Leaving Home. Again.

Princeton. My second university; my third real home. I came in awe, I grew comfortable, I got a little bored, I am leaving so very fond. My moves have always been exciting and progressive, but the sparkle of new adventures doesn't completely dull the sadness of saying goodbye.

I present an incomplete list of the things I will miss, in no particular order:
1. The towpath and D&R canal
2. Princeton University's campus
3. Nassau St.
4. Wegman's
5. 217Church
6. Lake Carnegie
7. The Bent Spoon
8. Running on quiet country roads past huge colonial-style homes
9. Small World

Let's not dwell on the negative, but there are a few things that I will not miss:
1. Route 1
2. Humidity
3. Geese

My send-off week has been fabulous and quintessentially Princeton. What better going away party than Reunions?! (Okay, that's a bit backwards, but it go with it.) What more qualified people to fly over and help the moving process than my parents?! There is too much to describe, dear Readers, from my hotel room bed, with a six-day cross-country move ahead of me, but here, for you, are pictures.

 What is not shown are fireworks with dear friends that ended in tea explosions, Tokabats games, lunch at Prospect House, wine with a best friend, dinner with a classmate, friend, and their amazing baby, nor ice cream with another classmate, friend, and their two amazing kiddos. Oh, and more ice cream with more classmates who flew back for the hooding ceremony. Oh, and an approximately ten-minute long stop at my apartment to return a bike helmet in which four people brought and then had surprise cake and wine that they could not take home on the plane with them.

Yes. It's been a very full and beautiful week.

Then, there was moving today. TODAY. My new lab paid for packing and moving, so I just had to sort what I wanted to take...

...and then sit on my patio, drink coffee, and knit, while strangers packed my belongings for me. Weirdest. But most amazing. Ever.

After waving goodbye to the moving van and cleaning up, we visited campus and downtown one last time for ice cream, falafel, and photo shoot.

Where was Faraday for all of this? He hid in the bathroom while the packers where there, frantically searched for our furniture when we let him out, finally settled down in the empty living room just before we stuffed him into his carrier, buckled it into the car, and drove him to our first hotel of the road trip. After a few minutes of investigation, he decided the situation was acceptable.


He's a natural:

Here's hoping he's a natural road-tripper. Stay tuned for our next series: Eleven States, Six Days, Three Adults, One Cat, and a Corolla.