Settling into a routine, sort of

Since we've been back, we haven't really settled in one place. Although we've physically spent the most time at Jaimee's dad and step-mom's house in Shrewsbury, we've actually been moving around quite a bit, as recent readers of the blog know. Our routine seems to be, do some hiking, go to a family function, visit some relatives, do a little more hiking, visit some more family, etc. Although it's been chaotic and somewhat random, it's actually started to feel like a routine of sorts. It's been a blast staying with Marty and Sandi. They are super generous and we enjoy spending time with them. Plus, there's a swimming pool, HBO (with video on demand!) and a wonderful garden bursting with fresh produce this time of year. However, it's also starting to feel someone uncharted and like we're drifting. Jaimee and I both realize it's time to "settle down" and get our own place. There are also jobs to get, as we don't have unlimited funds.

So, we've been on both the job and apartment hunt. Jaimee had one interview, where she was promptly offered the job (I'll let her post about it), while I've had several interviews but no job offers just yet. We've also looked at a few apartments, but the rents in the Boston area are a lot higher than Seattle so we're having a hard time figuring out what's a good value.

All of this has been somewhat stressful (especially the job interviews for me, which have been much more intense than what I was expecting). Which is why we keep interspersing little hiking adventures along the way. We did a short hike up Mt. Wachusset, the "highest mountain in southern New England east of the Connecticut River." Despite all those qualifications, the hike was a good workout, albeit very buggy. The view at the top was beautiful. It's pretty clear this is the tallest mountain for quite a ways:

From August 2010

I also hiked some more of the Long Trail. I completed a 25 mile section over two days between Route 140 near Wallingford and Route 4 at Killington. I would have liked to hike more but because of my scheduled job interviews I wasn't able to get out there for more continuous days. Killington, the highest peak in southern Vermont is one of Vermont's five 4,000 footers, so it was neat to climb it. I'd skied the mountain many times when I lived in Vermont, but this was my first time hiking up it:

From Long Trail 2010

We also scheduled a return trip to Seattle. We'd been planning on returning for a visit on account of two weddings we wanted to go to, so we finally bought our tickets for September 3 to September 8. Somewhat of a short trip, but I guess I'm being optimistic about having a job by then, and Jaimee should have already started hers. The cool thing about our tickets though is that they were free! We cashed in on our Capital One miles, most of them earned from the spending on our trip. I'm always skeptical about being able to redeem miles, but it turns out the hassle-free part of Capital One miles is really true.