Tuesday: Waited all day again and couldn't leave the house. It STILL never came. Talked to Kristyn on the phone in the morning since she moved to CO. Good time of catching up and discussing the current predicament. So glad for friends like her. Older and wiser and known me for a long time! Embraced the possibility of having to change my plane ticket. If I had to delay departure for two weeks, then there would definitely be a reason for it even if I never knew what it was. Maybe something still needed to be done.
Kept working on room. And the earth shook!! I was in my room sorting things when it happened. First thought: Bobby's bass is up too loud (his room shares a wall with mine). Second thought: Quantico is blowing something up. Third thought: Quantico is crashing a helicopter into my house. Fourth thought (as things fell): This is an earthquake!! We got down the stairs and out of the house just as it was ending. The whole neighborhood was out there just as flabbergasted as we were and were asking if it was Quantico or an earthquake. It was actually quite disorienting. It was more freaky than scary. My hands were shaking for several minutes afterwards though I think because it's just not something you expect around here! I had been in one other earthquake, but it was with the Longwood hockey team out in San Francisco and it wasn't as strong (though I was in an elevator so that was interesting). It was also more of a one jolt and a quick settle than a continuous, building rumble. Strange!!
When the documents didn't arrive by late evening I figured I was staying, forgoing the visa appointment, and decided to go sleepover at Kelly's house since she was recovering from getting her wisdom teeth out and I had baked gluten free brownies for her. As I'm leaving mom decides I should still go to NYC. Figured going and maybe getting it was better than not going at all. Especially after I called and tried to move my ticket and was unable to. After much debate, I ended up packing, gathering the documentation, and going to bed.
Wednesday: After four hours of sleep, I got up at 3am to beat DC and Baltimore rush hour. Left Kelly's brownies in her mailbox :) Thankful mom had readied the coffee pot the night before. Left at 3:45. Five hours later I was in line for the Lincoln Tunnel toll. An hour after that I was actually in the city and on 3rd Ave, where the consulate is, looking for parking. At 10am I entered the consulate, 21 minutes early. Whew!! And, yes, that is 21 and not 20 haha the appointment was for 10:21! They were really friendly and hardly blinked when I said the loan papers from UCL hadn't been delivered yet when asked about them. The lady just took what I had and told me to pick the visa up at 4pm! Crazy!!
So then I was faced with what to do until 4pm. I decided to walk to the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art. I had wanted to go there for a long time!! Certainly as a history major it is a must-see! And it did not disappoint! AWESOME. My favorite parts were the Egyptian, Medieval, and Italian Renaissance exhibits. Surprise, surprise, the Asian area wasn't my favorite! I think after seeing so much of that stuff IN Asia and having just come from there I was particularly fascinated in seeing other things. Plus, of course, the Met is particularly known for it's Egyptian exhibit! They do a really good job there. If you haven't been, you should go!
I've estimated that I walked about 10 miles that day. And then at 4, I got my visa!!! God is good!!!! Then I grabbed a Starbucks since I had been up for like forever at that point, fought rush hour traffic, and crashed at Nikki's house in CT. I didn't realize Connecticut is so hilly! It was really weird. Like narrow, winding, hilly country roads in the 'suburbs.' Nikki's house has a creek running right behind it. Sleeping with the window open listening to it was really relaxing. Her friend's dog was staying at her house and was very sweet. So weird how I like dogs now. But they can't lick my face! It hasn't gone that far!!
Thursday: See the Bantons Day!! Drove 1.5 hours to where they're staying. Grabbed coffee at Dunkin' Donuts on my way out. Fun fact: CT has a DD on every corner instead of a Starbucks. Forgot that you have to specify black coffee there because they put the cream and sugar in for you. "A medium coffee, please." "Regluar?" "Yes, regular." Then I got the coffee and it was white. Oh, well. I had Gil coffee later! Spent the morning with Lindsay, Emma, and Adi. We went to a local store where they could do a craft and play with various toys. Emma was obsessed with 'cooking' and Adi just wanted to play a musical 'recital.' Then we went to the post office and drove by their potential house before heading back to their current residence. At one point when we were discussing where we were going to go, Emma said we should go to the mall. Lindsay said, "She's seen a mall before, Emma." Emma, "But she's never seen a CONNECTICUT mall." And she calls ME silly!
After lunch we all went to the Dairy Bar. It's this really, really amazing ice cream place run by the UConn. They use fresh milk from their own dairy to make the ice cream. While I was still eating my ice cream, Laura texted me that she was jealous I was at the Dairy Bar. For a freaky second I thought her spy/stealth skills had gone to the next level because I couldn't remember texting or posting anything about being there. But then I remembered Gil has a phone, too, and asked if he had posted anything about it and he had. Mystery solved!
After the Dairy Bar, we stopped in the UConn stables to see the horses and then headed back to their place for coffee, chatting, and coloring. I had one or both of Emma and Adi holding my hand or sitting next to me the whole time. On multiple occasions I carried both of them because they both wanted to 'hold' me. It was sweet. And it was really, really great to spend time with Gil and Lindsay and get a peek into their new life. Students were just beginning to show up for move in when I left. I can't wait to hear about the new fruit to be produced there!!
I headed out at 4pm. There was traffic soon after and it got really bad once I got into New York, despite crossing the Hudson on the Tappan Zee Bridge instead of the Lincoln Tunnel. I ended up getting off of the highway and taking Route 9 into New Jersey to the turnpike. As the sun set on the NJ Turnpike, I realized that it had been just the morning before that the sun had risen on the Turnpike, but it felt like so much more time had passed! It was amusing how the NJ and DE Turnpikes shouted hurricane warnings on their marquees. I would have hoped people knew by then and would be still going in that direction because they HAD to! I was very thankful to have been traveling south though because nearly the whole way the northbound lanes were backed up. Brief hold up at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge as it was lowered and on 95 in VA when roadwork narrowed it to one lane briefly, but really not a bad trip. Arrived home around 12:15am.
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