West Coast!

 

You guys, we made it!  The left coast, the West Coast, or as our West Coast friends used to snarkily tell these tried and true East Coasters, "The Best Coast" (don't worry, East Coasters, I won't be calling it that, although I must admit it *is* pretty great).  It has been a whirlwind of a few weeks here.  There was packing, too many goodbyes, emptying out that sweet little house that we called home for so many years, and then our big trip (along with six stitches and a broken arm thrown in there for good measure).

When we first shared with friends that we were moving to California, some of our very dearest friends sent us a note and suggested that maybe, while our stuff was traveling across the country, we could come and visit their little corner of the world-- a beautiful island on the Puget Sound only accessible by ferry where they have set up home with their now three little ones.  We had dreamed of going to visit them for years, and always filed it away with the other "Things To Do Later."  But, you guys, this is the year of travel!  This is the year of adventure!  This is the year of crazy things!  Besides, it sort of made sense.  We would pack up our house, fly to Seattle, hang out with them for a week, and then take a (much shorter) flight down to California to hopefully meet our stuff.  

Can I just say that Washington state is beautiful?  Like, beyond-my-wildest-dreams-I-thought-things-only-looked-like-this-in-fairy-tales-beautiful.  The rocky beaches, the moss, the harbor, the quaint little coffee shops (with the best coffee I have ever tasted.  There is a bit of a debate about Seattle Coffee verses San Francisco coffee, and I'm sorry, San Fran, but Seattle wins big time).  It was so wonderful to just rest and eat delicious food (which is literally just growing on trees, or vines, everywhere!) and be in the company of some really incredible people and their children.  Isn't it the best when your kids love the kids of people you love?  It was nurturing and restful and I think we all forgot that we were in the midst of a major cross country move.

And now, we are here!  California!  Our stuff has arrived (albeit still largely in boxes), we have started to settle in, and the kids have made fast friends in the neighborhood.  This place has a beauty and a magic of its own.  I have yet to pull out my camera and take any pictures, but our windows are wide open, and there is a cool breeze, and there are no bugs, and in the evenings we sit under our orange tree and muse, "How did we get here??"  and we are oh so thankful.  My parents are here for a couple of weeks helping us get settled in, and I know that after the denial that they are ever leaving wears away, I will be very homesick.  But for now there are boxes to unpack, and laundry to flip, and a third cup of coffee to drink, because it's still before noon over here.  Cheers!