socaljen

As I don’t get home until 7pm, and that is the only time to spend with the kiddos, i am not making progress on this – that along with my classes arggh – good luck everyone.

I know I am a tad late on this one… Last weekend three of my four children and I drove from San Diego up to Oakhurst California…. (and yes, I am still questioning my own sanity in driving from San Diego to the Yosemite Valley the Friday before Christmas-needless to say a 6 hour drive quickly became an 11 hour 45 minute ride!). Driving from Social into NorCal was quite an experience let me tell you.

My son, who is my oldest at 18, said in this dumbfounded voice as we turned to the end of highway 45, are all those black things trees???!!!! I had a giggling fit over that one. My son and my girls have been all over the south; i.e. Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona etc., because I married a good ol’ southern boy lol, but this was actually the first time (that they remember) being in a heavily forested area.

I am attaching some pix obviously I am realizing now that I desperately need a new camera, my camera simply isn’t capturing colors the way I’d like and more often than not – the pix are blurred with any amount of movement!

We spent half the next day outside, it was absolutely gorgeous! It was very cold – “crisp” for a better word. We drove up to the drugstore and I was just amazed, I was thinking, dinky little town (remembering Chilton Texas with its one blinking stoplight) this is going to be rough! I saw all types of shops, no mall – but it is 45 minutes from Fresno – not that I enjoy driving at all – but hey! My little brain was turning so fast I am surprised the hamster on the little treadmill in there didn’t catch fire… Imagining my basset hound Nina Darling running around out in a wooded yard, the kids and I taking long hikes and watching birds and deer. Summers camping in Yosemite… To top it all off – get this – there are 3-4 bedroom homes up there that are selling in the high 200s to mid 300s. From where we stand (we sold our last home two years ago for 650k) that is practically giving away homes!!!

So, my dh is retiring after 22 years in the Navy, and is actively looking for work. Because he was such a high rank, finding work is just a lot harder… I haven’t ever worked as a higher level executive – nothing more than middle management, nor would I want to! So, for me 2 weeks to find a job would be way stressful – he has been looking for the past month, and no bites… I would simply adore (plus settle for instead of WA state) to live up there. My gosh….

I will stop tormenting you all with my verbal spewage as Mr. Rollins would say…. walks off tapping her chin and reaching for the Dostoevsky – or Kafka perhaps? Hmmmmmmmmm

I will let the visual impact floor you…