I wrote back in October that we have decided to wait a year for our AT hike. We had only planned to stay in Ely until this spring anyway, so once the decision to wait was made, we started looking for a new place to live, because, nice as Ely is, we found it to be rather lacking in cultural and social activities.

We made the move to Iowa City at the end of January. This was a quick and painless transition due to our continuing downsizing. We are now in a very nice apartment in a good neighborhood, with easy access to all the city has to offer. With this transition, Kristin's commute to work at the New Pioneer Co-op is now only 10 minutes. She can also take advantage of city transit (and she has), and when the weather warms she'll be able to bike and walk to work.

We've wasted no time exploring what Iowa City has to offer. We've gotten Archie registered for the dog parks, one of which is only a quarter mile from us. We have been to several new restaurants, and are on a quest for that perfect neighborhood bar & grill. There is a nice 5-mile walking loop that I've taken several times now. I picked up rowing again with Hawkeye Community Rowing, which I have been enjoying immensely! I am really looking forward to biking season so that I can explore the many many miles of bike trails in Iowa City. And today I went to the main library downtown to get my library card and check out a few books.

One thing that has surprised us is the difficulty of going out to dinner on a Friday night, which has been a "thing" for us for many years. In Decorah, most times we could walk downtown to T-Bocks or almost anywhere else and get seated within 20 minutes. Here in Iowa City, we are finding that dinner spots are packed by 6pm with a long waitlist, and reservations are encouraged. As it happens, we are not within walking distance of very many spots, so we do need to drive to most venues here, but the idea that we need to make a reservation is a bit foreign!

So, just over a month in and we're loving it here, and learning a few things as well. I think we'll find it difficult to disengage next year for our AT hike - but I'm thinking we might just call Iowa City home base in the future, even as we travel around in our camper!