by Hello everyone, it’s been a while.
I got this website rolling and then…..life happened. I went from eagerly posting and writing, and then COVID, all the mess that was 2020, all the mess that was 2021, and then some big changes. So let’s give the updates.
Moving to the Suburbs
In July of 2021, I was offered a huge new opportunity for my career just outside of Philadelphia. This possible career change also afforded a chance for my partner to return back to where she grew up and for the two of us to become homeowners. Needless to say I took the new job, and in September of 2021 I left DC and moved to the Valley Forge area of Pennsylvania.
We picked the former steel town on Phoenixville for our permanent new home. We bought a new construction town house on the site of the old Phoenix Iron Works. It is an immensely walkable community known for having the most breweries per capita of all the boroughs in Pennsylvania.
In many ways, our city lifestyle has not changed. We are a ten minute walk from Bridge Street, the main thoroughfare in downtown Phoenixville. It’s actually easier to walk to dinner here, as we usually only have to cross one street, as opposed to negotiating multiple city blocks.
We have been settling in to our new home over the past year and finding out how much this fun little suburb has to offer. Just a short list includes: semi-pro baseball, a vintage movie theater, a 12 year old that does ’90s covers, rural Pennsylvania winter burning man, sanctioned go-kart racing, and Blobfest. In addition, there are a lot of wonderful, truly local restaurants and businesses, many of which I hope to share here on fortmarmot.com.
Travel and Adventures
Like many of us, I had to put my traveling on hold during COVID. I did manage a few road trips down to Florida in 2021 to see my parents. This afforded a few chances to enjoy some new stops and a couple new cities. For most of 2022 I was in the thick of changing jobs and moving, so my normal wandering to different places was still limited, but I managed to carve out a few adventures.
In July of 2022, I went on the vacation from Hell. It started as a fun all family adventure to Glacier National Park to celebrate some milestone birthdays and anniversaries. It descended into a maddening nightmare of train delays, broken toilets, and COVID infections.
Fortunately all of us and our relationships survived mostly intact. There were some positives though. I got to briefly see Chicago for the first time, which yielded a tour of a U-boat and some of the best Greek food I’ve ever eaten. Also, Glacier National Park is a breathtaking natural wonder with pristine landscapes and most importantly, marmots. Just don’t take Amtrak to get there.
For my birthday in November of 2022, I did get to finally travel internationally again. Practically on a whim, I booked two weeks in Scotland. My main objective was to see Scapa Flow, the legendary anchorage of the Royal Navy during the world wars way up in the Orkney Islands. Along the way, I found chip shops, forts, bonnets, and the friendliest nation that I’ve visited.
I can’t wait to share it all with you here.
