We got the paperwork rolling and had a very hectic time getting back to California. Basically if you're active duty military you can catch a ride on any military plane going anywhere as long as they have room for you. You just have to show up and hope you'll be able to get on. It's very spontaneous, and has the potential to be incredibly stressful, especially if you're working with time constraints. But eventually we got back to Cali only to find two rooms of our apartment had had pipes that run underneath them break and had gotten water everywhere. After hectic traveling that was the LAST thing we wanted to have to deal with. But we did. Four days of guys coming in and out, tearing up our floor, not fun.
After that was done and our dates for movers was set J and I took off to San Francisco to check off the last couple of things on our California bucket list: driving over the Golden Gate Bridge and seeing some redwood trees. It was a pretty rushed trip, but it was really fun and we loved San Francisco! We always take the opportunity to eat at a restaurant that's been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives when we have the chance so we found Pier 23 Cafe, which is a seafood diner. Oh. My Gosh. By far the best seafood of my life! We got a feast of calamari, a whole roasted dungeness crab, and fish tacos. If I could eat that every day of my life I would. If you ever find yourself in San Francisco you HAVE to go there! We also found an authentic Italian pizza place run by the greatest Italian woman ever. We found the little hole-in-the-wall place late the night we got there and we were so glad we did. The owner was funny and welcoming and the REAL Italian pizza was phenomenal. We saw a few redwoods, but we didn't have time to make it up to the real redwood forest, so we didn't see anything that impressive.
We got back to San Diego, the movers came, and we were on our way! We drove across the country, stopping to visit J's aunt whom I'd never met before, and my best Florida friend Autumn. We got to North Carolina on February 25th, went to closing on our house on the 26th and got our stuff delivered on the 27th!
We love our house and our neighborhood! Our street is pretty much entirely military and retired military so it's really nice to be around people who understand your lifestyle. There are two couples on our street that we already knew from Florida and we have "the Wednesday Whine" every week with some other ladies on our street. Basically we just get together and drink wine. I dig it. It will be soo great to have their support and friendship when J is deployed.
So now I'm just once again starting the job hunt. I'm discouraged already, so wish me luck!
