From 80 to 8, and onto 2017

Happy holidays!

Three days ago, Colin and I were in beautiful, 80-degree, sunny Georgia. Today, we're in beautiful, 8-degree, snowy Maine. That crazy temperature differential seems like a fitting metaphor for all the ups and downs and crazy re-adjustments of 2016.

2016 has been, in some ways, a wonderful year. I gained a niece and nephew, Gwen and Will, and they could not be more sweet or perfect. Pretty much as soon as they were born, they took over "Favorite Person" status in my life (sorry, Colin). I also got married, and while nothing really changed in our daily lives after the wedding (except, you know, not having to plan the wedding), that was certainly momentous. I also did a little bit of traveling to see friends here and there, from California to New York. And friends came to see me, for my bachelorette party and wedding. Those trips are always special.

At the same time, 2016 sent a lot of little life lessons my way, like learning to cope when things don't go according to plan. That's basically what a wedding is, right? And since the election, environmental policy is not a particularly optimistic field to work in. And Gwen and Will, my Favorite People, got sick and had to miss Christmas in Georgia, and Colin and I couldn't get to Maine on Thursday because an 18-inch snowstorm cancelled bus service.

But we're here now! Christmas was quiet but nice, my Favorite People are slowly recovering, and I'm crossing my fingers that 2017 sticks a little bit closer to plan. In particular: no more hospital stays ruining Gwen and Will's vacation plans.

In the meantime, some cheery photos from Christmas in Georgia:

Beautiful day on Lake Seminole

Two more of my favorite people, Grandmother and Grandaddy, on the dock

80 degrees means it's warm enough for a Christmas run down the road!

Happy hour on the dock. To 2017!

Touring New England

Fall in New England is beautiful, and before it's over, Colin and I will have managed to visit every single state in the region. (Plus Pennsylvania--we couldn't miss a chance to hang out with our favorite niece and nephew over Columbus Day weekend!)

Our New England travels, though, started with our camping trip in New Hampshire, which I mentioned in my last blog post. It was so peaceful and relaxing in the White Mountains, and we had a wonderful couple days of kayaking, hiking, and sleeping under the stars. Plus we saw two moose!

Our travels took us next to Rhode Island. I went to Newport in early October for a work meeting on offshore wind. (The nation's first offshore wind farm just began operating off of Block Island!) Colin went a few weeks later for his own work trip, to meet with a retired lizard researcher. Colin also went to Connecticut for a few days for work.

At the end of October, we then took a whirlwind trip across New York State. Colin has several friends living in Ithaca - which we realized while addressing wedding invitations - and two are about to move to California. That inspired us to finally plan a trip to see them all. And while we were in western New York, well, I really wanted to see Niagara Falls, which meant that we drove seven hours across Massachusetts and New York, all the way to the border with Canada.

It was worth it:

Niagara Falls: hard to see because of the spray, but very impressive!

Rainbow at Niagara Falls

Ithaca was, as they say, gorges. We had perfect weather while we were there, so we hiked through a state park on Saturday to see more waterfalls and the last vestiges of the fall foliage.

One of many waterfalls we saw in Ithaca.

Another waterfall.

A beautiful lake and waterfall on Cornell's campus.

We also, of course, spent time enjoying fall in Massachusetts, from kayaking and walking through the Boston Public Garden to spending a weekend on Cape Cod for Colin's aunt's wedding.
 

The Boston Public Garden

This past weekend we headed north again, this time to Vermont. A new state for me! The trip actually started as an "errand," since the Burlington airport had interview slots available for TSA's Global Entry program, and we would have had to wait five months to do the interviews in Boston. We figured the 3.5-hour drive was worth the five-month wait time. So, early yesterday morning, we headed north and made it to Lake Champlain in time for lunch. After passing our interviews with flying colors, we spent the rest of the day exploring downtown Burlington.

Lake Champlain in Burlington, VT

All that's left to round out our New England travels is Maine, and we'll be headed there for Thanksgiving in just over a week. It's hard to believe how quickly the season has passed!

Begin Again

Hello!... is anybody out there?

Blogging dropped off my priority list after a crazy, busy, exhausting spring and summer. Colin and I are now very happily two-and-a-half-months-married, but in many ways we still feel like we're recovering from the wedding. The change in seasons feels a bit like a fresh start... so here I am again. Giving blogging a try again.

Part of the problem, I guess, is that I'm not really sure what to write about on this blog. My life is a lot less exciting than it was when I started this eight years ago, when I was headed to Botswana. Most of my thoughts - musings on my job, my goals, my friends and family - are too private for a public blog. But I'm hesitant to give up on blogging entirely, if only because I like having my memories documented somewhere, so--here we go again.

While I wait for inspiration to strike, I'll start with a massive photo dump. Here's what I've been up to since April, according to my iPhone:

I ran the Boston Athletic Association 5k in April. It was cold but fun, particularly because the course had us run across the Boston Marathon finish line.

A work trip took me to NYC, and I convinced Colin to come with me. We bought tickets to see School of Rock, Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical, on Broadway and, of course, wandered through Times Square.

Colin graduated! He's Dr. Donihue now. And, yes, that's a lizard on a rock wall on his cap, just like the lizards he studies in Greece. 

We spent a lot of time walking around Cambridge to enjoy spring. This is Mount Auburn Cemetery, which was the first rural (i.e., park-like) cemetery in the U.S.

I also convinced Colin to run a 5k with me in mid-June. We ran a local race through Harvard Square. This is us pre-race. We looked a lot worse after the race because it was unseasonably hot.

We also spent time at the river sailing, kayaking, and paddleboarding. Gorgeous as always.

For the first time, Colin was here for the Cambridge Dance Party. It was everything he'd imagined and everything I've grown to love. In this photo, 10,000 of our neighbors are doing the YMCA.

Also for the first time, Colin was here when I won IEc's baseball ticket raffle! We watched the Red Sox demolish the Angels, 10-5. 

We also went down to the Esplanade to watch the Boston Pops dress rehearsal for the 4th of July, which is held on the 3rd of July. It was almost as packed as the concert on the 4th. Next year, maybe we'll just watch on TV?

Colin and his dad made this Giant Jenga set for our wedding. Even though it was rainy (in the middle of an extreme drought in Massachusetts?!) and unbelievably cold (60 degrees in July?!) on our wedding day, Giant Jenga still made an appearance, and it has since become our new favorite party game. 

We spent our honeymoon on Amelia Island, FL. Our B&B was wonderful and had this giant porch right on the beach.

In late August, we went camping in New Hampshire, north of the White Mountains. The campsite was quiet and nestled onto a scenic river bank. It was a perfect weekend, full of kayaking, stargazing, and s'mores.   

After leaving our campsite, we drove into the White Mountains and hiked. As John Muir once wrote, "the mountains are calling, and I must go." We went.

We made fresh pasta with the pasta maker we received as a wedding present. It might have taken us a while to figure out how much dough to use at once... (Hint: this is too much!)

We spent a gorgeous day in September with friends from SNRE at Spectacle Island. The wind was perfect for kite-flying. 

And that's it. I mean, I might have missed a thing or two, but those 15 photos pretty much cover April-September. Now let's see what October has in store...

"Spring"

After our grand California adventure, Colin and I came back home to this:

April snow in Boston! It happens every year, and every year it's just as disappointing. Particularly when the flowers had already started blooming.

Snow-covered buds in front of one of the beautiful houses in my neighborhood.

Luckily the snow didn't stick around long, and spring came back in full force. Here's the Boston Public Garden, less than two weeks later:

View from a swan boat.

And the Esplanade the following week:

The daffodils are taking over!

And the river! It was so nice out that Emily and I went out for our first kayak of the season. It's finally, officially boating season again!

I haven't been sailing yet (still too cold to risk an accidental capsize!), but I'm excited to be back on the water. And I'm excited for flowers and green trees and sunshine and grass and bare feet and lemonade and picnics and all the things that just say summer. I love summer.

California Adventure

Way back in March, Colin and I took a mini-vacation in Berkeley, California. One of my best friends from college, Yifan, was getting married and I was a bridesmaid, but as we were planning the trip, we realized we had a ton of friends in the Bay Area: Yifan and her now-husband, Colin's brother, Colin's college roommate, two couples from Michigan, and one of my friends from work. I had also never been to the Bay Area, so Yifan's wedding was the perfect time to plan a trip.

And what a jam-packed trip it was!! The first day was sunny and beautiful, and the entire city of Berkeley was blooming with flowers, so we met up with Colin's old roommate, Ben, who was hosting us, and his brother and walked through the city to the Berkeley campus. I got my first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge from the campus! And I saw my first redwoods.

The real redwood experience, though, came the next day at Muir Woods. Colin and I had planned a big driving tour of the Bay Area and invited Ben and a mutual friend from Michigan, Kinsey, along. Our first stop was Muir Woods. Although the park was still peaceful and quiet when we got there (shortly after it opened for the day, and early enough that they weren't even charging admission yet), we decided to take one of the hiking trails off the main path. It was well worth it. The trail took us from the forest floor up to the canopy so we were able to see for ourselves how massive the trees are. They are huge!

After leaving Muir Woods, we drove on to a winery in Napa. Kinsey is a member at the winery, which means she gets free tastings for friends. We were happy to take her up on that! We tasted four wines and basked on the sunny terrace overlooking rolling hills of vineyards.

Midway into our first glass of wine, Kinsey (who also studies lizards and has worked with Colin in Greece) spotted a little lizard trying to sneak into our party. Naturally, Colin and Kinsey had to catch her. The day was off to a great start--hiking, tall trees, wine, sun, and now lizard catching!

No lizards were harmed in the making of this photo.

To cap off our driving tour, we stopped at the Marin Headlands to get a better view of the Golden Gate Bridge. We were there shortly before sunset, and the view did not disappoint.

To make the day even better, we then drove over the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco. The traffic was terrible once we got into the city, but the views were incredible. After finally making it back to Berkeley, we ended the night with pizza and more wine at Kinsey's apartment.

The next day, Colin and I set off on our own to explore San Francisco. We took the train and bus to the Palace of Fine Arts at one end of the waterfront and gave ourselves a few hours to walk to the Ferry Building, where we were meeting another friend from Michigan, Patty.

The Palace of Fine Arts was one of my favorite places. It no longer has art exhibits, but the architecture was stunning and the surrounding park was unbelievably lush. If I lived in San Francisco, I'd be there all the time. This is just one little corner of the park:

The next stop on our walking tour was the beach, where we got an even better view of the bridge. As you can see from my jacket, it wasn't super warm, although it was perfectly sunny.

Our walk also took us through Ghirardelli Square, where we got a free chocolate as an appetizer to lunch, and then on to Pier 39, where we saw the sea lions. They were so loud and smelly! But fun. We had no idea if we'd see any (is there a season for sea lions in California?), so we were thrilled to find them just chilling on the pier.

When we made it to the Ferry Building, we met up with Patty for ice cream (appetizer to dinner). We then went to her neighborhood, the Mission, for dinner. She took us to see some really cool murals, which are one of the Mission's landmarks, and Dolores Park, which has great views of the city skyline. (San Francisco is so hilly that it seems like everywhere has great views of something.) We capped off the night with burritos for dinner and hot chocolate for dessert, because it was cold.

The next day, Saturday, we stuck around Berkeley and met up with my friend from work (Dave, my Olympics partner/running buddy). We got brunch at a cute cafe then walked up more hills to the Berkeley Rose Garden. The roses weren't in bloom yet, but the garden was still pretty and - again - the views were incredible.

Too soon, it was time to wrap up our sightseeing so I could get to Yifan's wedding rehearsal. Her venue was amazing! It was perched right at the top of the Berkeley hills with - you guessed it - a fantastic view. When the clouds parted, you could see the Golden Gate Bridge popping out in the distance. The wedding party helped with set-up and rehearsal, and then family and other friends came for the rehearsal dinner. Dinner was an incredible spread of Burmese food, which is apparently pretty popular in the Bay Area. And I was glad that Colin got to experience the beautiful views at the venue because ... the next day it rained.

It rained, rained, rained all Sunday afternoon, and it was cold. People were running around frantically trying to move chairs and tables inside before the guests came, trying to decide if the rain was going to stop long enough to hold the ceremony outside. In the end it worked out and was a lovely wedding, although the weather definitely didn't cooperate. Most importantly, though, it was fun! And Yifan married her perfect match.

And it reminded me of the importance of having a rain plan in place for my own wedding!

Cool Things

This last month has been busy with all my travels, but I'm finally home again and wanted to share some of the cool things I've done recently. There are a bunch!

First, about a month ago, Colin and I decided to take advantage of our Mass Audubon membership and go hiking through some of their preserves. The first one we explored was the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary. When we arrived, the receptionist at the visitor's center commented that we should have brought bird seed so we could feed the birds out of our hands. We laughed, not believing that was a thing that really happened. When we stumbled across a leftover pile of bird seed on the trail, though, we decided to try it:

Guess what: it really happens! Bird taking off from Colin's hand.

Bird nibbling from my hand.

We'll definitely be going back, and next time we'll remember our bird seed!

The next cool thing came about as part of my work trip to Albany. I was not expecting much from the trip and was really not excited about going since I had just returned from Philadelphia two days before and was leaving for St. Louis two days later. But, as they say, the fun is in the journey, not the destination. I knew I'd be flying on a small plane from Boston to Albany, but I wasn't expecting one quite this small!

How I flew from Boston to Albany: Cessna 402

Hello, Cessna! This little nine-seater flew us from Boston to Albany and back. Our luggage had to be stowed in the nose or wing of the aircraft because there was no room on the plane for anything except what you could hold in your lap. Needless to say, we didn't get any peanuts or soda, and there wasn't a "fasten seatbelt sign" because it wasn't physically possible to stand up inside. But the day was clear, and the plane flew low, so I had wonderful views for the quick one-hour trip to New York. This was the neatest flight I've ever taken!

View from the airplane

If I'd stretched, I probably could have flown the plane myself. I was impressed with how smooth the flight was, given how tiny the plane was. Landing, in fact, was way smoother in this little plane than in the big 737s--you feel like you just float down to Earth. It was fun to get a glimpse into what it must have been like for Mom to fly (even smaller) Cessnas when she was younger.

View from my seat. Thanks for a smooth flight, pilot!

My next destination was St. Louis, where tons of old family friends came together to celebrate at my bridal shower. Rebecca, who was nearly eight months pregnant, couldn't come, but Grandmother and Grandaddy did. Check out our three generations of Coppinger/Santoro women!

Mom, me, and Grandmother -- just missing Rebecca.

Well, little did we know that the next day we would have four generations of Coppinger/Santoro/Melley women, since Rebecca's babies decided to arrive a little early. Just the week before, I had been in Philadelphia for Rebecca's baby shower, where Colin and I presented her with Make Way for Ducklings to help build the twins' library. We had laughed about this inscription, noting that when they were older they would realize we had given it to them before they were born. Since they decided to be born in March instead of April, they may never guess!

"To the Melley twins with love from your Boston aunt and uncle! Love, Aunt Claire and Uncle Colin, March 2016"

So, hooray, I'm now an aunt to an adorable little girl and boy! Can't wait to meet them!

But in the meantime, I jetted off to California for the wedding of my best friend from college. That was an exciting, jam-packed trip of its own, with lots of impressive photo-ops (think redwoods and lizards and the Golden Gate Bridge), so I'll make that a post of its own. 

Leapin' Lizards, it's Leap Day!

Just a little update to say hi! I've been meaning to write about some of the fun things I've done lately but those stories and photos will have to wait for later. In the meantime, though, I thought I'd memorialize Leap Day 2016 with a few fun facts on all the "leaping" around I have been/will be doing this month:

• From February 26th to March 22nd, I'll be in Boston for exactly six days.
• Four of those days are this week.
• Over the course of that month, I'll spend the night in six different states, spanning the northeast, midwest, and west coast (MA, ME, PA, NY, MO, CA).
• All that travel requires two bus trips, two train rides, and five flights.
• Things I have to pack: a winter coat, a suit, a spring dress, a bridesmaid dress, and hiking clothes. And a calendar because I'm going to need someone to tell me where I'm supposed to be when. 

Bonus fun facts: Looking back to the beginning of February, I spent the night in a seventh state, too (CT). Or, extending this out to April, I'll be taking four more train rides!

Creativity, go!

It's been a busy beginning to the new year, particularly since Colin is now only 10 days away from defending his dissertation! We've both been buried in a ton of data and analyses lately, so in an effort to re-engage the right sides of our brains, we made plans to go to Paint Nite. Paint Nite is a local startup that hosts painting parties at local bars, with the idea that - with enough wine - anyone can have fun and come away with a decent painting. At each event, an instructor guides you through a step-by-step process to copying one of their paintings.

So last week we bundled up and headed out on the town to paint. At first, it was intimidating. We are both, to put it nicely, detail-oriented perfectionists, so the idea of having to paint without planning first (and not being able to edit and revise! and using the same brush for multiple paint colors!) was disconcerting. But, true to form, the Paint Nite instructors demystified the process, and we both ended up with paintings that exceeded our expectations. And we had a lot of fun in the process. So much that we're planning to go back and do it again!

Without further ado, our masterpieces:

Blank canvas: ready, set, go.

Colin putting the finishing touches on his masterpiece.

Signing my painting.

Big C and Little C's paintings

Even though it was tons of fun, we could have used more time at the end to perfect our masterpieces (see: "detail-oriented perfectionists" above). You can't rush the creative process, guys! Even if the creative process just involves copying someone else's painting. I wanted more time to add highlights to my leaves, and Colin wanted time to add more leaves in general (Colin did compliment me for making my trees look "botanical"--high praise from an ecologist). It was also funny to compare progress throughout the night: we both agreed that I had the better background and Colin had better tree trunks and branches, my leaf coverage was better, but Colin's leaf shading was better--but we both managed to pull something decent together in the end. Overall, it was a success. Good to get away from data for a while, and good to push ourselves out of our perfectionist comfort zones. The wine helped with that.