Exploring the West

Before I started my current job, I had never been to the West Coast. (I always joked the farthest West I'd gone was Iowa, and that it didn't really count!) Lucky for me, in the year and a half I've worked at my job, I've been sent out on two business trips to the West!

The first trip was great, but I only went out a day early to do some exploring in San Francisco and then was in Pleasanton attending meetings for the rest of the trip. The trip I just got back from a couple of weeks ago I was able to go to Seattle and Salt Lake City on business and then decided to have a fun weekend in San Diego with a friend!

It's definitely a toss up between Seattle and San Diego as to which was my favorite city. I loved Seattle because it was beautiful and walkable. I also got to spend a lot of time on boats during my trip thanks to my wonderful friend (and coworker). I was able to attend the Pink Boat Regatta on my last day in the city and it was incredible -- so much pink, boats, and love for breast cancer research!

I also spent a fair amount of time at Pike Market which was amazing and the food all over the city was unbelievable.

I loved San Diego because of the weather and the beach with mountains surrounding it! I also couldn't get over the cacti and succulents everywhere.

I also had the best tour guide around, who also knows all the great food spots. I definitely ate well the entire trip! Also, did you know that real tortillas are so much better than flour? I never knew!

I don't have many pictures from Salt Lake City, but it was also such an interesting place. I saw the Salt Lake City Temple for the LDS Church, drank a beer named the Polygamy Porter, and saw a indie film at a theater associated with Sundance. Everywhere I went in the valley, it was like the mountains followed us too. I want to go back someday to ski because I saw ski resort signs everywhere!

It was such a great trip and I feel so blessed that I was able to travel to three places that I've never been before to both work and play! Have you ever visited Seattle, Salt lake City or San Diego?

My Weekend in Lancaster

I'm currently sitting in the BWI Airport after a pretty incredible weekend with Daniel in Lancaster, PA. I got to make an impromptu visit after the company he works for gave me the chance to interview (fingers-crossed!!), and while I was here I fell even more in love with my potential future home. 

I always thought I would be more of a city girl, as evidence of my first post here, but after this weekend I think I have found the perfect place for me. Lancaster is a bit of everything and (even better) is near everything. The city of Lancaster itself is beautiful and has a ton of little boutiques, shops and pubs, along with a year round farmers market--it reminded me a lot of River Street in Savannah, GA. The surrounding area of Lancaster has every outlet store you have ever wanted--Loft, PotteryBarn, Ralph Lauren, Fossil, you name it, they have it.

Daniel and I woke up early on Saturday and went to the Farmer's Market to have breakfast. We wound up getting some Mean Cup coffee and some donuts from Shady Maple--they were both amazing!

Also in celebration of getting my interview, we ate at the Shady Maple Smorgasbord which is an Amish Buffet that seats 2,000 people and has a huge gift shop. You can actually see the Google Maps walkthrough of the whole complex here! 

The best part about it is there is parking for the Amish outside.

And on our way back to Daniel's apartment, we saw a lot of Amish riding horse and carriages. Here's an attempt at a drive by photo here:

It was a really great trip, and on top of having a chance at a great job I got to see Daniel and discover Lancaster with him.