How do you know?

How do you know where your supposed to 'settle' down? John and I were having this discussion at dinner tonight. How do you know where the perfect place is to buy your 'forever' home, raise a family, and live out your years? John and I have been sort of 'nomads' around this Mid Atlantic region for the past 7 years and we have enjoyed everywhere we have lived, but we just don't know where the 'it' place is? We look at the obvious factors: school system, taxes, job opportunities, parks, shopping, etc., but how do you weigh one thing more than the other? And how do you know you will both be happy there? It seems every place we have lived one of us has enjoyed it more than the other, making it difficult to please everyone. Plus, we have always moved where we know people for the most part, and how do you know this place you 'settle' in that you will meet people you can be friends with? When you are almost 30 years old like we both are, you get to thinking, should we only focus our move on our future children or on ourselves too so we can enjoy the area? When we do have kids, we want them to be raised in the best environment we can provide, but do we buy in that area now or down the road?
These are just some things we are questioning right now, but for now we are going to enjoy our year here in our new surroundings and try to find that 'it' place..but how do you know it's right? haha
Although when I asked John, where do you think you will be the happiest, he replies..."San Diego."

Boat Talk

It doesn't happen very often but, every now & then, I get the opportunity to pilot vessels other than your typical freight ships. Those opportunities came this past week when I was assigned to pilot the mega yacht Lady M into Cape May harbor New Jersey and last year aboard Johnny Depp's yacht Vajoliroja. The Lady M is a privately owned yacht that is 164 feet long, 30 feet wide and can be rented out for the very reasonable price of $180,000/1 week. The owner or passengers aboard the Lady M Yacht was unknown. The captain and crew however were very friendly and the trip was pleasant. Out of respect for the privacy of the vessel I didn't take many interior pictures but, I was able to get a few shots upon disembarking.

My few pics of Lady M

Internet photo of the Johnny Depp yacht I was on Vajoliroja - pronounced to sound like, "The Jolly Roger" (of course somehow lost my photos from phone). Although I don't believe he was on board when I was on..I did see one of his infamous hats hanging in the lounge. The interior had the feel of an old pirate ship with teak wood throughout, large wooden pirate ship wheel to steer, and many other 'themed' bells and whistles. The crew was very nice and gave me a shirt as a parting gift with the name/picture of the boat.

Outliers...

I know what your thinking...."Where the heck is John going with this blog?" Well, Outliers is the title of the latest book I'm reading written by Malcolm Gladwell. The title may fool you into thinking it's a story about those kids in class that didn't quite fit in with the rest of the group, but it's nothing along those lines. It's a story that analyzes successful people, both individuals and groups, and explains how & why they achieved what they did. The author examines every aspect of these successful people including their birth date, ancestry, IQ, family background and their religion. I'm about 3/4 through the book and I can't wait to finish it. If your someone like myself, that isn't an avid reader, and looking for a book with depth and meaning but quick and easy to read, I recommend checking this one out. Some of the authors conclusions are a bit far-fetched but, if you go into it with an open mind, I think you'll find it to be thought provoking and enjoyable.

Happy Trails

Since moving to Pennsylvania, we decided we wanted to explore all the beautiful parks in the area, so we have been riding some trails (and let me add, riding in PA is MUCH different than riding in DE since they actually have HILLS here!). Here are some pics of our trip to Valley Forge National Park!

Philly Vs. Chicago

Here are some pics of us and our friends, Julie and Brian, at our first MLS Philadelphia Union Soccer game. We got our tickets a few hours before the game on Stub Hub and when we showed up..they were front row! The rest of us loved the seats, but John was a little disappointed he wasn't in the nosebleeds because they have the view of the Delaware River (a.k.a the ships). The Sons of Ben (SOB's) fan group was crazy and one member was escorted out for profanity and 'slight' intoxication. All in all we had a great time!! (Minus me dropping my engagement ring down to the field area narrowly missing the water drain (only me).

Here we go....IT'S BLOG TIME! Meet the Lynch's

Hello all,

Just want to introduce ourselves to the blog world. John and I will both be blogging so who knows what you will get! haha Since we are not in close proximity and can't talk everyday, we wanted to create a blog for our family and friends to keep up with our daily adventures. I hope you find it interesting, but most importantly I hope you laugh with us and enjoy our posts! Here is our journey...