Saturday, January 1, 2011

Day 260 - 290 (December 1 - 31) Family, friends and snow

Day 260 - 290 (December 1 - 31) Family, friends and snow
After dropping Jackson and Walker back with Joe and Elizabeth in Charlotte, I set off on the road. I went through Chapel Hill (always nice to stop through town) and Raleigh and caught up with a few friends (Mike, Szymon and Jake). and eventually all the way up to Virginia Beach.

I went up to see Mike and Jen and the kids (Abby, Katie and Grant). I saw them at Thanksgiving but it was nice to see them for a bit longer and my dentist (Dr. Mike) reminded me I hadn't been seen in almost 3 years... I got to town in time to go with Jen to observe the girls's ballet classes. During which Grant of course wanted to join, I am sure its because his older sisters were dancing but who knows, maybe he has happy feet. I spent a few days up there with them and then headed south. I went back through Chapel Hill with intentions of going to Greensboro over the weekend to see some more friends. However the weather took a turn for the worse and there was no way I was driving in the snow/ice to Greensboro. So I ended up going back to the Farm.

Over the next several days I flew some more. I managed 10 hours with the flight instructor and eventually stopped. Its the end of the month and I am still waiting to get approval from the FAA regarding my flight physical... So even thought I can fly/land a plane (in this case a Cessna 172P) and even planned and flew to the beach with Jim, I was not able to complete my solo flights or finish the license. Oh well, starting is better than nothing.

I visited Chapel Hill again in December for a friend's Christmas Party. It was a crazy two nights and goo to catch up with few more of my old friends. For Christmas I went to Richmond to ride with Andrew and Cate to visit her family. I only saw them for a few days at Thanksgiving so this way I got to hang out with them a bit more. I also got to catch up with another friend, Rich, who is a doctor in Richmond. We went up to Cate's parent's in Northern Virginia. Christmas Eve we all (including her brother Mike) went to mass at the Basilica in DC and a few of their family gatherings (dinners and such). I saw a lot of people from the wedding whom I had met. It was fun and thanks to the Geraghty/Keller families for having me.

After a few days Andrew and I headed back to Richmond and the next day I went down to the Farm. While I was in Northern Virginia, my passport came back from the Swiss Consulate with my visa attached. A few days later I got my flight details and reality (going back to work) sunk in.

On thing about December has been the weather. It seems like the whole world has gone crazy again. We had significant amounts of snow and had to one of the few times I remember here being snow on the ground in NC for Christmas... Guess I should get used to it... Switzerland is cold!

For New Years I went to Charlotte. I packed all my bags, loaded the car for the last time and hit the road. I stayed with some friends and we watched the UNC/UT bowl game Thursday. after the 2OT victory, we cooked all day on New Years Eve... ok, 2 of them cooked, the rest of us just watched TV. There were a few more people over for New Years and we rang in 2011.



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