A (Significant) Change of Pace: Moving From Pennsylvania to Maryland

Spoiler: There will be many more ocean sunrise photos from now on.

I realize I've been "off the grid" with this blog for almost three months now: My last post was on Jan. 17. Even for a procrastinator like myself, this is a lengthy delay.

This time, however, I had legitimate reasons.

Back in late February, I accepted a new job in Washington, D.C. Due to the career change, I also relocated to Maryland. The job and the move have been the two most significant life changes to happen to me since I started working at the Altoona Mirror back in July 2013. Well, that and my wedding in October.

Love you, dear!

So, from mid-February until now, Cassidy and I had to pack up everything, find a new place to live, relocate, unpack everything in the new apartment and get settled in a different, unfamiliar town. One month after moving to Maryland, I'm still trying to find free time in my day. The changes have been exhilarating but stressful at the same time. My daily schedule looks something like this:

• Wake up at 6:15 a.m.
• Start work remotely at 7:15 a.m.
• Get on the train about 9:30 a.m. (likely forgot to eat breakfast).
• Commute for about 35 minutes.
• Start work about 10 a.m. (remember that I forgot to eat breakfast).
• Take a break where I eat breakfast and lunch at the same time.
• Work until 5:30 or 6 p.m.
• Get back on the train to return home.
• Another 35-minute commute.
• Get home about 6:30 or 7 p.m.
• Eat dinner about 7:30 p.m.
• Rest of the night consists of chores until about 9 or 10 p.m.
• Fall asleep (hopefully) about 10:30 p.m.
• Repeat.

Pictured: How I feel by the end of the day.

My schedule is so packed that I often forget to pencil in time to do fun things -- such as working on this blog. But you might be wondering, "If he's living in Maryland, how is he going to continue a blog about Pennsylvania?"

That's a fair question, and it's one I've been pondering for a few weeks. The short answer is this: I'm not sure, but I will continue to write (time permitting) what I can until I run out of material.

Living in Maryland will limit my chances to travel around Pennsylvania, but I will return to the Keystone State on occasion. Likewise, I have a backlog containing topics I haven't written about yet. Now that I'm more settled in, I'm finding a bit more free time than I did about a month ago, so I hope that means more opportunities for me to write.

But another thought has been running through my head: Should I start a similar blog about D.C. and Maryland?

I don't think I would have ever written about pandas in Pennsylvania.

At this time, I'm not pursuing that project -- at least until I venture to more places to write about.

I've had a phenomenal time traveling across Pennsylvania, seeing what it has to offer and writing about it. I started the blog as a way to chronicle what was going on in my life while informing my readers about what they could find in Pa. There's still so much I wanted to see but couldn't find the time.

I want to say that I'm thankful to everyone who has been keeping up with Manifest Destiny (PA) over the years. I know I don't post as often as some other travel blogs, but I always made sure to write the best content possible. I wanted each post to read like a chapter in a book. I hope my readers learned something interesting that made them want to go out and pursue new opportunities themselves. I've received much positive feedback about this blog over time, and that alone made it worth continuing.

I'm not certain what the future holds, but I know the past has been wonderful. I'm blessed to have experienced what I did, and I hope you follow my example and embrace some wanderlust for yourself.