The Philadelphia Story Ends

After two and a half years of living part-time in the City of (Sometime) Brotherly Love, I'm packing my bags and heading back west. I've done a lot of coming and going, but this time I know I won't be returning, which makes it much harder to leave.

I also don't have the luxury of leaving everything in my apartment, and in about one hour I will transport my baker's dozen worth of boxes to my friendly neighborhood Amtrak station, where they will make connections in D.C. and Chicago before arriving in Seattle on Tuesday at 10:30 in the morning (the guy on the phone was super nice, but a wee bit information-happy).

For anyone who has moved recently, I think you can appreciate that fitting an entire life into 13 medium-sized boxes (plus two suitcases) is an impressive feat. There was the added complication of having to separate items by things I want immediately versus things I don't want until a year from now, but my dad taught me well and I think I did a pretty good job. Special thanks to the folks at Trader Joe's who let me come get boxes - twice - at 2 a.m. I haven't been getting a lot of sleep this past week...

I fly out tomorrow evening and, barring unforseen weather changes in Denver (which are highly likely considering it's Denver) I will arrive in Seattle at 11:30 tomorrow night. My trusty sister Tessa will be waiting at the airport (thanks for bailing on me, Stone! Just kidding) and then life in Seattle starts immediately. I'm looking at apartments Sunday afternoon, taking a family Christmas card picture Sunday evening, and going right back to work on Monday.

There are a lot of things I will miss about Philadelphia. My great friends and co-workers pop to mind first, of course, but this place has a lot going for it; namely, food. I'll miss Italian restaurants, BYOs, incredible sandwiches, soft pretzels with mustard (for breakfast - no joke), cannoli, pizza, hot wings, and bagels. (Clearly I've been sticking to a strict carbohydrate diet.) I'll miss the museums, the murals, the shops on South Street, H&M, people with New Jersey accents, and believe it or not, the subway. I'll miss walking or riding a bike everywhere, my sweet apartment, and the proximity to New York.

Of course, there are things I won't miss. I've been hit by a car three times in the past week, so I definitely won't miss being a second-class pedestrian. I won't miss the 20 lbs I'm hoping to lose by eating like a west-coaster, and I won't miss having to explain that it doesn't actually rain that much in Seattle.

The good news is, I still have a great network of people here and I look forward to visiting next spring, and many times after that. I will go out tonight and have a great time with my friends, but by tomorrow morning I'll be anxious to start my stay in Seattle.