So we made it to the left coast finally. We checked into our last hotel of the trip on a Sunday and Doug immediately ran into two Marines that he knew from OCS.

 

On Monday, we turned ourselves into the Base Housing Authority. NOT to be confused with Lincoln Housing Authority. Base Housing Authority took our paperwork and told us to report to Lincoln Housing Authority. So, off we went to the other side of the base. Lincoln Housing Authority took the paperwork that Base Housing Authority gave us and sent us to the Del Mar Housing Office. Del Mar Housing gave us the keys to a house in Del Mar area. We drove out to check the house out and found that despite the fact that Base Housing Authority told us in March that they had no housing available and we needed to be put on a wait list, the paperwork showed that the house they gave us the keys to had been vacant since December 24 of 2006!!!! Not only that but Base Housing Authority stated that they do not assign the houses but when we asked Lincoln, they said that the BHA assigned us our house. Whatever! I almost lost it. It’s not a bad deal. It’s an old house that looks like it hasn’t been updated since 1967 but once you get past the brown laminated cupboards and the green Formica counter tops, it’s pretty nice. The back yard is HUGE compared to the town home yard of our house in Alexandria and everything is on one level here compared to three levels in Alexandria. On weekends we can walk to the Oceanside harbor for breakfast or coffee and the views are pretty nice throughout the neighborhood. We discovered a rose bush in our front yard. We originally didn’t know what it was and it looked dead but we watered anyways and before you knew it, we had a proliferation of blossoms. It’s a Chrysler Imperial rose bush for you rose aficionados. J

 

That first week we were in the house, we had no furniture but made due with our air mattress and sleeping bags. The night before our furniture was delivered, Shackleton jumped on the mattress and tore a hole but it was nice while it lasted. Our neighbors on our right, Rich & Shelly, invited us to go with them to see a play at an outdoor theatre in Vista on that Friday. It was fun. I packed a picnic from Costco and off we went. There is nothing like being outside with good food, good fun and great night air. Also, what a small world we live in because Doug and Rich eventually figured out that they use to be dive buddies in Okinawa. What are the odds? On the actual delivery date of our stuff, our neighbor on the other side, Kasey brought over dinner. That was really sweet of her considering she had company herself at the time. It’s also pretty sweet that her husband, Todd, is the base vet. That’s got to be worth a lot considering how much time we spend at the vet with our pets.

 

In the following weeks, we spent time getting new driver’s license, plates, time with the cable guys, etc… All the stuff you need for new house set up. We also went shopping. A LOT.  With so much more lawn, we needed water hoses and sprinklers and timers – it was quite the project. Also, this house is 1400 sq ft less than our place in Alexandria so storage is at a premium. We had to get pretty creative with where to put stuff. Doug’s office competes for space with Shackleton’s crate as well as the washer\dryer and the furnace (yes, it does get cold in SoCal – in the winter, it dips to the fifties!!!). I gave up my office and am now reduced to a small space on the counter in the kitchen. Eventually, we will unpack the file cabinets and set that up in the garage. The dining room table had the leaves taken out and stored in a closet but we want to find a picnic table for the back yard. We can always have dinner parties outside as the temp doesn’t get to cold (at least not when you have outdoor heaters) nor too hot (with the exception of some funky weather this August where the humidity even on the coast seemed awful). That’s a good change from Alexandria.

 

In between all this, we also unpacked – there are still boxes in the garage but we have made a definite dent in weeding out stuff we don’t really need. Doug bought some bookshelves for the garage and that will be where the majority of our books will go - along with the poker table ;) There is room for our bar in the house off the kitchen. We even found bar stools that we both agreed to!

 

We made a trip up to San Clemente one Sunday which was fin. We went back to our favorite breakfast place – The Sugar Shack – otherwise known as the Omelet Nazi Lady place. – She’s still there too J We told ourselves that we would make it a point to go up to San Clemente the first Sunday of each month but so far that hasn’t worked out as planned.

 

Doug’s new unit, Anglico, had several parties since we checked in. The first was family day on the beach.  A company in town has adopted 1^st Anglico and they hosted a catered affair. It was really nice – right on the beach with perfect weather. The next party was an 80’s costume party. I went as Ms. Pac Man while Doug went as an 80’s rocker. I think folks took pictures but I haven’t seen them yet – If we get them, I’ll have Doug upload to the blog. After that, there was another party at someone else’s house and then his boss’s 40^th birthday was celebrated as well.

 

In August, we got to go to a concert on the beach at Camp Pendleton with Phil Vassar. It was his way of saying thanks to the Marines. That was pretty cool too because we got to sit steps away from the Pacific Ocean while the stage faced the ocean. The stars were bright and the music was good. Doug even recognized some of the songs J

 

I’m settling into my new position. It’s an interesting place that keeps me on my toes. Doug loves his new unit and has spent quite a bit of time in the field or at school. Speaking of the field, Doug lost his wedding ring the other month while he was out in the field and he searched forever for it. His Marines helped too and when they just could not find it, one of Doug’s Marines made the comment, “Sir, I think a lizard took off with your ring.” – When Doug told me that, I thought it the most hilarious thing. So, I went and bought the exact duplicate ring and a stuffed lizard (it’s nice having the San Diego Zoo around). I gave the present to Ben (he lives in our neighborhood and works with Doug) to give to the young Marine. He in turn showed up outside Doug’s office one morning and said, “Sir, I found the lizard that took your ring!” At first, I think Doug though he really HAD found the ring.  Anyways, somewhere in the desert of 29 Palms, a lizard is running around with Doug’s original wedding band ;)

 

In September, Doug’s brothers came for a visit. On Friday night they took in a ballgame at Petco Park (see pictures above) and then Saturday was the big day – Paul got a tattoo!!! His first. Oceanside Harbor Days was happening that weekend so we wandered around the harbor some checking stuff out. Sunday we walked back to the harbor for dinner at Rockin Baja Lobster. It was yummy!!! Sunday night everyone got to try on Doug’s gear as he was getting ready to go back to the field. It’s really heavy and I can’t imagine having to wear it for hours on end in 120+ degree weather.

 

This past weekend, Doug and I headed to Julian, CA for Apple Festival. It was super crowded but we tried the bbq and the pie. The drive out was pretty though crowded. I’m glad we live near the water.

 

The pets are good – Shackleton has ringworm again. Yuck! But hopefully, we have caught it in time before spreading to Lilliputian. Other than that, he is good. He loves to play with his good buddy Hank but since Shackleton has ringworm right now, he’s on barracks restriction. Major bummer because he still has a TON of energy. We are back at working on discipline and all the things we learned while attending Olde Towne School for Dogs back in Alexandria. I really think he likes it and feels better because he has a job to do. He’s finally learned how to use his doggy door. YEAH! We close off half of the house so Lilli doesn’t get out but it enables Shackleton to have free reign over the backyard while I’m at work.  Lilliputian has made quite the name for herself in Oceanside Harbor. Every weekend morning, we are down there with Shackleton and Lilli in her stroller. The fishermen think it’s funny but maybe a bit of competition for the fish? J It also makes all sorts of people stop and chat with us about how we trained her to ride in the stroller. No training, she just does it. The best part is when we head back home, Lilli hops out of her stroller and walks the board walk. Then as we hike up the hill, there is a white retaining wall that she walks on while the humans and dog stay on the sidewalk. It places her higher up with a better view. The only thing she doesn’t like about our early morning strolls are the garbage trucks that come through.  She feels very strongly that dump trucks are bad news.

 

Well – that’s about it for now. I think we are all caught up. I’m on the prowl for a ball gown for the Marine Corps Ball and looking up recipes for Thanksgiving and for when we come up to Seattle this winter. Doug finishes one of his schools the end of this week and I’m not sure what we will do this weekend but hopefully after we take care of the chores around the house, it will be something fun!!!

The below is a recap from the last time I posted up until when we got to California. More to follow....

 

Wow! So, been a long time since we posted eh? Here’s a recap –

 

Spent most of June getting ready to move. We did some maintenance work around the house, got some estimates for replacing the HVAC system, made appointments for future work to be done, etc…. Doug’s mom and dad came for a visit in the last part of June which was fun. They were our very last overnight guests in our home in Alexandria, VA. They came on a Saturday a bit earlier than I was expecting and as Doug was at work and I was out grocery shopping, our neighbors Mansoureh and Ahmed saw them sitting in their car so invited them in for breakfast. Wasn’t that nice of them! Saturday afternoon I prepped for our brunch the following day and then we took off for the BBQ at Charlie’s house. One last get together with some of the Georgetown EML folks. Charlie bbq’d venison burgers that were delicious!! You know me, I can never have to much venison (HINT, HINT to Kurtie – please send venison sausage ;)) We ended up hanging out some more in the evening and that to bed we all went. On Sunday, we had brunch for EML at our house and it was actually nice enough out that we didn’t swelter from humidity when hanging out in the backyard. On Monday, Doug and I went to work but Doug’s Mom and Dad got to tour the Pentagon, compliments of Clark Burner. That evening Doug’s Mom and Dad took us out to eat and I picked the Austin Grill because I know how much Doug likes Tex-Mex food. Tuesday morning, his folks headed down Quantico way to check out the new Marine Corps Museum. Doug was able to break off from work and tour with them.

 

I can’t remember what we did the following weekend but on the following Monday, the packers arrived and packed the house. Wednesday was the 4^th of July and then Thursday the moving van arrived and loaded everything up. On Friday I cleaned a bit and then we had the neighborhood over to help clean out the beer fridge. Everyone had to bring lawn chairs as we no longer had furniture. Heath made some awesome salsa of course and Mo brought fresh baked cookies. Terry & Debbie brought snacks and paper plates as well napkins and we ordered some pizza. One of the nice side effects of not having furniture in the house was that we could let the dogs play. Ivan brought Otis over early and it was awesome fun to watch little Otis (ten pounds) play with Shackleton (60 pounds) and have Otis consistently pin Shackleton. They were really cute too when they both got into Shackleton’s travel crate. As the night wore on, more neighbors came and the house was filled with dogs and people. It was awesome! We really miss our Belle Haven on the Green neighbors.

 

Saturday morning the cleaning commenced again and Mary, our tenant, stopped by to do the walk through. We finished around noonish or so and stopped off at Andy and Laurie’s. They were really incredible. Laurie had made us lunch and while initially I did not want to stop but just wanted to get on the road, I was truly grateful for her efforts. It was nice to just sit down after all the non stop cleaning and loading vehicles from earlier. Thank you Laurie!!!

 

We made Wytheville, VA that first night and stayed at a hotel right next to a Harley Davidson. That seems to happen to us a lot. Anyways, the pets did really great that first night and the following morning, we were on the road again. Shackleton had a play date in Knoxville, TN but it turned out that not only was the park closed but his playmate’s (Hollie, a Basenji\Whippet mix) Mom had woke up late that morning and was still at church (she called me in between hymns). So, we bypassed Knoxville and went straight to Dickson, TN. I originally had wanted to check out the Drive In movie theatre there but it wasn’t a very interesting movie playing. Instead, Doug and I went out to eat and met another Marine and his wife. He left the Marine Corps many years ago but spotted Doug’s high and tight and recognized a fellow Marine immediately. We chatted with them for a little while until our dinner came. After dinner, we did laundry. Well, actually, Doug did laundry and I laid in bed with an ice pack on my back. Seems I pulled something somehow. Getting old stinks… As we drove through TN, I have to say that I have never seen so many advertising billboards along a road (Interstate 40) that advertised for Rehabilitation centers. Does TN have a lot of drug and alcohol abusers??? What’s up with that?

 

Speaking of which, as we drove through Arkansas, I’ve never seen so many billboards advertising “Christian homes for Children” – Does Arkansas have a higher adoption rate than other states? Couldn’t figure that one out either. Monday night we stayed in Arkadelphia, AR where they had a HUGE Wal Mart. Not much else but nice Wal Mart J Tuesday we made Plano, TX in excellent time. We were able to stay at a Candlewood Suite which was a nice change for all of us from the Motel 6’s we had been staying at. Lilli was able to run around a bit and Shackleton appreciated the space as well. Tuesday afternoon we went to meet Anya. She is the brand new baby of Jill and Arnold Kriesten and she is totally adorable! Jill turned us on to a Texas favorite of Chipotle Raspberry Jam poured over cream cheese and served with crackers (http://www.jelly.com/products/sauce.htm ). Yummy! I’ve since bought a case or two!! They have a gigantic home and lots of cats which of course I loved. When you visit, you have to ask about the stories of each one. Shackleton came with us and got to play in the backyard which he enjoyed immensely. So much room to run around. Of course, not sure he liked the Texas heat too much. I should point out that until we hit about 20 miles east of Dallas, the temp was in the 70’s. Then we hit something and the temp soared up to high 90’s with a humidity level that felt worse than DC. And that is saying something!!!! We eventually left Jill and Arnold’s and headed for Sheila and Michael’s. Sheila was out of town on business but we got to meet their new baby who I think is going to grow up to be a rugger. Uncle Norm and Aunt Mary were also there and while we ate Michael’s delicious ribs (it’s a Texas thing), we got to catch up on all the family news. We also got to hear how Uncle Norm and Aunt Mary met and got hitched – next time you see them, you should ask. J Before we knew it, it was time to go. It would have been nice to stay longer but I was exhausted. Back to the hotel we went. Wednesday we made the HUGE drive from Plano, TX to Fort Worth, TX (it’s like 50 miles) so we could hang out with our friends, Dawn & Chuck. We all first met when Doug was at Camp Pendleton the last time. It was awesome to see them again. I couldn’t believe how much the kids have grown and I really wished we all lived closer than we do. Shackleton got to play with their dog, Tasha and I know he had a blast. He wasn’t too sure about the pool in the backyard but he liked chasing after Tasha ;) As usual, whenever I’m with Dawn, I somehow end up getting overserved… I don’t know how it happens – one minute I was having a meaningful conversation and the next, I was on the living room floor telling Dawn she had a beautiful ceiling…? Go figure – I really do wish we all lived closer to each other.

 

Thursday morning we were back on the road and headed for Amarillo, TX where we went to dinner at The Big Texan – home of the 72 oz steak. (www.bigtexan.com) We just had the regular sized steak but we did hear some stories – our waitress was a Marine and she said that her daughter (11 years old, 90 pounds) ate about 60 oz but that was all she could manage. Apparently, it is usually the smaller person whom you would never think could eat so much – they are able to put away the 72 oz steak, baked potato, salad, shrimp cocktail and bread!!! There was a guy there that night who worked there and that night was his last night before he entered boot camp. He was going to attempt to clean it all up but it was about an hour after we finished so we didn’t see if did it or not.

 

Friday morning we stopped early to check out Cadillac Ranch (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/TXAMAcadillac.html) Both Shackleton and Lilliputian HAD to check it out and Doug got some video of them sniffing around the cars. Lilli decided she wanted to walk through the muddy field instead of being carried or transported in her stroller. J Then it was back on the road and we headed for Albuquerque, NM to say hey to Jeff and Krista Scofield. We stopped to drop off our bags at our friend Madelyn’s mom and dad’s house. Madelyn is married to Mike Sandstrom whom we first met when Doug was at 2/11 and then they got sent out to us at OCS a few years later. Anyways, Madalyn is originally from the area and when she heard we were going to stay at hotel, she wouldn’t take no for an answer and insisted we stay with her folks. I have to say, it was nice to stay with a friendly face versus an impersonal Motel 6 and they had the nicest bed I slept on during the whole trip! Once we off loaded and got Lilli set up, we took of for the Scofield’s to get caught up with Mason and Mitchell. We had dinner from a near by restaurant where Doug and I fell in love with some artwork (La Puerta Azul at http://www.studio-w.com/Atkins/Art2/art2.htm ) by local artist Jack Atkins. We took the dinner back to the Scofields and by then Jeff was home from work. We stayed up talking but I got sleepy and didn’t want to leave Lilliputian by herself to long so I headed back to Madalyn’s mom and dads where I found them still up. Her dad was preparing to go on a mission with some of the kids from his church group. They drive down to Mexico and have been working on a church and school down there. He and Madalyn’s mom were making burritos for breakfast the following morning. What was really cool is that the meat in the burritos was elk which was tagged by Madalyn’s little sister. I thought that was the coolest thing! Doug and I had them for breakfast the following morning and I thought they were delicious!

 

Saturday morning we drove for miles and miles – it was our longest driving day of the whole trip. We stopped in Kingman, AZ (we had to pass the Grand Canyon – dogs are not allowed in several parts and it was too much to do with the limited schedule – hopefully we will make back out there just to see the Grand Canyon while we still live on the west coast) and had dinner at a place called, DamBar and Steakhouse – I had a Damn margarita and Doug had Damn Beer – the chicken was the best chicken I’ve ever had – unfortunately, they do not sell the seasoning they used. Bummer.

 

Sunday morning we were up and at ‘em early so we could hit Hesperia, CA to stop and see my cousin Jon and his wife Leslie. The house is HUGE, the kids are great and my cousin makes the best damn brats this side of the Mississippi!!! It was nice to have a home cooked meal, especially brats on the grill. Yummy! It was great to see Jon and Leslie and catch up. I can’t believe how big the kids are – where does the time go? Pretty soon, it was time to move on – Doug wanted to miss as much traffic as possible so we could get to Oceanside Sunday night, get a hair cut and check into Camp Pendleton first thing Monday morning.