having a great time singing, attempting to dance, and making fun of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

We have more of a set now

• Went downtown twice in one weekend to see Superego podcast live, with the incredible podcaster talent that is Paul F Tompkins, and the next day to see Latin History for Morons. I also got to see Mike Birbiglia, my favorite comedian, work out some new material at a comedy club. I'd never been to a comedy club before, but I figured it out. And it was awesome to see Mike again (I've also seen him with Justin in Denver and Salt Lake.

• Probably the most special thing I've done since moving here was visit Mount Vernon. As I said, George Washington is one of my heroes. And to walk where he actually walked, to see his land and his home and his grave.... it was incredible. Highly recommend. Standing in front of George and Martha's tombs was a profound experience. Walking around the estate made him feel more like a man, an actual person, than a mythic figure. And I also had some heavenly French toast in the restaurant there.

• We visited Harrisburg and Hershey one Sunday. The capitol building at Harrisburg is breathtaking, the most ornate statehouse in the country. There's Renaissance style art and soaring domes and crystal.... it's really beautiful. I've visited a handful of capitol buildings together: Denver, Annapolis, Dover, Salt Lake, and each has a different aesthetic going on. The Hershey Museum was an interesting, quick tour. It's always nice when business leaders turn out to have actually cared about their employees and not just profits. Milton was devoted to making a city that people would actually want to live in, not a factory slumtown. And it's a real cute place! We also stopped and got a treat at Duck Donuts, must recommend. The best donut I personally have ever had.

• Justin and I tried to adopt a stray cat in our neighborhood who kind of looks like the cat that looks like Adam Driver. But our other cat was just not having it, and so we content ourselves with feeding him. I just want to hug all them, but you can't, can't hug every cat. (The lullaby I will sing to my future babies.)

SO there are some updates. Like I said, my husband is waaay better at taking and posting pictures. It was a beautiful spring, prettier than any I saw in the west, I have to say. And summer is beautiful too, even with the constant humidity. There's just so much life: plants and trees and vines growing and blooming everywhere you look. Lots of quick, intense thunderstorms.  We've been feasting on seafood and real Italian pasta. And the bread..... mmm. 

My job (judge's clerk in Wilmington) is one I enjoy. And every day when I cross the border back from Delaware, I see the "Welcome to Pennsylvania: Pursue Your Happiness" sign. What a great message for people. Moving out here has a crazy adventure, harder than I thought it would be, but man is it ever cool. I never ever thought I would get to live this close to so many historical and cultural sites. I'm going to New York again with my sister in a couple weeks, and am also planning a Boston trip over Labor Day. Life is what we make it! Pursue your happiness!

A Jaunt to Washington

Yesterday was my last weekday without a job (my new position starts Monday), so to celebrate I drove down to Washington DC! Well, I drove to Bethesda and took the Metro in to the city. It was fantastic! I've been to the Washington Monument and walked around the National Mall, but this was my first time in the heart of downtown. 

I went to the Smithsonian American Art Museum. How incredible is it that the Smithsonians are free?? They just let us all in! I don't know much about art, but I loved being there. They have an exhibition called "Votes for Women" about the struggle of the suffragettes and it was amazing. No progress ever comes without protest. Saw the portrait gallery with all the presidents, and found Michelle Obama's portrait too. Gorgeous :) Also, this painting is called "The Justices" and the amount of women lining up to take pictures with it was huge.

I took a picture of all the art with cats in it, of course.

Modern art has never been my thing... I just don't get it. But there were a couple pieces that I felt I at least got what they were going for-- this is a television map of the US with each state's TVs playing a piece of media that reminded the artist of that state (Wizard of Oz for Kansas, etc).

And this is a piece about the Vietnam War that kept churning out news reports constantly.

There was just So Much Art. I could've spent the whole day there, but I was starving and wanted to get a glimpse of the rest of downtown as well.

Outside it was raining lightly and the air was muggy but the blocks are short and easy to walk around. Found this "walk of fame." (There were a lot of other stars too, haha.)

Also walked by Ford's Theatre, the National Theatre, and the Warner Theatre.  Ate lunch at Shake Shack-- my first time and it was delicious! I'm excited to go to the other Smithsonians! It's amazing to be so close to all these cultural icons that I otherwise would have to plan whole trips around. Hoping to do a New York weekend very soon :) 

The drive back home actually turned out to be an adventure because my GPS took me on these CRAZY back country Maryland roads instead of on the interstate?? Like, I was driving on roads with chickens wandering about.  My phone battery was going to die and I don't know the area at all, obviously, so when I finally saw a sign for the I-95 I followed it and made it home. Thanks for nothing, Siri.

Week One

Now with pictures!

March 15^th, 2019 Friday

Whooooo a lot has been happening!!

I made it out here with Nova. She hated being at Nicole’s with Missy again, and mostly hid under the bed. At night she did come up to sleep on my feet, though. Poor thing has had a rough month. When we got to the airport the Delta agent didn’t measure the carrier, which was good. We went up the escalator and I was like, ugh this is a long security line. But a TSA lady told me a drug dog was working and so I could cut to the front; I followed her to the front. Then the problem became there was no female agent to do a pat down so a guy held Nova while I went through the metal detector and then we went to a private room. (I never even had time to think about asking for one, it was just a whirlwind kinda day.)

Nova was on her leash and was fine to be out of her carrier for a minute while it was put through the x-ray. Everything came back good so we headed to our gate. She did better while were walking because I think she was too nervous to do anything. Once we were sitting down she started arching her back and clawing at the carrier trying to get out. She found a zipper and pushed her head through and luckily I noticed in time before she could get all the way out. Panic.

We definitely got some looks, and “what do you do with a mad cat?” comment, but mostly people who said things were cat people. I had an empty seat and then a nice older man who was very understanding of her distress. In the row behind me were the people who I sat next to when I flew to Salt Lake, crazy.

The problem with her carrier turned out not to be the height of it, which I had feared, but the width. It almost wouldn’t fit in the space between my seat and the seat in front. I had to really squish her down, but we made it. For the first few hours I could put my hand in the carrier and pet her and it would temporarily calm her down, but by the end she was just mad and would try to scratch me if I did that. I think the thing that scared her the most besides when the engines started roaring for takeoff was when we landed and all of a sudden everyone was standing up and chattering and opening the overheads and everything.

Then we had to go wait for our luggage and it took forever and I thought mine was lost. But it did show up and then I went to find Justin. Nova was so happy to be out of the carrier and seemed to get the idea that we live here now pretty fast. She has a closet under the stairs that is her space; poor thing was so thirsty. But we made it and it wasn’t the worst.

When we got home Justin ran off to the office to turn in our move in checklist and tell them about the leaky ACs. As he left I heard a dripping sound and thought he had left the sink on. Walked into the kitchen and there was water everywhere dripping from the ceiling! Not ideal. Called him and luckily we were able to get an emergency maintenance man out real fast. It was coming from the dishwasher of the tenants above us, but it was fixed fast, and nothing important was damaged. It was just like, the last thing I wanted after that really stressful day. But it all worked out.

A few days again we went to see Captain Marvel. I was confused by a lot of the first part, but once it got going I was into it. Of course I cried. Duh. But that montage of Carol getting up after failing, from the time she was little, I just-- unstoppable women are so important and the patriarchy is terrified of us. Also I would die for Goose.

March 18^th, 2019 Monday

The catch up continues although I have an interview in seven minutes so we’ll see how much I can get done. Went to my first in person interview on Friday; it was by far the strangest interview I have ever had. It was in a hospital building, for a real estate company, but it turns out they own the complex so that makes sense. The two girls who interviewed me were extremely dressed down-- jeans and tanks tops and messy hair. Like, great, although I definitely felt out of place wearing my snazzy interview outfit. But that’s what’s expected, right? Anyway girl number one gets right down to it and is like “what is your background?” I explain and she says “do you have any other skill sets?” Always a good look to answer no to that. :/ Then they go into a five or six minute explanation of the position and the company and ask if I have any other questions.  I’m like, oh boy, the interview is about to get going, yikes!

Then they go, okay well we’ll be letting people know next week.

GIRL what? ? I was asked two (2) questions and they weren’t even interview questions and I feel like my skill set is a good match so saying no shouldn’t be an instantly disqualified thing because it’s an admin position and I have admin skills!! Are they just picking people based on their vibe? Do they already have someone they want and the rest are courtesy interviews? Did I somehow do something so egregious that they immediately decided the full interview would be a waste of time??? I am baffled, folks.

After that I walked around and took pictures of some old churches; I love how things are just old. A mix of old and new. Obsessed. 

Then decided to try my hand at driving downtown. The roads here are pretty crazy, especially trying to figure out if you’re in/going to be in a turning lane or not, so that can be terrifying. But I wanted to see if downtown was any better, so headed there. Turns out it’s real the same and I spent most of the time driving in a lane I’m not completely sure was a lane, and people parked in the no stopping lanes and I never know the turning protocol. But I saw so many old buildings and am psyched to take a bus down there and start exploring!!

Set the radio stations through trial and error although it’s disorienting not to know what mood is associated with each channel. And some have static and I think others may have been “false advertising”, as it were, ie they were playing Taylor Swift and I immediately saved it without further listening and now they seem to be hip hop. It was just a lovely day with a clear, sunny sky, and I felt good about our choices. Taylor is the same everywhere.

I picked up Justin from work and we decided to go on a walk in the nature reserve across the street. It’s nice, and will be nicer when the trees start to bloom. I spotted a little curled up garter snake, which I was quite proud of. We also saw some squirrels, one who was hiding nuts in an unused birds nest. I’m glad of our location, it’s not downtown with the crazy parking and lanes and all that, and it’s close to everything but in the middle of none of it. Also, this picture of us makes me think of a Renaissance artwork; I think it's the light.

Yesterday we went to Jersey for the first time to take Justin to see the Atlantic Ocean! It’s ninety minutes away, so close! The drive wasn’t what I expected: wooded and farmland and we saw at least twenty five deer. Also some bird of prey: hawk? The restaurant we’d planned to go to was seasonally closed, so we went to the Shrimp Box right next door. Y’all know I love shrimp. We got to sit by the window overlooking the harbor, so blue!! The sun was sparkling off the water and it was so warm and just ahhhh! Beautiful. I got the four way shrimp and Justin got a sampler platter and we both agreed with the shrimp was divine.

(Also the other day we went to an Italian place that had delicious ravioli and Justin got some crab topped noodles that were also delicious. Good food here!!)

After relishing in the delicacies of four kinds of shrimp we went and found the beach! It was minutes away. This is crazy, it hasn’t really sunk in yet that we can just go to so many different states whenever we please. And the beach is free yo. I took off my shoes because I didn’t want them to fill with sand. The first stage of the beach was normal sand. Second filled with rocks and broken seashells, and the third just the lovely fine beach sand. Justin gave me several seashell fragments which have been worn perfectly smooth by the sea, and I found a pearly dragon egg rock.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a sunny beach, excluding Puerto Vallarta, which was so warm and like paradise that it is not even comparable to any other beaches I’ve seen. Cannon Beach is gorgeous but always the weather is imperious. Justin touched the water, and took a vide of the waves. I love the Ocean!!

And Nova is settling in just fine :)

Journey Over

Can't believe that our two thousand mile road trip has come to an end. I highly recommend it; it gave me such a better sense of the country and where states are in proximity to each other and what they are like, at least to a small extent. 

Yesterday we drove diagonal across Tennessee, starting in Memphis, all the way into Virginia. We stopped in Nashville and drove past the capitol building, which looks older than the others I’ve seen in the west. We wanted to get fried chicken there, but the line around the chosen place was so long we couldn’t wait. It was a ringing endorsement if I’ve ever seen one, though.

It rained ALL day; we had about an hour total collected time where it wasn’t pouring. Tennessee is a gorgeous state; it’s old school and gothic and I can just see myself getting lost in the hills of the Smoky Mountains to learn all the stories that live there. I kept being astounded by the rocks, the trees, the flooded riverbanks. It’s just so different than anything I’ve seen before. And the same road that we got on in Albuquerque, the I-40, morphed into this. America is a land of many lands.

We stopped for the desired fried chicken in Knoxville, Tennessee, instead. We tried the spicy southern style and the chicken was delicious, although it is my opinion that nothing has ever really been improved by being spicy.

We have been listening to The Boys in the Boat about the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It’s a great read. As LeVar Burton says on his podcast, you can do it, with audiobooks.

We’ve only had one major traffic holdup, and that was for construction. We crossed into Virginia at night and the sign was dark and my hands were shaky, so that’s the first state sign picture that’s not really clear. But you can’t have everything in this life.

We collected the West Virginia license plate, so now we’re down to five missing.

(Isn't this the cutest welcome to a state sign?) 

Later:

Made it all the way to Philadelphia! It was odd when Justin pointed out the Delaware and we recognized it. We’ve been here before.

Today was our most states day with Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. The drive was quite nice; there are so many trees everywhere and we finally had blue skies, something we haven’t had since Texas. Something else we saw for the first time since day two was snow-- nothing crazy but there were patches here and there from northern Virginia on up. We stopped for frozen yogurt in WV, a state I have never much thought about but it was good frozen yogurt.

We took a side trip through some Maryland countryside in order to avoid toll roads because we haven’t figured that out yet. This turned out to be a great choice because the drive was absolutely beautiful. Can’t even imagine how pretty it will be in the spring when the trees are growing. Then we found a collection of old houses with the gables and the porches, you know the type. Old Victorian style houses. We saw the Susquehanna, we saw a hydroelectric plant, it was a lovely break from the interstate traffic. It was picturesque. 

We collected Vermont and Delaware license plates. At the beginning we said it would be all right if we only got the 48 continental states. Since we had all but the Dakotas and Rhode Island, but got Alaska and Hawaii, we decided the Dakotas could be the outliers. That left us with the task of finding Rhode Island, and Justin was especially dedicated. We sped up, we slowed down, we looked for that license plate, to no avail.

We were so tired today and just wanted to get pizza and crash at the hotel to celebrate our long trip being done. We pulled up to the hotel and Justin was walking towards it when he stopped and motioned me over. A Rhode Island license plate!! Our quest is complete!

I don't know if Philadelphia will be our forever home, but this will be a fun adventure for at least a few years. Lots to learn, so much to see. So many towns here have signs that they were established pre-1800. I'm loving it!! Can't wait to go downtown and see Independence Hall. And Baltimore, and Boston, and just, everything. 

Drivin' to Memphis....

Writing to you from Memphis, Tennessee, it's me, Rebecca Cook, with a quick recap of the last two days.

March 1^st, 2019 Friday

Drove from Albuquerque to Oklahoma City on the same road-- the 40 East. It’s a long road.

New Mexico and Texas seem like they should be the same, but somehow Texas is intrinsically more interesting. I guess it’s not as desolate? Unsure. The ranches and windmills and clear blue sky were giving me distinct cowboy vibes. Every time I pass through a region I imagine what version of myself I would be if I lived there. I could get back in touch with my horseback riding side…

But then we stopped for lunch and all the TVs were set to Fox News and it was like, right. That’s why I’m not moving to Texas. However the food was delicious and the old Catholic mission aesthetic was cool so all in all a good lunch.

We drove straight across the Texas panhandle and into Oklahoma. I like Oklahoma, although the season is such that we couldn’t see the waves of wheat that sure smell sweet when the wind comes right behind the rain. (This musical reference reminds me that in the lunch place I heard a mariachi rendition of “If I Were a Rich Man.”)

There is not much to report on today’s drive. We did manage to collect both Alaska and Hawaii license plates. Oklahoma City seems to be a huge city judging by the amount of traffic that suddenly materialized (with drivers sadly similar to that of Salt Lake), but it’s so flat that we can’t really tell how sprawling it is.

March 2^nd, 2019 Saturday

Our shortest drive, seven hours, ending in Memphis. We drove straight across Arkansas today, and it was actually a quite pretty state. I’ve never thought much about it. SO many trees, and plentiful water. I saw plenty of falcons or hawks, and possibly a heron? I'm no birdwatcher.

We stopped in Little Rock to take a picture at the capital building so we could set foot in the state. I have pictures. I have quite a few pictures from this trip. However all pictures are on my phone and I’m tired but someday mayhap I’ll upload them? Life is a mystery.

We are up to forty four state license plates; we’re only missing North and South Dakota, Delaware, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Vermont. We’ve got pictures of all the state signs that we’ve entered, but the Tennessee one was stressful because it kept not appearing and we were passing into Memphis exits and still no sign! But once we crossed the Mississippi (it’s the second time I’ve done so in my life and I’m just awed) the sign appeared, as Justin said it would. Success.

We went to Memphis with the intention of getting barbeque, and boy did Memphis deliver. Corky’s was the place and ribs are their game. I usually am not a ribs girl. I like brisket or barbeque chicken best. But ribs are their specialty and I had to order some. Before we even got our main dish we got the most heavenly buttery crispy rolls. Divine. Straight from heaven. I ate three and longed for more. The ribs were the best I have ever tasted, bar none. They had wonderful barbeque sauce with a dry rub and they were so tender and delicious and just… y’all. I felt so bad leaving any left on my plate but I was stuffed to bursting and we can’t take leftover ribs on the road with us.

If you ever get the chance, go to Corky’s and order ribs. Eat a roll for me.

I'm really enjoying this road trip; it's wonderful to see the country unfold mile by mile. The regions are so distinct.... I saw actual bayous today.  And we've been on the same road, the I-40 East, since Albuquerque. The world is beautiful.

Day One: Salt Lake to Albuquerque

Day one down of our moving road trip down!! 

We took the morning to do some last minute things that needed to be done before the real move on March 9th. Poor kitty Nova was so nervous when we took apart the bed.... when she gets stressed hiding there is her last resort and now she can't even do that.  This is Justin's goodbye to Utah, I'll be back but for him it may be a while.

This is a crazy thing we are doing but we are doing it!

Clear blue skies sent us on our way, thankfully. We drove to Moab and were stunned by the beauty of the snow on the red rocks with the blue skies for contrast. I haven’t been to Moab in years. It was very warm and we were fooled into thinking that would be the whole trip’s temperature. Ate lunch at an adorable Sweet Cravings Bakery and Bistro where I had a delicious quesadilla. Recommend. It had the kind of chatty and funny staff that people think small towns are like because of Gilmore Girls. But this is the real deal. Then we drove through the rest of southern Utah, which was remarkably snowy. It’s the elevation that gets ya. But truly stunning.

Drove through a bit of Colorado, past Four Corners, and into New Mexico. Snow still abounded, but the roads were perfectly clear. Kept track of the state license plates we saw, and are up to about twenty at last count. Saw a tiny town’s store that advertised “Groceries! Pinto beans!”   The only two things you would ever need.

New Mexico is the most boring state by far.  (Sorry if it's your fave I just.... don't understand you. ( It’s not a fun drive. I've driven it before and I don't anticipate a third visit. Only our podcasts sustained us…… small towns and then miles of dirt and sagebrush with not even another car in sight. Thank you Ira Glass and Jonathan Goldstein. There were several spots in New Mexico where we had to go on weird little highways and assumed that my phone was just maliciously luring us into the wilderness to never be found. The relief in my soul when we actually saw the lights of Albuquerque….. I was made for city living. But even here, the stoplights are sideways. Very strange. However the stars when we were in the middle of nowhere were gorgeous.

Ate a late dinner at a cute Route 66 diner where Justin was craving vegetables and I was craving grease because of course I was. We were going to take a cute picture at the Albuquerque sign but Justin’s phone was on law battery and so you will have to imagine it in your heart. Then back to the hotel to pass the heck out. (It was a sold out hotel and I was glad we had reserved ahead of time.)

Today’s moral: I would not live in New Mexico (even the light switches are sideways, because being flat is this state's whole thing). Also, cellphones with GPS and podcasts are the best inventions.

Moving... or Preparing To

It's 10:52 pm and I should be asleep but I keep thinking, "What have I forgotten? What have I forgotten? I KNOW I'VE FORGOTTEN SOMETHING HUGE AND IT'S GOING TO MESS UP OUR ENTIRE MOVE UNLESS I FIGURE IT OUT."

The last two weeks have been a blur of boxes and bubblewrap and trying to balance seeing people I love so much with getting my apartment ready to move two thousand miles to Philadelphia. This is what I wanted. I'm excited. But moving this far is, to say the least, a bit stressful, and it hits me most at night.

I must be forgetting something.

Everything is packed, except for clothes and toiletries and food and things we use literally every day. Everything else I can think of is in a box. But what if there's a secret closet that I've forgotten about and it's full of all the most precious things that would have somehow helped me make friends in Pennsylvania and they're going to be left behind because I haven't looked in that closet for two years!! 

Can't wait to have no friends thanks to the forgotten closet.

I know it's not logical.

Justin has to be in Philadelphia for his new job before the moving company was available, so I'll be loading the trailer without him. Thankfully my in laws are coming to help; without them I would have no chance of success. But if by chance you aren't doing anything on the morning Saturday March 9th..... ;)    I will provide pizza and donuts and anything else to tempt you there.

I've never moved this far, in my life, ever. Not even close. You could probably add the mileage of all my moves together and it still wouldn't be close. I keep thinking, this is crazy! This is insane! I have never even been to Pennsylvania and now we are setting up apartment tours and I have unrefundable flight tickets and everything I own is in boxes. We're really doing this! This is what I wanted, but it terrifies me.

I've lived in Salt Lake for seven and a half years. Just about the length of the Harry Potter series. Graduating from Hogwarts? (Makes a note to scratch this geeky metaphor when I reread this in the morning.) When I came here I only knew my grandparents, and somehow I managed to scrape out a place for myself. I have met amazing kindred spirits here, people who I've laughed and cried with, people who make me feel instantly that I belong, which is such a tough thing to do. I worry that I won't be able to make friends anymore, that I left that talent in my single years, and that being in a new place will make me clam up and never say a word to anyone.

I wanted (and want) this, but boy howdy. I am scared.

I will be two hours from New York. Close to Boston, the Atlantic Ocean, the Smithsonian. A world of history I've read and loved and never been to. This is going to be an adventure. That's what I tell myself on nights like tonight to get to sleep, because it will be an adventure. But it's going to be tough, and I wish that I could take all my friends with me.  What if I never get cast in any shows out there? Theatre is how I make friends!!

What if, what if, what if. 

There are so many things to do that each new things seems like the most important thing, and I've lost my sense of proportion when it comes to any crisis. Selling my car and finding a screwdriver to take the license plates off the car once it's sold seem the same level of importance: They both have to get done before I can move. And I have to move. 

Justin and I start driving across the country on February 28th to get him settled for his job, and then I'm flying back on March 7th to load up the trailer on March 9th. Then I'm cleaning the house like crazy for a weekend and flying back out for good on March 12th, with our cat. I've never flown with a cat and I'm super anxious that she'll meow too loud and get us kicked off the plane and then what will I do????

This is doable.

People fly with cats. People move across the country. They do it every day.

Right?









I am sure I'm forgetting something.