Between the Waters ride

Every year, Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore puts on a bike ride - this year it started in Cape Charles and we had options of a 25, 40, 60 or 100 miles.

Though I've done centuries in the past, I just recently started riding again and didn't want to bite off more than I could chew, so I rode in the 25 miler with Dr. Blair Chick, the Chief Medical Officer of Eastern Shore Rural Health (and a great bike buddy!). Unfortunately I had a tire blow out (I suppose a bit of dry rot's not surprising after my bike has been in storage for a number of years).



Luckily there were representatives from a bike shop in Salisbury, so I was able to replace my tires and have various other quirks straightened out. Plus I got to do some shopping with Dr. Chick's wife Elaine.

CBES provided a really nice lunch in Oyster at the aquaculture research center, which had a dock with a great view!



Can't wait to do the ride again next year with good tires; the goal is the 100 miler with Jeff, too!

--jess

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Crockett Town "loop"

I took my Virginia maiden voyage on my road bike yesterday after some minor complications (missing pedals and a combination lock wired around it that I forgot the combination to...). It was a journey I was going to call the Crockett Town loop, however, it became not very loop like as I took a couple wrong turns that put me at 16 miles instead of 8.5. I was half planning a trip up to Chincoteague today to bike to Assateague, but my leg muscles were protesting and I did some work around the house instead...

It's a good road bike - paved roads without a car on them that almost felt like trail biking at times because I saw deer, birds (including vultures!) and various other wildlife.


The water view was really nice, though I had to fight some particularly nasty headwinds on the way home.

This is a great place to bike, so if anyone wants to visit, they might want to think about bringing one!

--jess

Greetings from Onancock!

I have officially moved to Onancock, VA! On the left, you will see the house. There will be more pictures to follow as more and more work gets done.

Thus far this week I have registered the car, registered to vote, gotten my drivers license and new plates for the car, moved myself and two very traumatized kitty cats, and unpacked about 3/4 of the boxes. It's been a busy week!

The new front door comes this week, and very soon we're getting the gorgeous heart pine floors refinished. I've met quite a few neighbors and other people while I've been walking around and doing errands - this has to be the friendliest town I've ever seen. I still have a couple weeks before I start work to get acclimated, and I plan to take advantage of every minute of it!

I figured I would close with a picture of the grill. Not only can we afford a grill, but there is a very good spot for it on the deck my parents and I did a ton of work on a couple weeks ago. I grilled delicious marinated steaks tonight. My grilling up to this point has been on a George Foreman (except tailgating and camping and such) so this was quite awesome. Steak. Yum.

--jess

MS, PA-C

All done! Graduation was August 12th, and it was really great to see Mom and Dad, Linsey, Mark and Amber up here in Philly.

A little over a week after graduation, I took my boards. I'd been hearing all along that I should take at least a month to prepare, but I figured with closing on the house in Onancock and wanting to start work in October, sooner was better than later. I got my score back two days after the test, and am proud to say that I am now a certified Physician Assistant!

Since Jeff couldn't make it to the ceremony, I figured I would post yet another graduation picture with me shaking someone's hand, in which my ear looks really pointy.

Now I am just enjoying Philadelphia while I get ready for the move to Virginia - hopefully the DelMarVa region won't be washed away by hurricane Irene, and also am really hoping the house makes it through the storm and the damages and repairs don't delay the closing! Philly's due to be hit, too, but not as hard - luckily am planning to hang out with a couple buddies from the program and play some board games if the power goes out. Those are my friends on the left. I like photo booth pictures when I go to the movie theater in Manayunk.

Stay safe in the hurricane, East Coasters!

--jess

Graduation, house, Jeff deployment: Jess update

Graduation in less than a month, holy cow! I am currently on rotation #10 of 10, my nephrology elective, and about halfway through. Nephrology = kidneys, in case you were wondering. It's really interesting, but between looming graduation, burnout from 10 rotations without a good break, and buying a house, I am extremely ready to be done!!!

Speaking of the house, sorry we haven't been in touch much about that! Jeff and I found the perfect place in Onancock when we were on the Eastern Shore over Memorial Day, right before he left. We went through it once with the real estate agent - then we were wandering past and met the owners and went through a second time, and then we went through a third time with the real estate agent before deciding to go ahead with the offer. It's right in town, walking distance from some restaurants, antique stores, the post office and the wharf. There's a bed and breakfast across the street and one right beside it, which is kind of adorable. And it's a two-story farmhouse with a big front porch and a small yard - that was landscaped by a master gardener with local plants.

Basically we put the offer on the house and Jeff deployed, so I've been dealing with getting all the paperwork together to secure the loan and get ready for closing August 30, which is one week after I take the boards. The area really is beautiful - and I'll be happy to have visitors after I get settled in!

Just wanted to put it out there that I communicate with Jeff pretty regularly if anyone has trouble getting in touch with him for whatever reason...

--jess

Jess update (wow!)

Figured I'd take a minute to give a little update! (The picture at the side is of me and my friend Kristen, who is also in the PA program)

- I am finishing up the eighth of ten rotations - a psychiatry rotation in Trenton, New Jersey. This is the end of 12 weeks of commuting to NJ from Philly, which is a huge relief, but both of the rotations (the other was pediatrics) in Trenton were good clinical experiences. It was particularly fun to work on a psychiatry rotation as "judgment day" was approaching.

- Also finally done with my masters project and due to present it Thursday along with a grand rounds presentation, and an exam the day before. It's going to be nice to have a life again!

- I've accepted a job at the Onley Community Health Center which is on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, right across the bridge from Jeff in Norfolk. The area is gorgeous and I'm hoping that we can make it a home! So the next big task is studying hard for my boards so I can take them about a week after graduation, get my Virginia license, and hopefully be set to start working in early October. I'm going to try to do a little catching up on visits after the boards and before I start working...

Miss everyone, and I know I'm busy, but don't be afraid to call if you want to.

--jess

Jess's White Coat Ceremony

Jeff visited Philadelphia University for Jess to get her PA white coat. Apparently she has been wearing it all along, so why is there a ceremony? Who knows, but it means she has finished her first year of school successfully! And she gets "coated" (they actually said that!).


This is a staged photo of Jess getting her coat.

-j&j

So is Jess. So deviant.


- jeff

Rochester

Jeff is at TGI Fridays in Rochester, NY.


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Cruise ship

Jess and Jeff just returned from a weeklong vacation on the Carnival Pride out of Baltimore. Meeting up for the short amount of time they both have off from school, the intent was to get out of both Phili and D.C. for a few days and get some sun (they both recieved good grades this semester).

The Pride sailed on the 9th and spent two days enroute to Port Canaveral, Florida before heading to Nassau and Freeport, Bahamas. They returned today and should post several pictures from the trip later. In the meanwhile, here is a picture of Jeff waiting on a train at Penn Station.


--j & j

Happy Jessica Birthday!

Jess is 29! Yeah!

Jeff visited Philadelphia for Jess's 29th birthday. After a delicious lunch at the Water Works Restaurant and Lounge with several of Jess's school friends, we went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where Rocky runs up the steps in the first Rocky movie (and subsequent Rocky movies).

Afterward, we walked around downtown Philadelphia for awhile, stopping at Di Bruno Brothers to pick up some delicious salami and cheese. We also took more pictures of us with moose.

-- j&j

Spring break

Hello everybody! Sorry for the delay in posting, but school for Jess isn't very news-worthy and Jeff's work is uneventful. While both Jess and Jeff are doing well in school, it was definitely time for a break.

For Jess's spring break, we spent some time visiting colonial Williamsburg after a weekend in DC. We've discovered that neither of us is all that into colonial history, but that hasn't stopped us from enjoying the time together. Jess did get somewhat interested in the historic apothecary (picture below). We did manage to eat a very wonderful four-course French meal at a local restaraunt, though. We'll try to remember to post more pictures when we get back to Jeff's.

Although the weather started off poor, it has begun to get nice and will hopefully stay warm over the next few days.


- J&J

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Mele Kalikimaka 2009!

Whirlwind trip after returning from Key West on Monday. We avoided the snow delays at the airports in Charlotte and Philadephia, but our Amtrak to DC was delayed a few hours. Jeff went into work on Tuesday around 6:30 after we made it in at 1 in the morning.

The drive to NC on Wednesday was a bit miserable, as we hit holiday traffic before we even left Northern Virginia. We stopped at Leslie's Mom's (Sue) place for a chance to hang out with Sue, John, Leslie, and Scott. We then kept moving to Jess's parents to hang out with the familiy for a few days.

No defined plans yet for the New Year, although it will likely be low-key. We both go back to school on January 11, but Jeff continues to work through the weeks. Speaking of school, Jess pulled all A's and a B+ this semester, while Jeff got 2 A's and a B, so we did fairly well despite the heavy academic loads. We've every intention of keeping up the good grades through the next several days.

- j&j

Happy Hannukah from Jeffrey

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Duvall street flood

Today was awesome in an unconventional way. After biking downtown, we got torential rains that flooded the main drag and kept us indoors for awhile, but we still managed to swim back to the lodge.

--j&j









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On the way to Key West

It was very cold in Philadelphia this morning. This is us waiting for the airport shuttle.

--j&j

The scary effects of too much catnip

It may be time for an intervention.

--jess

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Technology!

We had to get me a PDA for my pharmocology class next semester, which was a good excuse to get an iPhone.

We will be able to take pictures and post directly from Key West, which is pretty awesome. We also purchased an underwater digital camera today. We did not use it to take this picture of Zoe.

--jess

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Happy Thanksgiving 2009

This is our fourth Thanksgiving in four different places since we got married - 2006 on with Jeff's parents on a ship in Hawaii, 2007 at our place with our Hawaii friends, 2008 with Jason and Kelly in Fort Belvoir, VA and 2009 in Philadelphia. Jeff hasn't had Thanksgiving in the same place twice since 1997, so we're building a bit of a tradition. We're making a very small dinner for the two of us with a crock pot turkey breast, gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, rolls, and three varieties of mini pies that are probably two slices each. We are thankful we can be together for the holiday; Jeff has a ton of papers due and Jess still has eight exams in the last three weeks of the semester.

The picture at the left was from Jeff's dining out in DC in early November. There was roast beef and a lot of toasts. Not the bread kind of toasts, more like you start eating your beef and you stick a bite in your mouth and someone toasts something, so you stand up and pretend you're not chewing while your roast beef gets cold, - kind of toast.

For those of you we haven't told, we're going to Key West right before Christmas! We are spending the actual holiday in NC and have no idea what our other plans are - hopefully will take care of that over this holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

--j&j

Body Worlds 2 and Terror Behind the Walls

Jeff made a trip to Philadelphia last weekend for a couple of nights. Saturday was incredibly busy with a trip to The Franklin Institute in order to see Body Worlds 2. While the exhibit would have been interesting enough, it was even more so with Jess able to point out obscure anatomy that she is familiar with from school.

After lunch at Machismo Burrito Bar, we napped away a rainy afternoon in preparation for Terror Behind the Walls at the Eastern State Penitentiary. Although we had to wait for an hour in order to catch a bus to the building, then another hour to get into the show, it was very worth the wait; the atmosphere of a deteriorating prison makes for a great haunted house. The majority of the tour isn't haunted so much as startling, and includes five sections: intake, lock down, the infirmary, the experiment, and night watch. The staff gives out flashlights for night watch, and you navigate through the halls with no ambient light, although lock down was the most disturbing section. We'll totally go back next year.
- j&j