Chicago and final trip home... to San Francisco!

We spent a great few days in Chicago visiting my aunt, uncle and cousins. It was soooo cold out but it's worth it because Chicago is a really beautiful city. It's a big city but its manageable. We saw the Art Institute, Navy Pier, got a Portillos hotdog, saw the Chicago sign, the Bean at Millennium park and Wrigley's field. We threw in a Starbucks stop about every half hour because we were so cold :)

We also got some really big news while we were Chicago, Adam got a job in San Francisco!!!! He emailed someone from his old company to get coffee with him while we were in Chicago. A position had just opened up in San Francisco and it was a perfect fit for Adam. Since we weren't planning on starting work for a few weeks, they even agreed to let us finish our trip and get settled before work starts. Adam is so excited to start work again. It has been such a blessing to know that we have a wonderful job to come back to. God has blessed us so abundantly on this adventure. We didn't have one thing stolen, lost, didn't miss one plane or train, no health issues, no injuries or safety issues. We visited 40 countries, and saw 48 family members in 25 different US states. To top it off Adam starts work 11 months to the day as when we left. I am so humbled by the amazing trip we had and the incredible friends and family that opened their doors to us. It was definitely a life changing experience. God is so good, the world is so beautiful!!

NYC, Boston and Maine

States count: 18

We made it all the way from California to Maine! We get some strange looks from people when they see our Cali license plates. Haha. Maine was a beautiful state. We didn't spend too much time there, just a drive through with some antique shopping and a harbor town called Kennebunkport. We were staying with Adam's brother and sister in law in Boston. We had a lot of fun there! So much American history, it was great. We did the freedom trail walk which has Paul revers' house and the church where the lantern was hung. The cemetery in Boston has so many American heroes buried there. It was so neat to see. We also did the Sam Adams brewery tour. It was seriously my favorite tour ever! There were only 7 people in our group so it was like a private tour. They explained the beer making process, the history of the company and of course...gave us yummy samples :) We also got to see Adams brother's furniture making school and all of the amazing pieces that he is working on. 

On our way up to Boston we spent a few days with Adams cousins and their precious kids in Connecticut. We took the metro into New York one day and did all the touristy stuff. We saw the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street and the bull, 911 memorial, Times Square, and Rockefeller center. So much life and excitement in the big city. We even saw the supper bowl teams getting ready for the Super Bowl.

D.C and Philly

Finally got a chance to visit the US country capital, Washington DC! It was so beautiful!! Freezing but beautiful :) The White House is so pretty in the snow. We walked the Lincoln memorial, the Jefferson memorial, the American history museum (where the original star spangled banner is), the national archives museum (where we got to see the original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights) and the Capital building. There is so much American history in DC, I can't believe it's taken me this long to visit.
Then we drove up to Reading, PA, which is Adam's old stomping ground. We spent some time with his Mommom, and his aunts, uncles and cousins. We drove all the local hangout places and ate our share of: Forest Inn hotdogs, Bell Alley pretzels, Pat's Philly cheese steak, and Victor Emmanuel Italian. Haha. I gained 10 pounds in PA. Today, we drove into Philadelphia and visited the Liberty Bell, Independence hall and Washington Square. It was also freezing but packed with American History. To be in the place where the first congress met and where they debated the Declaration of Independence, is SOOO neat.

On the road again...2,300 miles in 1 week

Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia and Maryland in 1 week! 2,300 miles, that has to be some kind of a record. Even for us that is a lot of travel. We left Adam's parents place on jan 15th and made a 15 hr drive all the way to San Antonio. My 92 year old grandpa and my aunt live there. We walked along the river walk and through the Alamo. So much American history in that city. Then we cruzed up to Austin and spent a few days with 2 of our friends from Cali. We loved Austin! It is such a great city. We went to this cool strip of really old houses that have been converted into bars. It was really neat. Then we drove through Nashville, the country music capital of the world. It was a short visit and we would have liked to spend more time there. Then we went up to Lexington to visit my childhood best friend. She has 2 adorable little boys and a great house that is 130 years old. It was so beautiful! Yesterday, we had another LONG drive to get to Baltimore, where we are going to be staying with Adam's cousin and his wife.  It was actually a really pretty drive. I read most of the way while Adam drove. When we got in we walked to a cute little Mexican restaurant where we drank Margaritas out of a hubcap! Their house is so cute and it's nice that we will be staying here for a couple of days and that it is walking distance from bars and restaurants because its snowing pretty hard out there. Snowy days are the best to enjoy when you don't have to work and you can just sit in a Starbucks and watch the snow come down.