Home Again

Gosh it is so nice to be home. Especially when home = sunny Florida :) I used to make endless fun of the snowbirds as a year-round resident, but after enduring a few winters up North I kind of get it now, haha. We've been spending our days

• short and long runs through the neighborhood
• seeing the Byrds live in concert (a rare classic rock band that actually still sound amazing.)
• kayaking at Riverbend State Park  (highly recommend. It was so. beautiful. Scary baby alligators and all!)
• enjoying a bonfire in our freezing (read: very reasonable 53 degree) weather
• exploring Fairchild Botanical Gardens, visiting their gorgeous rainforest butterfly garden and seeing our fifth Chihuly piece...we keep stumbling on his works in the most random corners of the states and I'm really not mad about. This one's another definite must-see if you're in the area
• trying face masks, making terrible cocktails (like...truly awful, LOL) and watching too much House Hunters International

I have to say I really do love spending time with my family, especially down where it's warm. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. What are your plans for the holiday?

What Happens in New York

Hey folks,

so I realize several weeks have gone by and I still haven't posted a word on New York. Bad, bad blogger! I know. I'm sorry. But I had good reason! I was debating putting this in such a public forum, but the truth is...

It's because we got married!

yep. you read that right.

Peter and I got hitched in New York. 

I know this is confusing. we actually haven't told a ton of people for that very reason. For one, we're both Orthodox Christians, who believe in marriage beginning before God, in the church. And we can't wait to get married in the church next summer on Crete! (yea, that's completely still happening, by the way.) 

But the truth is, Peter's visa process could take a year or more. and until he's got that sorted, he can't just leave his job and find a new one in the U.S. on the J-1 he currently has. We could be apart for another year after our church wedding, and neither of us wanted to put off starting our life together that long. We're happy to wait for our Orthodox Marriage, but spending our first year of wedded bliss miles apart just sounded totally lame. So consider this year one of our marriage. I think this quote from When Harry Met Sally nailed it: 

source

Birthday Weekend: Islands of Adventures!

So basically,
My fiance is amazing.
When we were dress-shopping in Orlando, we stayed right next to Universal's Islands of Adventures.
I saw the Hulk in the horizon as we left our hotel room,
and it crossed my mind that Peter would probably love it.
Apart from Busch Gardens Tampa, it's probably the best Florida theme park for big kids;
It just has so many roller coasters and fun rides.
I called him up that weekend and mentioned it to him,
and his immediate reaction was, "Ok Georgia, I'll take you for your birthday"
See why I want to marry this guy??

Keeper, obvs 

So we did a little research, because Peter is always the man with the plan.
These are just some photos from our trip
And I'll try to intersperse it with some of the tips we got and found useful ourselves :)

1. Parking-

We reallyyyy wanted to be able to do everything before the afternoon rainstorms settled in, and especially before the massive throngs of people came and produced massive hour-long rides. For this reason, we left SUPER early, got there at 9, and paid the extra 20 bucks to park closer to City Walk. It was definitely worth it!

2. Game Plan

So the park is basically divided into seven "islands" arranged in a ring. Obviously, some areas are more popular than others, so rather than just go through the islands in order, we tried to do the rides and parts of the park that we thought would be most popular first. When I was a kid and the park had first opened, that was Marvel Superhero Island

Monday Music and an Unintentional Hiatus

well hi there.

It's been a hot minute since I've blogged.
We can all blame Peter for that,
as I have way to much fun with him,
And my laptop ends up shut and stowed in some quiet corner
While we run about on adventures
{and by adventures I mean beaching it every. single. day. You're welcome, love}

and yes. we did see a parrot

And now,
I'm going to leave you again.

I know.
I can hear the cries of dismay echo across the internet as we speak
{that was sarcasm, FYI.}

I enjoy blogging,
it's very cathartic for me,
but let's be real
(a) I haven't got a readership {apart from Peter. Thanks hon.}
(b) I am starting my peds rotation
And seeing as I want to be a pediatrician when I grow up if I grow up
Pediatrics >>>> blogging.
So I'll be spending less time reading blogs and blogging
And more time studying.

Wish me luck guys
And have a happy and healthy 2014!!

Georgia

Thanksgiving break

Hey Guys!

I guess it's about time I shared photos from over a month ago. Now or never, eh? ;-)

I spent most of the break in Delaware with Peter.
So these are the photos from that part of my trip.

And when I wasn't huddled under bundles of layers trying not to freeze, like this:

Yes. This is what
Florida sunshine
ultimately does to one's
humours.






I had a pretty awesome time!


We found the coolest pub in Lancaster, PA, run by two Irishmen from Cork.
They had Magners, so obviously I was a happy girl :)

 The Lancaster Market was quite impressive.
it was my first exposure to the Amish people and culture,
but had so much more than that to offer
{as evidenced by Peter's falafel and frappe from a Greek kiosque}

 Peter loved this herb and tea market

And the pub {Tellus Three Sixty}
was attached to a cute little shop
{double win!}

We ended the night with this gorgeous sunset.

It could not have been more lovely.

Next up, the Brandywine Museum...

Prayer for the Traveler

O God, our God,

the true and living way, 

who didst journey with thy servant Joseph; 

do thou journey with thy servant, 

Peter, 

and deliver him from every storm and snare

and peace and vigor continually provide.

Be pleased that,

having accomplished every intention of righteousness, 

according to thy commandment,

and being filled with temporal and heavenly blessings, 

he may return again.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory,

of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

Now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Peter flies to Athens today. 

I will miss him dearly, 

and always get a bit nervous for any of my family members 

on such a long journey.

I hope anyone traveling in the upcoming days and weeks 

has a safe and uneventful journey

there and back again :)

Wolf Pups

Last month,

I vaguely mentioned in this post 

about hoping to visit this magical place again

(you should know, readers Peter,

that I don't use the word magical lightly)

well, needless to say,

Seacrest Wolf Preserve didn't disappoint. 

Just look at that little nugget.

Seacrest Wolf Preserve is a wonderful place

dedicated to sharing beauty and knowledge of these majestic creatures

with anyone interested. 

Wolves are definitely in my top 5 for favorite animals,

and they are my friend Anne's numero uno

so for her birthday last year, 

we all piled in a car and headed 2 hours West of Tallahassee

to Chipley, Florida

to check out the wolf preserve via the weekly tour they offer.

It was both fascinating and fun.

The passion that the Seacrest volunteers have for these animals 

shows clearly throughout the tour.

My friends and I all learned so much,

and it was a wonderful experience. If you live in North Florida

definitely check out Seacrest. 

It is a really special place.

The Arctic wolves were especially sweet and friendly

I think this guy was a gray wolf.

At the end of the tour is a wildlife rescue

with everything from sweet skunks 

to gray and Arctic foxes

(who happened to be less than interested in posing for photos with us)

 It was only during our first visit to Seacrest

that we learned about the wolf pup cuddle sessions.

Guys, this is not a joke.

Both the gray and Arctic wolves are bred

so that their pups may be shared for educational purposes

And from a very young age they are pulled from the pack

in order to be accustomed to interacting with humans

as they will soon be sent across the country

to various wolf education programs and rescues

to teach more people about the true nature of wolves.

Needless to say, after my second arduous practice exam, 

snuggling with wolf babies was the perfect reward 

Taken with Anne's iPhone. clearly, we both <3 toms

This little one was the baby of Anne's favorite wolf, who died a few weeks ago :(

After cuddling with the wolf cubs, 

we obviously had to peruse the gift shop,

which is packed with all kinds of wolf paraphernalia

including these incredible wolf shirts.

(a bonus because all profits go to caring for the wolves

which beats supporting wal-mart any day.)

Needless to say,

I recommend checking out the Wolf Preserve if you go to FSU 

or live in North Florida. 

It's an incredible place.

The tour is $15, and Chipley is under 2 hours away- 

easily a day trip on a cooler Saturday.

(do NOT go in the summer. I'm not kidding, guys.

Florida heat and humidity is brutal.)

Avoid open-toed shoes or leather

as the wolves like to eat it (apparently)

and be sure to read more precise guidelines on the website

The one thing I would recommend

(besides going at a cooler time of the year)

is calling up the preserve for directions

as they've built a new road recently, 

making online directions a little bit tricky.

Wolf pup cudding is open early May-early June.

Check the website for specific dates,

as they change yearly.

Wolf tours are open Saturdays year-round.

Bitten by the Travel Bug

To any medical professional readers, if any: no, this post is not about leishmaniasis. Whenever I get stuck in one place for too long, I get the itch to move around. It can be put off temporarily by a day trip to a nearby town or exploring a new trailhead, but short excursions don't keep me satisfied for long. Lately I've been on the hunt for something new to do or someplace new to explore. A few adventures that have come to mind recently have been the Three Peaks Challenge, e.g. ascending the U.K.'s three tallest peaks in 24 hours:

climbing mountains in the dark- bring it on!

This short but challenging hike along the coast in the Olympic National Park:

The author of the above post did this hike with two young kids.  TWO KIDDOS.

and this crazy hard/beautiful marathon in Big Sur (or this one in the Red Wood Forests): 

Needless to say, I am crazy.

Also needless to say, one needs pretty good gear to go backpacking in such wet conditions or ascend 3 peaks in a day. So I thought I'd assemble a collection of a few necessary supplies for Peter and I to collect before I drag him along on another crazy and somewhat ill-founded adventure we attempt these "expeditions" (ok, they're not expeditions but definitely outside of my personal experiences/skill set/comfort zone.) In compiling this list I found this website page particularly helpful since I am a beginner to back country camping (and climbing mountains in 24 hours. Really, what crazy Mountaineering Englander woke up one morning and said " hey, you know what would be fun? climbing 3 mountains. consecutively. in the dark. yeaaaaa.")

1. A bad-ass backpack (duh,) and although I haven't done enough research to find a model that really works well, I'm on the case searching between Amazon and the R.E.I. website.

2. Hiking boots (also duh.) I may not be a Boca girl but I was raised there, so I need to have something aesthetically pleasing on my feet at all times, otherwise I won't wear it. When it comes to appearances I quite like these ones from Danner : 

$300

or, if your pocketbook is not bottomless, these Bean Boots look good and are highly functional too (F.Y.I. gortex= dry feet. That's all you need to know.) To be honest if the most money I spent on shoes EVER was on these hiking boots, I might actually be proud of that fact ;)

3. A solid tent. This one I found on R.EI. has great reviews, fits two people and is a reasonable price for poor overprivileged med students people who, like me, are on a fairly tight budget. Plus, only 3 complaints about leakiness, which, if you have ever camped in a rain forest, you know is a big deal (Olympic Park Watergate 2012...we barely made it out alive.)

4. A comfy down sleeping bag that can keep you warm at temperatures as low as 0 degrees F, an essential for someone like me who finds the frigid winters of even subtropical Florida unbearable (Really, why do I even want to go outside? Oh forget it, I'll just watch Bear Ghrylls eat bugs and drink his own urine on Discovery Channel and call it a day.) Again, I know nothing about sleeping bags, but if I find a good one I'll post it at a future date/time. 

5. Random Gear: Peter got me an awesome GPS watch for Christmas last year that I really ought to use more. It would come in handy in any of the above mentioned outdoor endeavors, and I highly recommend getting one if you are into that kind of stuff. Not a necessity, but certainly a fun gadget. Here's the model I have: 

as well as Peter's more nerdy more manly version (yes, we both have GPS watches. Yes, we are both white and nerdy.): 

if you really can't resist the urge to let your inner freak flag fly, both of these watches can be found on Amazon. Also, they are awesome. Just, you know, for the record.

I also think headlamps would be an excellent investment because (a) how else does one ascend a mountain in pitch darkness without plummeting to their death and (b) I want Peter to be this guy when we have kids. Here is a super-fancy model from R.E.I. that I cannot afford.

So...that was a long post. And I imagine most of you (aka Peter) stopped reading about 1/4 of the way through (seriously T.V. has killed the national attention span) so I'm going to stop writing now and do some real work (I am after all, supposed to save human beings one day. I'd better go study and learn my stuff if I don't want to harm any patients at some point.) If I find any more awesome supplies for future endeavors I will be sure to post them; in the mean time this guy has more good reviews on outdoor equipment and gadgets than you can pitch a tent on, so enjoy. :)