Party in the USA

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I guess I should change the continent to North America and such, but I'll just keep it as NZ because that's where I'm writing this from.

I traveled back to Wisconsin on April 24th on a new route with Air New Zealand through Houston, TX. This flight allowed me to fly directly into Milwaukee and save my parents a drive down to Chicago or me dealing with the bus after my long travel times. I breezed through security which was awesome and it was way easier than flying through LAX. I'd recommend this route even thought it adds an extra hour on the Auckland to USA leg. It was so nice to see my parents that night and I planned to surprise my parents with the pregnancy news the following day with a Mothers/Grandmothers' day card, but I couldn't wait any longer! They were so happy. First Grandchild on its way! I am so excited to have this baby, but unfortunately the timing of it means I'll miss Bridget's wedding in December. I was nervous to tell Bridget so I waited until after her exams so as not to distract her, but I did it before her bachelorette party. I was just so impressed with how Bridget handled it and she of course wants me to be there, but she was so mature and so happy for me that she wasn't mad or anything. I have a pretty awesome sister! Now someone tell me if you can help skype or periscope or something her wedding so I can see it, okay?

I spent my first couple days in Wisconsin readjusting and visiting some friends, family, and old coworkers. I even got a Little Oatie from work, they're really from Outpost, but they taste so good! Thanks again, Kelly B! Visiting Froedtert makes me miss it and makes me eager to return, but hearing about all the changes and politics of things makes me appreciate the time I have away from it, too. I'm glad to not have to worry about chemicals and toxic medications while I'm pregnant, that's for sure! I worked there for 7.5 years, though, so visiting makes me feel like I'm at home. I guess because I left out of necessity and not just wanting out and my coworkers are amazing people, too, so I really miss them! I thought driving around on the right side of the street might take some time to get re-used to, but it came so naturally because it's all familiar and comfortable. It's good to be out of the comfort zone sometimes, but I forget how easy and nice it is to just know how to get places without constantly having to use maps on my phone! It's also really nice to know where to go for things and the food is just so cheap and good compared to NZ! I miss Panera and Chipotle the most when I'm in NZ. Oh, and my mom's cooking, of course! I also stopped in on an Elmbrook Masters' Swim practice to visit my old team. I know I had been doing some swimming, but I quickly realized I hadn't done enough because I could not keep up! I was trying not to push myself too hard, though, to keep my heart rate down to protect baby. Being pregnant sure comes with a lot of things to think about and be careful of! Unfortunately I missed seeing some of my teammates and wasn't able to make it back again before I left the USA but I thought about you all and hope you kicked butt at Nationals! After being in WI for a couple days, I then departed on my travel leg to Washington DC for a friend's wedding and festivities. I landed on Thursday afternoon and I took the metro from the airport to a stop near the Capitol and walked a couple blocks to meet my friend. After using so much public transportation in Asia, I felt totally confident using the metro even though I had a huge suitcase (for four weeks of stuff) and a backpack. When I met my friend along with two of her other friends, we hit the road to travel to Bethany Beach, DE for a girls' weekend. Bethany Beach is a really cute beach town with some fun stores for shopping and good restaurants (seafood, yum!). The beach looked nice, but unfortunately it was way too chilly and windy to make use of the beach for sun tanning and walking in the surf. We did manage to find a cupcake to eat by the Ocean, though, and the group of ladies proceeded to have "Cake by the Ocean" stuck in our heads for the rest of the week, haha, so worth it! The area has some nice beach cottages that I fell in love with. It's a little remote from the bigger cities, but easy enough to get to.

After the nice weekend, one of my friend's friends was staying in DC for the week until the wedding on the following weekend, so we roomied up and found an AirBnb to stay at. We shared a small studio apartment on the first floor of a row house, but it was really nicely done inside, the bed was comfortable, and the host was really nice. He even shared some desserts he got from his family back in Egypt. The rental was kind of far from a metro and on the edge of a nice part of town. We decided on our first day to walk to the bus stop, then take the bus to the metro at the Pentagon, check that out, and then metro to the Capitol. You need a transit card to pay and we only had one, so I attempted to ask some of the locals at the bus stop where we could purchase a card because I know they sell them at the metro but I couldn't see one at the bus. Well, the other people there didn't speak much English and my semester of Spanish was failing me. One man couldn't answer about the metro card, but he knew enough English to ask if we needed a ride somewhere. We politely declined and waited for the bus and found out we could pay in cash for the bus fare. I'm sure the man was nice and would've helped us out, my concern would be that we wouldn't be able to communicate where we actually wanted to go so who knows where we would've ended up! Anyway, we made it to the Pentagon and saw the 9/11 memorial there then hurried over to the Supreme Court for a tour. I've been there a couple times, now, but I still enjoy the tour and keep learning new things each time. We went with another friend to pick up her Bridesmaid dress and it fit so we treated ourselves to some CPK pizza! Woohoo. The next day we went to check out the Spy Museum and did an "Operation Spy" game which kind of reminded me of a choreographed Escape game. It was a fun experience and the museum was pretty cool. It's not a free one as it's private and not through the Smithsonian, but I'd recommend it. That night we got Manis/Pedis for the wedding. I love any reason to be pampered, so that was great. We also made it to the Smithsonian Zoo and had really nice weather for it. The rain held off until we got into the Uber car to take us home. I feel so hip using Uber AND AirBnb in the same trip, haha. I thought the Zoo was nice, especially for being free, and we got to see a baby monkey with its Mom. So cute! Thursday consisted of a like 2-3 hour drive to VA and back for wedding set up and then Friday morning we drove back to VA again for the Wedding festivities. I had previously met some of my friend's family so it was really nice to see them again and her girlfriends that I met the previous weekend. The festivities took place at these beautifully maintained three story historic Southern houses. It rained and was cold for much of the week, but we were all so lucky to have perfect weather for the day of the Wedding. My friend and her fiance did such an amazing job planning the wedding and decorating with so many handmade accessories and decorations, it was just beautiful, but not as much as the Bride! It was also the most secure/safe wedding I've ever been to. I won't go into detail about that, but I made sure not to go bumping into people on the dance floor that I didn't know. haha. On Sunday, we got a ride back to DC and saw some of the monuments in DC before I was dropped off at a hotel next to the airport. My roommate all week was really nice, but it was so nice to have a room to myself! I had room service and crashed early which was good because I had an early flight the next morning to go to Florida.

Monday I arrived in Florida and my mom picked me up! She figured as long as I was going down there, she'd take a couple days off to spend with me. She is the best! 😊 We went to see my Aunt's new house and visit with her and my Grandma who is now spending her winters in Florida. Good for her! I'm glad at 90 years old she's not stuck in the WI Winters. So they're living my dream, my goal in life-to be a snow bird! My time in Florida was brief, but I went for a couple walks on the beach and enjoyed the hot sunny weather, a welcome change after DC! I got to see some of my Aunts and my Grandparents, it was great! I didn't make it to my old favorite spot on campus and swim in the outdoor pool at FGCU, but maybe next time. Mom and I flew back to WI together on Thursday afternoon. On Friday I relaxed then went to the Thirsty Duck to meet up with some cool friends to try out the mini bowling. It was really fun and the music was good. I won the first game, but didn't do as hot in the second. On Saturday, I woke up early to have brunch with my mother-in-law and my niece at First Watch. It's one of my favorite places for brunch with some of my favorite people. 😊 I then hurried around to get decorations and stuff for my sister's Bachelorette Party while my mom slaved away and made all the food for me to bring. Again, she's great! I'd say I'm pretty good at planning for bachelorette parties, but the food portion not so much...or maybe I am because I always figure out a way to have someone else make it all for me. Muahahaha. We did a Miss Pole dance class which I've done previously for another friend in 2009, but it was fun so I was happy to do it again. Bridget and her friends were so nice and fun and willing to try everything and laugh about it so it turned out really well. We then met up at Bridget's later that day to devour the delicious food my mom prepared, we played some games, and went out to karaoke and dancing. We attempted a scavenger hunt, but the Madison new graduate crowd that was filling up every bar were not so into it. Not cool Madison! I bet if we were out around Marquette it'd be a different story 😉 Just kidding. (but not really, MU > UW). haha. Fun times were had by all, even the old sober gal in the bunch (me). The next day I attempted to help Bridget with wedding planning, aka stress her out (sorry!) and we watched Magic Mike XXL. I previously saw it in the movie theater, but it's definitely one I was happy to watch again! The next week was filled with seeing friends, family, and even our old cats Bagheera and Zoe. They're looking good and happy so even though Paul and I miss them dearly, we're happy to know they're happy. Thanks Aunt Kathy! It was also my parent's anniversary and we went out to dinner to a new restaurant called Bistro Z or something. It's by Flabbergast and it was a cool place. Definitely a place I can see young adults going out for drinks and appetizers/desserts. There aren't a lot of places like that in the Pewaukee/Sussex area, so I hope it continues to do well. I also went and saw a Brewers' Game with some friends and got to tailgate and see the Brewers beat the Cubs!

It was so nice to see all the family and friends that I got to meet up with and I'm sorry to the ones I missed. There weren't enough hours in the day or days in the weeks and I got tired at the end from the constant going places. It was a pretty different schedule than I have here in NZ! After four weeks it was time to go back to NZ and see Paul again. Unfortunately, I had a lot of time on the airplane to get back. There was a lot of head wind so my flight from Houston to Auckland was like 40 minutes longer than scheduled, so 15+ hours on one plane. I survived, though, and Paul and I enjoyed some time in Auckland since I landed at 6:30 AM. We went to brunch in the Sky Tower and got 360 degree views of the city. The restaurant portion rotated while we ate. It was good food and we got to see the observation deck as well. After brunch we had to go to the cat cafe in Auckland. The cats were cute, but again, they're not our cats so they don't just want to cuddle with us. Paul and I decided we will have to start going to all the cat cafes and compare them. Sounds like a great job! I think Taiwan's was a little nicer than Auckland's because they also had two dogs and gave us treats to give to the cats. Well, next time I'm back in the USA I'll be bringing Paul with me, so we'll see you all in a couple months. Can't wait!

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Photos

Long stretch of beach
Bethany Beach, DE

Beach!
Bethany Beach, DE

Clock
Bethany Beach, DE

Beach
I just can't get enough of the beach and the Ocean waves!

Cute storefronts by the water
Bethany Beach, DE

Boardwalk
Bethany Beach, DE

The Capitol
under construction/renovation at the time so a lot of the interior dome was covered with scaffolding. We still had a nice tour and I got us into see the House of Representatives rooms using my NZ drivers' license. If you live in the USA, you're supposed to go to your representatives' office or something, but since I had a foreigners' drivers' license I got to just ask the security guy right there. There was a lecture going on and it was interesting to hear some of that and see the room.

Me at my friend's wedding
It's amazing what a professional hair and makeup artist can do!

Jax and Me
He is such a cuddler lap dog even though he's technically too big to fit comfortably on the lap. We were sitting outside together as I tried to make some lists of what I needed for Bridget's party, but Jax got in the way so instead I took pictures and just enjoyed the day. :)