Somehow all of November and half of December seemed to pass us by without making a blog post! Many things have been happening in our lives and we've been pretty busy, so we will try to bring everyone up to date. Caroline started her new job in the beginning of October and with an hour and 20 minute commute one way, she's been working (and driving) long days. But the job is getting into full swing now and she is really enjoying it. We are hoping to move at the beginning of next year to help ease the length of the commute (more on this later).
As for Mike, he ended his first cyclo-cross racing season with a good record but was definitely ready to take some time off of the bike. Also, the night after Mike's last bike race, we had to drive to the hospital and found out that Caroline had a kidney infection. Needless to say, we were both pretty exhausted. So, what better way to recover from a long year of bike racing and recover from being sick than to spend some time in the sunshine and on the beach?! Over Thanksgiving weekend we headed down to Florida to spend the holiday with Caroline's parents. The weather was great and we were able to go to the beach every day to swim in the ocean and go boogie boarding! A great time was had by all and it wasn't easy leaving the warm weather behind. But, a little begrudgingly, we headed back to Massachusetts.
 |
| After a yummy Thanksgiving meal, Mike and Caroline offered to take all of the furry friends for a walk... two Shih Tzus and one toy poodle makes for quite an adventure! Mike had to handle two pups at once while Caroline had the unfortunate duty of poo patrol... |
When we got back to Massachusetts, it was really time for us to start looking for a new place to live. We drove to a few towns to check out the areas and see our options. We are hoping that students moving to Amherst for the semester will be able to take over our lease so we can move out. Things are looking good and we are very optimistic that everything will work out!
The following weekend (last Sunday) we decided to spend the day in Boston since we hadn't done that together before. We got into town around noon and ventured out to follow the Freedom Trail. The trail is two and a half mile walking trail that tells the story of the American Revolution. There are 16 nationally significant historical sites including museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, parks, and a ship. Even though it was cold outside, it was still a very fun day. We also went out to dinner at a great little Italian restaurant and of course topped it off with peppermint stick gelato :-)
 |
| On the ferry on our way into Boston - what a view! |
 |
| The old State House, one of the many landmarks on the Freedom Trail. |
 |
| Statue of Paul Revere with the Old North Church in the background. |
 |
| The USS Constitution, our last stop along the Freedom Trail, had a surprise visitor! |
 |
| Bundled up after eating a delicious meal in Boston's North End (Little Italy). |
The following day Caroline hopped on a plane to head to Texas for a business trip for the week, while Mike made his way back to our house to spend a week in bachelordom. By this weekend, we were both ready to just relax, drink hot tea and cocoa, and listen to Christmas music.
