On Thursday, February 7th 2013, Christopher (11 mo.), Tuggy (Pomeranian) and I set off on our Adventure across the country. My dearest Mother, Lulu, and her hubby, Guy, were kind enough to drive us to the Tallahassee airport during the wee hours of the morning.
After a getting all 6 pieces of luggage checked in, I quickly departed (to avoid a so sad goodbye) through security with my baby, a dog, a stroller, a car seat and a carry on bag. We had OK seats in the back of first class. The car seat fit snugly in the seat. Christopher was so so good during the trip. He smiled at everyone and did not cry at all. He had snacks and toys for entertainment. I took him out of the seat to nurse him a couple of times and then he would zonk out.
Tuggy was probably having claustrophobia in her pink dog carrier under my feet and the seat in front of me. She whined and scratched quite a bit. The doggie Valium didn’t seem to work…or maybe she would have flipped out if it didn’t work.
We arrived in San Diego California at 4 in the afternoon (8 hour trip total). Emmett greeted us after not seeing Christopher for 3 months. I do believe Christopher recognized him. Emmett carried/pushed all our luggage and Tuggy out to my new vehicle waiting out in the parking lot. He picked out a Toyota Sequoia for me. I love it! It is a big black shiny SUV with a sun roof and all the bells and whistles.
We drove north about an hour to Carlsbad Village, a quiant, touristy neighborhood in Carlsbad, to the Extended Stay America hotel. This is where we spent the next 3 weeks while searching for a place to rent. After driving over 300 miles checking out neighborhoods and viewing the inside of about 10 homes and apartments/town-homes we decided to go with a new apartment in a newer area of development. It rents month to month. So, if we don’t like it or the job needs to move us it will be easier to do so.
We live on the 2nd floor of a 3 story apartment. It took some time to get use to the loud foot stomping from above. Our view is pretty awesome. We can see the ocean from our balcony and living room window. It is about 2 miles away. Between us and the ocean view is a large deep valley and some hills and houses off in the distance. The valley is full of low vegetation, tons of bunnies and a Roadrunner! You can hear coyotes at night. There are power lines everywhere. No escaping them around here. Anywhere there is space to build the power lines go along with the buildings. Within the complex our apartment is the furthest away from the power lines while still having the ocean view. The drive to the ocean is about 5-10 min. away. It is very beautiful here. Flowers everywhere. The weather is clear, cool and crisp.
I have noticed an abundance of bicyclers, surfers, skate boarders, dog walkers and mom’s out with baby strollers. In any direction we drive from our apartment, within 5-10 minutes there will be a place to eat or shop! There is something new to do every week. My goal has been to try to find free and cheap places to go and things to do. That is one reason I wanted to start a blog: to write about our adventures and post pictures of them.
