So we actually left

(by mark)

On Wednesday, some good friends helped us pack up our stuff and joined us for one last good meal at one of Baltimore's many good restaurants, Woodberry Kitchen. (Thanks for a lovely last day in Baltimore, guys!). Then Cassie and I began the final stages of moving out of the house--cleaning, gathering up all those stupid little items that you don't really want anymore but you don't really want to throw away. All the while, I was worrying about the house, the repairs, the costs (Oh, the cost!!), and, of course, which new bike I should buy when we finally get to Colorado (talk about cost!).

So now we're vagabonds, essentially homeless. We drove away from our house, the place we called home for three and half years, for the last time. For me, the whole thing has been quite surreal, like somehow it's not really true. I've dreamed of living in a place like Fort Collins CO for years but was never sure if we'd actually get a chance to do it. Why? I guess other things in life are slightly more important than being able to bike in the mountains. But it's getting harder for me to refute the evidence that this is actually happening. Our car is loaded up and now I sit in a coffee shop outside Harrisburg PA to check my email.

We spent the night in PA at Cassie's parents apartment. One of our cars is going to be shipped to Colorado and we've arranged to have it picked up here. We had a nice dinner and crashed. We were both very tired from a week of running around and lifting heavy objects.

From Move2008

(Someone tell me why it's so hard to move old couches in and out of old houses? In the old days, did they bring the couches in before they built the doors?)

This morning, we were greeted with a pleasant surprise. It snowed a bit here in central PA. Snow always warms my heart. Good thing we brought our bikes.

From Move2008

Baltimore. The Greatest City in America.

(by Cassie)

I remember chuckling at those words – emblazoned so boldly on city park benches -- -- when I moved to Baltimore in 2001. After a few months as a newcomer to ‘Balmer city life, I viewed the statement as down right deluded and sad. What kind of city – especially a city with a nationally ranked murder rate and violent drug crime – would dare to declare itself the greatest city in America?

From Move2008

I was no fan of Baltimore in the beginning. “Isn’t this a great neighborhood?” Mark asked as he drove me around Hampden. “Nope.” I responded – sure that this was definitely not a great neighborhood as we passed an abandoned school (which later Mark informed me was not abandoned but closed for the summer and not funded by a rich taxbase like the suburban Fairfax county schools I was used to attending).

After 7 years of living in the “Greatest City in America”, I can tell you that I love Baltimore. I can also tell you that I now understand why those words are true. Living in Baltimore, for me, has been about beginning and building the greatest friendships in my life. It has also been about learning that life can be ugly but still beautiful, people can be flawed but still worthy, you can be poor but still rich in the things that matter, and any city can be the greatest … if you open your eyes to look.

This old house...

(by mark)

...is the bane of my existence. One thing I've learned living here is that, contrary to my original expectations, I hate home improvement work. It's not good to own a very old house if you don't like home improvement work (unless you enjoy writing very large checks). I've tried my best, but lesson learned: we will not buy another old house, no matter how charming.

As going away gift, this old bugger is taking one more chunk out of my soul. Given the market, we've been unable to sell the house, so we're going to rent it out and we have a tenant. Great. Maryland regulations require lead testing before a tenant can move in. The regulations are evidently quite ambiguous (two cheers for good government), and so I've gotten several answers about our basement (see photo). It turns out they won't even do the lead test until all paint is "intact." We're leaving tomorrow, so now we have to pay someone to scrape and paint our basement before our tenant moves in. Ca-ching. This place is like a giant albatross, but with a charming interior.

From Move2008

The beginning, the ending

And so it begins. Or ends.

We've lived in Baltimore for over 7 years (actually, over 8 years for me). I thought we'd be here a year or two, until I finished grad school. But if you're not careful, life has a way of rolling on. Our life here has been pretty good. But opportunities presented themselves, and the fatigue of old routines drove us to seize those opportunities. In other words, we're gettin' the hell out of here.

We're moving from our home in Baltimore all the way to Fort Collins, CO. We decided to be ultra-hip and cool (can you actually decide to be such things??) and keep a blog of our move and transition to Colorado life. We'll update this daily as we pack up, visit family, drive across country and set up life in Colorado.

And it'll be a true blog--useless musings and reflections of two people who have no business broadcasting their thoughts to the world. But we figure it'll be a nice way to let our families and close friends see what it is like for us as we embark on this adventure. And we may try to translate the useless musings and reflections of our two dogs, George and Betty.

For weeks we've been putting the stuff of life (literally) in boxes.

From Move2008

And now, we can begin loading the boxes of life into bigger boxes.

From Move2008