Berlin - finally

The trip over was a bit delayed - T-storms in DC, missed flights in Newark, but we finally arrived about 5 hours late and without bags after a rerouting through Paris.
Our first day in Berlin was quite slow and I had time to catch up with my cousin Dawn Martin and her son Aaron (in the photo). I can't even remember the last time I saw Dawn so it was good to reconnect. By the way, we connected through Facebook, for all you scoffers.
There was also a group lunch and a bus tour through all the highlights of Berlin. More on that in the next post.

Moving Nightmare Part III--Final Day

This is always a fun day...moving the phone booth. Everyone has their way and in the end it usually works. My advice and past do's/don't's usually falls on deaf ears--especially the part about the weight. It actually weighs 1 ton (2,000 lbs)--I saw the print out during the Boise. Unlike Oprah it does not yo-yo--it is truly a constant, literal ton. So the dumb woman got to laugh a lot today as the movers showed up with a hand jack and two luggage carts (think old school Academy style).

I have several pictures of this old fashioned move and I got a lot of laughs. In the end, it worked and our telephone booth is safely in storage until we leave Alaska.

Good news...moving is over until we start the drive across our great nation.

Moving Nightmare Parts I and II

Well, after two days of packers and loaders we are now free of the majority of our stuff. Yesterday (Tuesday) was a great deal since the packers were here from 10:00a.m. until 4:30pm. Today was a different story--the movers showed up around 9:30am and had to pack everything the folks didn't touch yesterday and put everything into containers. What was supposed to be a quick job turned into a 13-hour nightmare with them leaving the property at 10:30pm.

Our little apartment and storage unit filled an entire semi...luckily we will have a huge house (by DC comparison) in Alaska. Chuck stayed in the apartment and I was downstairs with the loaders the entire day. We had multiple hours without any comm between the two of us and as the day lengthened my patience grew quite short. We even missed our massages due to the loaders lack of ambition, not to mention that people in our building called the managed to complain.

At the end of the night I walked into our empty apartment to find an open bottle of champagne (complete with plastic glasses), "Ethopian Chinese" (no utensils b/c they had all been packed) and a camping chair with my husband and Gato.

Wait for tomorrow's update...they are putting the phone booth into storage. This is always fun! Moving Hell Part III

Chuck's new Marmot Dam website

OK, its a little cheesy because my HTML skills are not so hot, but here is place where I am posting more than just pictures, rather actual science. Mostly its some of our preliminary reports, presentations and posters as well as my interns' work.

The URL is pretty unwieldly:

https://jshare.johnshopkins.edu/cpodola1/public_html/Website/Marmot/JHU_Marmot_files/Podolak_Marmot_Dam_Project.html

New Wheels and a Whole Lot More...

As many of you know Andi had her car, which she affectionately refers to as Jaws, since 1994. Last week she received a phone call from Bob (our trusty/local/dad-like mechanic) with the news she had been dreading for years...it was time to spend our money where new cars are sold.

Saturday we spent the morning test driving Volvo and Subaru wagons. It didn't take long to realize the Volvo was the way to go with two people over 6' tall. Tonight after a day of packers, we picked up our new 2009 Volvo XC70. Andi drove Jaws to the dealer and had a few moments with the car before jumping into the new and very quiet wagon.

The Honda set some high expectations....we are hoping the Volvo will last nearly 15 years and at least 255K miles. Name is TBD, stay tuned.

You ain't gonna believe this S#%t!

So the story begins with Andi and I cleaning out our car yesterday afternoon - prepping it for a trade in. We find a cell phone in the seat-back pocket that neither of us recognize. We rack our respective brains to think of who we have recently lent the car to. I plug the phone into a charger and go through the contact list, recent calls, texts, etc... to find some connection to us. Not only are we not in any of those lists, but no one we know is either.
At this point its no longer about getting someone back their phone, its about figuring out who the hell has been in my car. We start to piece this person together - recent visits (saved photos), recent childbirth (received texts), wife's name (sent texts), etc... It looks like it was lost around March 8th (last dialed call, and a series of unanswered received calls). Went to the innauguration and likes Navy aircraft at the Air and Space museum. Works down the street at the Navy yard, etc...
So Andi eventually goes to sleep and I can't - I stay up searching the internet for the owner, digging back through the call patterns, searching texts for clues, etc... Who the fuck has been in my car!
This morning Andi makes another call to this person's phone number - the phone has been lost for 2+ months, surely they have a replacement by now. Well she finally gets through and mystery solved ------
The answer goes back to early March when Andi takes the car into a local full-serve car wash. Our car is just about done when several 'secret service' type people shut the car wash down. Apparently they had a vehicle in there and while it was getting washed one of their cell phone's went missing. This inconvenienced Andi a bit and she had to wait until they scrubbed the car wash (pun intended). She comes home and tells me what happened. What we surmise happened is that someone did in fact lift this guy's phone and then when the big black suburbans rolled back in and shut down the place, the sticky fingered car washer dumped the phone in the first place he saw - our car. Kind of Will Smith shit, eh?
So I can sleep better now - no fishy stuff going on in our parking garage, just car wash excitment.

Chuck

Moving...

Reality finally set in that we will be moving from our little piece of air in DC when the movers showed up this morning. One of the best parts of an Air Force move is the requirement for us to sit and do nothing--literally. Chuck is running errands and I'm catching up on Facebook (lots of comments by me today), reading blogs, and in general wasting time.

Tonight we are going to get our new car...pics to come tomorrow, along with a name. We'll have a little celebration for Jaws and the 15 years she was with me. I do love that car! Our new car is great and has some comforts that weren't around in a car I could afford in college...don't be surprised us driving this one 15 years.

Oregon!

So I finished the long road trip in Portland. I was out here both to stage a vehicle for my summer research program and to recon the river and plan what we will do this summer.

I stayed with my good friends Rose and Kurt out in Estacada and enjoyed a few good days out on the river.

Then hopped a plane back east. On my connecting flight (New York - DC) I sat next to an investment banker formerly of Bear Stearns now JP Morgan. I wanted to hear as much as I could about his point of view and he was very willing to talk and share his insights into this current mess. If you get the chance to discuss macroeconomics with a asset-backed-security manager - take it.

Memorial Day Weekend

Finally, we have a few days at home together before moving to Alaska. Saturday we spent the morning car shopping, then improved on our day by hanging out with friends and eating delicious seafood with loads of Old Bay.  

Sunday was considerably better as Chuck spent the morning canoeing and fishing with friends, then we spent a nice afternoon at the Nats game.  The Nats won which is highly unusual, Chuck received a belated birthday present (see scoreboard), and 3-yr old phenom Kaitlyn Maher sang "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch.  The rest of the day was spent prepping the house for Tuesday's packers.  

Monday will be more of the same...prepping for movers.  Luckily we get to finish up with a BBQ.  

Hawaii

The Air Force sent Andi to Hawaii for a week and I tagged along to study.  We had a little free time to roam Oahu in our rented Jeep Wrangler.  It was our first time in Hawaii together so went to all of our favorite places...North Shore, Matsumoto's, multiple ramen joints...and found a few new places thanks to friends living in the area.  We also went to our first polo match. 

Idaho!

I took a break from my drive to stop for a day in Boise. It was my favorite time of year - that month in the spring when the foothills are actually green. Dinner with good friends - time with Theresa and Erin - Goldy's twice - and actually had a productive work meeting. Then off to Portland.....

Finally - mountains

I made it to Colorado this afternoon. Had a quick visit with Annie, Atticus, and Meri, then up to CU to see Mahler's 8th with Mom and Dad. Back in the car for 12 hours tomorrow.
The scenery is definitely improving as the days go by.

Andi is still in Florida. But lest you think its a boondoogle - she barely leaves the hotel, much to Ashlee's dismay.

Chuck

(I just figured out how to use my phone to post, so I'll snap some photos tomorrow)

Heartland

So the travels continue. Andi is off sunning herself in Orlando - visiting Disney with her sister. Andi I am slogging across the middle of America. The roads are straight and horizons flat - and I have not even hit Kansas yet.

I'll post pictures as they come. Tonight its a visit with our good friends the Retkas.

Chuck