Six days, four museums, three city tours and countless miles later we wrapped up our “Look-and-see” trip to Philadelphia, and drove North to spend the night in NYC before flying back home to Texas tomorrow. We feel so much better about our upcoming move, and the stress of moving blindly into a new place has been alleviated. Now all that remains is the stress of moving (no biggie).
While we have grown attached to Houston, I feel like Philadelphia fits our personalities a bit better. Never once have I come close to feeling like a Texan, or a Southerner, but being from the Chicago area (I think) we can more easily assimilate to a Northern city. Don’t get me wrong, we LOVE Houston, we just don’t feel like we could ever really be considered one of them (if that makes any sense). Though it’s entirely possible that we may feel like outsiders the entire time we live in Philadelphia too. At heart, I will always feel like a Midwesterner, and I’m proud to be one. Brittany on the other hand can not make the same claim. Born in Illinois, raised in Florida, then moved back to IL when she was 11, on to MN for university 6 years later she comes from all over the place yet doesn’t feel she can claim any as her own. However, there is one constant that we both feel very connected to, and that is IKEA. So, I guess, we’re what you would call IKEAn. We feel like we are a part of the IKEA family, and we are proud to be. Because we believe so strongly in the company (and they believe in us) we will continue to pack up and move all over the globe for them as long as they ask us to. I could go on and on about why IKEA is so great, but I digress.
Currently, I am perched in our hotel window like a cat and am glued to the street down below. We’ve been in Brooklyn for all of four hours and all I’ve been able to do is people watch. It’s unbelievable! I’ve been sitting here with the intention of writing this post for the past hour and a half, and have only been able to tear myself away from the action below for brief periods of time to jot down a few thoughts sporadically. I’ve got a perfect view of an intersection and have seen about a dozen near accidents, a man cussing out his pregnant wife, some lost looking Nordic backpackers and road rage like you would not believe. This is the most stressful stuff I’ve watched since the finale of Breaking Bad! We’ve got some NYC pizza being delivered and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it! Now, it’s back to people watching. A one legged man just pulled into the middle of the intersection with his motorized wheelchair, gotta go!
The Wild Rose 