West Philadelphia, Born and Raised

We've been spending most of our days recently in Philly on the playground, chilling out max and relaxing all cool. Maybe even shooting some b-ball outside of the school. Not well, but we tried.

We cannot even begin to say how much fun this trip was. Mike, Harriett, and Beth Donovan opened up their home to us as adopted kids and let us stay here for three days. And what a home it is! Eastern Pennsylvania is still very colonial and the houses all show it. They live on Valley Forge mountaint which is the Deer Tick capital of the US. I made Charity check me for ticks nightly. The good thing about having so many deer ticks is that you have so much Lyme disease. Wait, no, you have lots of deer. Everywhere. And they're not afraid of you even slightly. We counted 21 deer on the 2 mile drive home in their neighborhood. But the deer were camera shy, so no pics, sorry.

We took the Harriet VIP tour of Philadelphia which included stops in all of the most important places. Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and Pat's House of Cheesesteaks. Oh man, I miss mexican food, but I can wait longer if I keep finding stuff like this. I promise to keep putting my first bite of anything new on the blog. Charity liked the cheesesteaks so much that she woke up at 3am that night and relived them through horrible hearburn. She's better now and will stick to salads.

Having been to DC, we both think that Philadelphia has way more history and culture. It really stirred a lot of gratitude in me for what a great country we have and how amazing God's providence is to have brought it together. It also made me remember how many random facts about the Revolutionary War I learned as a kid. We even finished it off tonight with dinner at the City Tavern. This is a 200+ year old restaurant that the founding fathers used to hang out at after a hard days work in the Continental Congress. They dress in colonial attire, serve colonial era food, and have beer based on the original recipes that people like Washington and Jefferson used. Rumor has it that after a few pints, THIS is where the plan for the Constitution really happened. The place was very cool, but I did catch one colonial servant girl listening to Kanye West on her iPod. I promised not to tell.

Charity also got a shopping tour from Harriett at King of Prussia mall which is the second biggest mall in America. She is now prepared for New York, so look for those pictures in a weeks to see what she bought . While the girls shopped, I wandered around Valley Forge with a camera and a healthy fear of ticks. It was well worth any ticks I may have gotten. Ticks. (I hate them, sorry, I get all twitchy). Anyway, it was beautiful and I'll post some of them once I get the film (yes, I still own and use a film camera) developed.

By far the most amazing experience of all was a trip to the Philadelphia Art Museum. I think there might be paintings or something in there, but it's home to some of the most famous steps in the world. These steps.

The steps from Rocky. Charity made it all the way up in heels with no problem. I was too busy trying to fake a facial droop for my Rocky statue look alike. But I found something even better. The Italian Stallion himself.

I asked Harriet who comes down to the city all the time and she says she has never seen this guy before in her life. He was just hanging out by the steps and I wanted a picture. He said, "Aaayyyoohhyyeeahhh! Welcome tah Philly!" I almost hugged him. He was nice enough to do the first picture, but then floored me when he agreed to do the Rocky-Apollo picture from the end of Rocky II. For the second time this trip, I cried a little. We still have no idea who he was. Some say he was a angel. A big, greasy, I-Talian tank of an angel.

The Donovans were amazing to us and such a blessing. They really encouraged us while we stayed with them and it was very refreshing to have Godly people speak into our lives while we're out here. Thanks guys. Up next is my last week of work and then off to Maine to visit Charity's family. Maybe we'll be able to sleep when we get back to Tucson.
On a technical note, we changed the blog so that you don't have to log in or be a member to post comments (sorry, for hassle Gramma L). Hopefully, we'll get more posts from back home now. Right?

Love,Aaron and Charity

PS (Brittany, your room is safe.)

Life in the Big City

Hi people! Sorry, we haven't written in a while. Shift work will really mess up your schedule, especially with sleep. When you and your wife both work nights and you don't know anybody or have any other responsibilities, sleeping in until 6pm is really not a big deal. Neither is staying up until 4am watching movies on TBS. At first, we felt really lazy for sleeping in so late, but that's when we realized that we're really just still on Tucson time . . . and still a little lazy, but MUCH LESS than if we were on Baltimore time. Right?

We wanted to give you a quick idea of what life is like in Baltimore. We included the quintescential city night life picture with dim street lights and steam and everything. Funny enough, it was about 80 degrees outside when we took this picture and the sewers still steamed. Go figure. Anyway, there are a few weird customs, some quirks to the city, and a few just plain weird statues.

1) Parking - Parking in Baltimore is limited, especially downtown. We even have to pay to park in the garages where we work. It seems like there are no spots anywhere in downtown Baltimore, but that's where people get creative. For instance, why can't you just stop and park your car in the middle of traffic? There's asphalt and lines just like anywhere else. And that NO STOPPING EVER FOR ANY REASON sign has to be for someone else besides you. And all those cars behind you? They'll go around or wait for you to be done talking to the girl ignorning you on the corner. Overall the most creative parking spot ever was this guy who seemed to think he could just park in front of the garage since it was closed.

2) Alcohol - On our first day here, we went to Trader Joe's to get food. I tried to buy some wine or beer, but there wasn't any in that store. I didn't think much of it until we went to another grocery store and asked where the beer aisle was. The guy pointed me to this.

We're not heavy drinkers by any means, but that's not beer. I was wondering if we would have to find Otis, the town drunk, and ask where the local moonshiners were at just to get a beer. As it turns out we are not in a dry county, just a place where the local liquor store is the only one allowed to sell alcohol. Were were a little disappointed that the convenience factor was out until we saw that every coffee shop also doubles as a bar. When study time comes around, I may never leave the coffee shop down the street. We even found one place called XS which is the greatest place in Baltimore. It is a four story coffee shop/bar/sushi restaurant/omlette and pancake house. We may move out of our apartment early and just live there. There was even a live DJ spinning while we ate our meal. Crazy town.

3) Public art - We comes from Tucson which is home to . . . sorry, it's late and a little Baltimo' slipped out. We COME from Tucson which is home to all kinds of eyesores, but there are some real winners in Baltimore.

Our favorite is, of course, the carnivorous squirrel. I am a huge fan of Monty Python and the Holy Grail but even think this a little inappropriate for a public median.
We are now HALF WAY through our trip! We're having a great time, but we get a little homesick from time to time. We only have four weeks left, but we sleep for half of the day, so it's really only like 2 weeks. And then you cut out vacations, travel time, and meals, and it's really only like 5 days. It'll be over like that! Seriously, God is really blessing us on this trip with quality time together, more reliance on Him, and a pretty relaxing time overall.

Love, Aaron and Charity

PS (Yes, Mom, I only have one orange striped shirt that I wear when going to DC. The rest were are not neutral gang colors. Just kidding. But not really :)

And, Aaron's going to be a doctor ... ?

Strange title considering we came out here for medical school. However, Charity thought that on our third trip to DC we should get as many incriminating pictures of me in the Museum of Natural History as possible. I for one do not really like making faces for the camera but she twisted my arm.

It's kind of hard not to make fun of a place that takes it's
"billions and billions of years" so seriously. Charity wanted some goofball time too so we got a picture of leg bigger than her and bear hug. And we couldn't pass up another venture into the art museum.

From the moment we arrived in DC, we felt like . . .we were home, with family. It may have been because we met our friends Scott and Chase Kurbat from Phoenix or because we happened to be there on the same day as the National Council of Negro Women's Black Family Reunion Celebration. Seriously. The whole mall was covered with tents and people dancing and food. Lots of food. I bought some jerk chicken and red beans and rice that I think was portioned out at half the buyer's body weight. So we sat out on the mall and watched people and fought off pigeons.

A few of our favorite DC memories so far include the Lincoln Memorial, the WWII memorial, and the original Constitution. But far greater than all of these was the original . . . .Seinfeld puffy shirt. I cried a little. The American History Museum is closed until summer of 2008 but the government knows that such vital pieces of American history such as Dorothy's ruby slippers, Prince's guitar, or Mister Roger's sweater could not be held away from the public eye.

Enough reminiscing. The real reason we came to DC was to see our friends from Phoenix. Scott Kurbat is an Emergency doc from Phoenix who works with my mom and our families are very close. He was here in DC for a board review seminar (yes, Drew, ten years after graduating, you still have to take tests) and brought his mom and his daughter with him to tour DC. Scott was on starving medica student duty and took Charity and I out for Ethiopian food. We were excited, but his daughter Chase . . . not so much. We sat on baskets and ate with our fingers. Pretty normal for me. The food was great and the bread was this strange spongy crepe-pancake thing was really the only strange part about the meal. Charity also discovered honey wine. We'll be buying honey wine at home now.

We have 2 weeks down and 6 weeks to go, even though it feels like we've been here much longer. We're starting to adjust and get used to the city but we still miss our friends and family and big events like Drew's first medical school test. Oh, yeah, and something about JJ and Di's baby or something. Didn't seem to important to them when they left the post.

CONGRATULATIONS JJ AND DIANA!!!!! Charity will be home in plenty of time to deliver your baby! :)

Love, Aaron and Charity

DC Take 2-New Jobs Take 1

Sorry we have been blogless for a couple of days, we figured our moms needed a break from their addiction. We are back for another fix. We went back to DC on Monday and had a full day of walking all around town. Our feet were so sore by the end I actually gave Aaron a foot rub( yikes! I hate feet) We saw every memorial we could find including Washington, Arlington Cemetary, WWII, Vietnam, Korea, and my favorite Mr Lincoln. At Arlington, we saw the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which was full of cool tradition and military rituals. We also saw the original Bill of Rights, Constitution, and Declaration of Independence. We asked if there was a treasure map, but they just looked at us funny. The most impressive (and depressing) thing we saw was the Holocaust Museum. It was amazing to see everything that people during that time suffered through. The exhibit is incredibly comprehensive and gripping. I thought it was amazing and cried most of the way through it. After that museum we needed a beer, and ate at a nice little restaurant in downtown DC. Across from our restaurant was the international spy museum, which made Aaron's inner nerd go crazy. However, the 17 dollar admission made Aaron's inner penny pincher beat up his inner nerd. So we walked to the Capitol instead. We had a lovely day despite our $22 parking garage fee.

Now the moment you have all been waiting for, yes we have actually started our jobs that we came here to do. Since I actually have a real job I get to go first :) I am working in a small but very understaffed labor and delivery unit. What they lack in the patient census they make up for in not hiring enough nurses. Last night was my second night, I was completely on my own working with two other nurses both of whom were travelers. That's right, none of the nurses there last night actually work for that hospital. It's a little crazy. I am the only white girl among the nurses and the patients, it's pretty fun. I have met some nice people that I enjoy working with. only 19 more shifts to go...

Ok, my turn. I have worked three shifts so far (one more than Charity ha!) and they've all gone well. As Charity will quickly tell you, they roll out the red carpet for medical students hoping they'll stay and become interns. Again, WE HAVE NO PLANS TO STAY IN BALTIMORE! But it has been fun and very different. I have not spoken Spanish in 2 weeks and I'm afraid I might lose it. The patients here are very different and many of them have some disease called Sickle Cell Anemia. In Tucson, we had a name for the local Sickle Cell population: her name was Carol. In Baltimore, there are lots of Sickle Cell patients and I have no idea what to do with any of them. But I'm learning. The attendings, residents, and nurses are all great. It's pediatrics and Emergency medicine, the two most laid back specialties in medicine. Everyone's great. I'm really enjoying it and think it will overall be a great experience.

We can't post any pictures from work due to HIPAA violations (not to be confused with HIPPO violations where patients are larger than normal land mammals). So, you'll have to be satisfied with cheesy tourist pictures.

Love Aaron and Charity

Lost in Annapolis

To tell the truth, most of our days start out with us being totally lost. However, today we knew we would be lost as we drove to Annapolis with no idea what was out there or really even where it was. I took meticulous directions which I left on my desk in the apartment. We still found it pretty easily but had a horrible time looking for parking. We were about to give up until some kind person pulled away from their parking meter with 45 minutes still left running. So, we were able to continue wandering aimlessly around Annapolis, but this time on foot.

It is not at all what we expected of the capitol city of Maryland. Instead it is a quaint little town with lots of shops and the coolest Starbucks ever. Charity loved this Starbucks which was in the cellar of the Maryland Inn which dates back to the 1700s. It was an old stone building that was later turned into a jazz club that Charlie Byrd used to play at. Now, it's a Starbucks, but the Maryland Historical Society would not let them touch the original building. So Starbucks instead put in all free standing shelves, walls, and equipment that does not affect the original structure. Pretty cool.

Annapolis is also home to the US Naval Academy. Therefore, every other person was in bright white dress uniforms and about 20 years old. The other people in Annapolis were the naval officers' parents in town for Labor Day. It's also home to the US Public Health Service but we couldn't see that one (sorry, Kenda).

Another nice find was our dinner. We heard good things about a restaurant called Cantlers Riverside Inn. I have been waiting for months to beat up a crab with a tiny hammer and this was my chance. We pulled in to the restaurant and only had to wait about 15 minutes . . . to park our car. This place was jumping. We then waited over an hour and a half to get seated. But it was worth it. The restaurant was on a river and while cars were waiting to park in the lot, boats were waiting to dock for dinner too. We had drinks by the docks and got to see a little crab museum where you could essentially meet your dinner before you ate it.

We kind of got to see a crab before, after, and after.

Once we were seated, the food was killer. They laid down some brown butcher paper on a picnic table and gave us our utensils - a knife and a mallet. I was afraid we were going to have to chase our food across the table. We were schooled in "picking crabs" and got most of the crab on our clothes and hands. It was a lot of fun and we both still smell like crab.

And then we had a me before, after and after.

Love, Aaron and Charity

A Tale of Two Markets

We had two remarkably different experiences at markets today. We started out at a farmers market down the street from Johns Hopkins. It was full of organic fruits and vegetables, baked goods and equally organic and baked people. We saw the Women in Black, which I thought was a Tucson specialty. It was exactly what I expected from a farmers market.

Next, we went to Lexington Market in downtown Baltimore. It was full of hog and chicken parts I had never heard of, seafood, and equally salty people. We had the best experience here. We went to Faidley's seafood and had THE best crabcakes and oysters I've ever had. It was exactly what I expected from Lexington Market. We were certainly the minority there, but after being there for a while, we felt like we fit in perfectly (sure . . . ). It was an experience that is hard to put across in pictures or words. You just kinda had to be there.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out in inner harbor, having some drinks, listening to a live ska band. For those of you wondering, we actually are working on this trip, it's just not as exciting to write about yet. You'l know when work starts in full swing because we won't have time to post like we do now. Until then . . . PICTURES!!!!!

Love, Aaron & Charity