A moment to reflect before the packing, moving, life on the road for a month begins!

As my nostalgia for my unbelievable time here in Arlington, Va is starting to hit me, I would like to reflect on a few things. What did I know about Arlington, Virginia prior to April 1, 2013? There is a really large cemetery there with a lot of famous people buried there. That pretty much sums it up.

I knew I was only going to be 3 miles from DC at my new residence, but I had no idea how cool it would be! Traveling to an area with public transportation was on my list for destinations. Well, Washington DC meets that agenda to a T. I have only driven 5 miles to work and back and then the distance for some of my day trips. I have only filled my car with gas twice in three months! Otherwise, this girl has pretty much conquered the metro and somewhat conquered the metro bus system. The metro was no problem. I still get a bit confused that so many buses can get me to the Pentagon where I pick up the metro. I learned that 22A, 25A, 7F, 7Y, and 10 something all can get me to the Pentagon in ten minutes or less. The single digit buses are red and the double digit buses are green. What does that indicate? I figured that out, no worries. My point: public transportation is awesome and great for people watching! Let's be honest. That is really why I enjoy it.

Here in DC I have seen the monuments, seen the museums, hiked the trails in Virginia and Maryland, biked the roads and bike paths, left carnage on the bike path trails (by far my worst bike wreck to this point in my life. I am much better now though.), visited Mt. Vernon, toured the Pentagon and Capitol, trekked up to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, learned a lot about diversity, the Sikh religion, Armenians, Pakistani's, Hispanics, and most of all learned a lot about myself; as I stepped out and took a leap of faith and made a big move. I would not have been able to do this without the support of my coworkers, my family, and my unbelievable friends! Great advice that was given: stay active, join groups, if anyone asks you to do something, even if it is not your cup of tea, do it, stay positive and just laugh and learn. I truly think I did that! I have had a blast!

I am looking forward to my next adventure at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Prior to that though, I am looking forward to seeing friends and family and enjoying a nice bike trip up in the beautiful state of Maine. Hence, I need to get my butt in the saddle and put in some miles to train for such the ride.

I had no idea when I moved here and started at Virginia Hospital Center that I would become as attached to my coworkers as I was at The Christ Hospital, minus a few years. The people here have been so nice and welcoming. The main icu here (medical, surgical, neuro) offered me a job the day after I accepted my job at Hopkins. I would have loved to stay here, because of the people, the area, and the opportunity to learn about neuro patients. But opportunity calls. I know that all assignments are not going to be this welcoming and appreciative of my help. That is why I would like to acknowledge this now. I couldn't have had a better, more positive first assignment for the beginning of my travel nurse career.

Over the next few weeks my posts may be a little more sporadic, but I can't thank everyone enough for following my adventure. I have really had fun with the blog and it actually helps me get out and do things. Thank you everyone!