Bahamanian

The coming of Spring has been lovely. Even though I am a snow bunny at heart, I'm thoroughly enjoying the arrival of sunshine, flowers, and warmth.

 

Nothing celebrates Spring more than Spring Break. So in honor of our lifelong friendship and our 25th birthdays in May, my cousin Rachel and I flew to Orlando and took a boat to the Bahamas over her Spring Break. 

  

Yes, it was a Carnival cruise, and it was fantastic! We embarked on March 30th and spent 4 whole days on the water.  Our room was on the 4th out of 12 floors, so pretty low down.  But we still had a window, big closets, and motivation to run up and down stairs to burn off the delicious cruise cuisine :)

There were life jackets in our closest... comforting or disconcerting??

Every morning they tidied up the room, and every evening they provided a turn-down service with the next day's itinerary.  Everyone was so friendly, crew and guests.  We stopped at various islands and ports, but Rachel and I mostly just laid in the sunshine and swam in the gorgeous blue water.

Our ride to the beach, note position of the driver and side of the road.

Little Stirrup Cay

Being out on the ocean was so weird and cool.  Initially, Rachel and I felt a little uneasy, but after a while it doesn't seem so bad. 

Cruise ships are like a petri dish for infection, so we tried to be proactive, and used hand sanitizer incessantly. We took a meclizine (for motion sickness) every morning with our glass of Airborne (prevents colds).  They kept the boat so so clean and pretty though! The decorations were garish and as Rachel described, "nauseating" but it's all part of the cruise culture, I guess. 

Returning to the boat from an Island

The type of people on the cruise were lovable middle class America types.  Some families, 18 yr old Spring breakers, couples, and friends. We really enjoyed chatting with the other guests and seeing them on the boat.  I think someone said our there were about 2000 aboard, but somehow we would see some of the same people over and over, which was kind of nice.

Each night we had to wait in line for dinner and sometimes we would get a cocktail at the atrium bar.

While I held our spot in line one night, Rachel went down to the bar to get our drinks when she got swept up by a flash mob. It was chaotic and hilarious.  Can you spot her below in the crowd of sweaty dancers?

One of our favorite things was the watch the sunrise and sunset from the boat.  It was breath taking.

Sunrise over Nassau

view from the boat in Freeport

We took the stairs every single time.  6 or 7 flights up and down at a time. One night I was running up the stairs and thinking we were so awesome for never using the elevator. Not as soon as the thought escaped my mind that I tripped and ate it on the stairs. My flip flop fell off, my wallet flew out of my hands, and my glasses were knocked askew.

 

Sandy Port in Nassau

We had an amazing time! It was so beautiful and so restful.  I can't wait to go on another :)

Right Back Where I Started From

The song by Maxine Nightingale has been on repeat in my head since moving back to PA.

"Ooo and it's alright, and it's coming on. We gotta get right back to where we started from."

I know she's singing about love, but I'm singing about being back in Pennsylvania.
February was a relaxing month without work or a demanding schedule.  I simply enjoyed being near family, visiting friends, and participating in the wintry elements. 

Last week I packed up that same ol' red Sentra again and moved to this time, a short distance to Pittsburgh, PA.

My job started last Monday, and by started I mean I sat through orientation and classes.. It was boring, but the anticipation of starting this job is getting really exciting.  There are two of us starting the Resource Intensive Care Dept. The other RN has an ICU background too, and she and I clicked as soon as we met. Our responsibilities will be: responding to all codes, assuming care of overlow ICU patients in the ER, PACU, and floors, being a clinical resource to other RNs, and transporting high acuity patients. So it's exactly what our title is; Resource Intensive Care :) The other kind of exciting thing was seeing people's response when they met us -- the nurses and staff at the hospital have been looking forward to us coming on to help them. They greeted us with enthusiasm and kindness.

It feels good to be on the path to something steady for a while, and I'm enjoying being back in Pittsburgh. 

Perhaps the best thing of all, is that my travels will continue despite my permanent (for now) job placement. This weekend I'm off to DC, and the following weekend I'm going on a cruise with my BFF Rachel.

The same girl, old friends, new part of the city, new job.
 Adventures, life, excitement, struggles.. it all continues :)

Colorado to Pennsylvania

Last week I had the pleasure joining The Lapp family on their vacation to the Colorado Rockies. 

We started the week skiing at Vail. 

There we skied under clouds, blue skies, in the trees, over bumps, and in cold days. It was wonderful to finally see this place that so captured my heart this summer, in the season I love the most.

We were joined by Brandon for the beginning of the week.  Our first day skiing I was so surprised and excited to receive a text from an old co-worker from St Anthony's in Lakewood, CO, who spotted me in line at the base of Vail.  We were finally able to meet up by the end of the day.  The next day we ran into one of the girls again just as we were going in for lunch, so I was able to spend a little more time catching up.

What a joy it was to see them.. people I thought I'd never see again! And how strange they should recognize me, when the girl they were familiar with 6 months ago was always in navy scrubs, a red sweater, and thick glasses :)

Jenn and Kellie, RNs from St Anthony's

Later I admitted to Carly that I had low expectations for her skiing ability.. Almost immediately I was proved wrong, and our days were full of trying to kill as many runs as we could, without killing Brandon.

Our forth day of skiing we had pristine blue skies. Just the two of us that day, Carly and I could barely make it down a run without stopping to gape at the view.

That evening we ventured into downton Vail for dinner and shopping.

Struck mid-week by a respiratory bug, Carly and I took two days off from the mountain for spa treatments, rest, a wintry walk (in which I slipped and fell more than actual walking), exploring downtown Vail, and an elaborate Valentine's Day lunch. 

We also went out to a great restaurant for Valentine's Day dinner with Carly's parents. 

After our two days of rest and recuperation, we took our skis and weak lungs West on I-70 to Beaver Creek.

Our first day on the mountain we were greeted by a dumping of fresh powder.  Carly and I conquered the famous Birds of Prey, and got some woods runs in before our bodies completely gave up on us.  Our last run down I heard a faint voice say, "Meg, stop! Look up!" only to see the clouds had opened up for an amazing view!

Carly and her parents, Bev & Chuck

Day two at Beaver Creek was even better than the first.  We had a plan, and immediately headed to the left side of the trail map on the mountain - Stone Creek Chutes. 

We went non-stop in the chutes, pushing the boundary line for untracked fresh runs.  By lunch time we seriously needed a break.. so we sat by a fire and indulged in my new favorite treat - hot chocolate and whiskey.

We got some more runs in, one of which was in the glades and nearly spent us all of our energy.  We ran into Carly's parents in the lift line and had a run with them, then Carly and I went to a bar at the base of the mountain for happy hour.

our free champagne toast at 330p

Alas our week of skiing in Colorado was over.  The week itself was so full, it almost felt like three separate trips; Vail for 4 days with Big Time, two days of indulgence and exploring Vail, then two days of great skiing in Beaver Creek. 

Now I find myself back in PA.. with three weeks to fill until I start at Passavant. So far this week I have used my days for yoga, reading, hiking, hanging out with locals, running with my dad, unpacking and repacking boxes and suitcases, and watching mindless fluff.  Despite my diminishing funds that were spent on trip after trip, I arm determined to have more adventures in the days leading up to resuming work. Let's see what trouble I can get into before March 11th..