I left off with a day to relax in sunny San Diego. I did get to relax, but not as much as I intended because there was an opening in an interview date I was waiting for that resulted in me moving things all around with flights and such. But, I had a BEAUTIFUL "office" in which to get all of this done. The Hovis family who was hosting me has what I feel should be named a sanctuary in their back courtyard. It was so lovely and turned what was a sort of stressful situation (re-arranging over 5 flights and lodging) into a much more enjoyable event.
By mid-afternoon I had finished the travel agent duties (with much assistance from my mom who basically is a travel agent on the side....). Then I went off to enjoy the beach for a bit
Then it was off to dinner at a wonderful little mexican restaurant to meet the residents at the program. I made it there early and did a little browsing around at the nearby group of shops
I had a nice cat nap on the plane and went via Denver, CO to Baltimore, MD. The terrain was beautiful on my way there
I arrived to 60 degrees and rain, but surprisingly it felt tropical!
Check out the Penn street station--isn't it beautiful!
About an hour later I arrived safely at my home for the next 36 hours or so, and was met at the door by this gentlemanly cat named Houdini:
Check out my digs!
I was so happy to have my own bathroom complete with an iron and ironing board, a much needed tool after my suits traveled all day in the suitcase
It was a perfect end to a long day
I surprisingly adjusted to the time change without much difficulty and got a decent night of rest. I was blessed with a morning off, my interview wasn't until 11 AM so I had plenty of time to walk around and explore. My home was right down the street from Patterson Park and I had a great time exploring it. 
Monuments studded the park
And I laughed a bit here when I saw that this was labeled as a "lake"
People were even fishing lake bass! I couldn't believe they could live in such a small body of water
This pagoda provided an amazing view of downtown of Baltimore (I think) but it was closed for the winter. 
Once again I found my way to acommunity garden--it's like i ahve a breacon for these things!
I continued my walking adventure down towards the waterfront and past all the row houses. 
it was warm but breezy so my hands were cold, and I found the perfect cure-- a hot chai tea at a cute little shop called Cafe Latte Da
It hit the spot
I went back home to prepare for the interview and passed by the hospital on my way. It was truly gorgeous. 
Home sweet home with over an hour left to get ready to go back for the 11 am interview start time. 
Hopkins certainly has a lot of history behind it, and it was fun just to walk around on the tour, more so than other hospitals. Rumor has it, that if you rub the big toe of the Jesus statue, you'll have good luck. Well, I'm not superstitious, and I didn't want to touch the toe that thousands had touched but nearly every other applicant on my tour did....so maybe I'll be surprised with how it all turns out ;)
That evening I joined the other applicants for a dinner hosted at a resident's home. Then, several of us all traveled together to DC for an interview at the same program the following morning. 
me and some of the applicants were able to chat about the day, and the interview trail together on the hour ride from Baltimore to DC. I arrived in DC and had to get from Union station to my home for the night-- an apartment of a friend I met on the trail. I had to meet up with her to get keys to her place and then find my way. I ended up standing in Union station for over 30 minutes because there were delays on the line. 
It was a lovely night for a walk in DC--despite the blurry photo. 
But I will admit, by the time I arrived at the apartment at midnight, I was ready to pass out. I had to be out the door by 6 am to get to my interview on time. whew!
The DC metro, yet again, had delays that morning, so I ended up narrowly missing the start time of the interview day and definitely had some last minute rushing to the nearest uber driver situation....it was stressful but I made it!
The food was delicious, but I must admit, I was a little disappointed by the lack of guacamole! There wasn't any there!!! It was like blasphemy...kind of. I had a 40 min drive after the dinner to get back to my home and then, of course, a 40 min drive back to the hospital in the morning so it was a quick turn around given that I didn't leave dinner until 945 and I had to be back at 630 the next morning--so it goes with the interview trail. Once again, I was exhausted at the end of the day, but I had a lovely time rejuvenating with my friend from med school, Erica. We walked along the beach in La Jolla and then grabbed some fish tacos at a lovely little place called Fat Fish Cantina--if you ever need a fish taco, try and make it on a Wednesday! Half off during happy hour!!
I left this beautiful sunset and was off to sleep for a few hours before leaving the house at 4 AM in order to drive the 45 min to the airport, fill up the rental car with gas, return the car, and catch my flight at 6 AM.
My task for the evening was to find my way to my air bnb (a traveling first for me) via the MARC train system (and bus).
By the time I settled in, I was STARVING, and there was only one place around for food that didn't require an uber ride or a significant walk. While I wanted some exercise, I didn't want to risk potentially ending up in a bad neighborhood since I didn't know my way around. So, Bolis pizza was my option!
The "dome" as they call it, in the main hospital is the site of the first residency program in the country. It's when residents were called residents because they literally LIVED at the hospital. And, it was called "rounds" or "rounding on patients" because the residents literally had to walk around the dome in a circular pattern to see all the patients.
Oh--and I got a good laugh from this hand soap in the bathroom. in case you can't read the label; "Maybe You Touched Your Genitals Liquid Soap: The #1 after-genital-contact-liquid-soap" Hah!
And with another interview under the belt and the offical half-way mark on the interview trail, I was ready for a break! Well, I found it! I traveled back to Billings, MT via Minnesota to join my sister and family for the week of Thanksgiving. More photos on family time to follow. For now, I anxiously await Tom's arrival into Billings from Seattle as he is being chased by the winter storm traversing through Montana right now!
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