Wedding Anniverary

This weekend Mary and I will be celebrating our one year wedding anniversary by visiting Santa Monica again. Our wedding also marks the even that started this blog, so for me it is a double anniversary.

I remember the first post included several pictures from the wedding and reception; you can visit the entry by clicking here. The wedding was a small ceremony with close friends and family invited, but the reception was nothing short of a great party filled with music and dancing. I remember the photographer volunteering to stay longer saying he had never had so much fun at a wedding. The reception also was a time for us to say goodbye as our remaining time in the Ozarks was coming to a close and we were unable to visit everyone before venturing across the country on my first travel assignment.

Most weddings include gifts for the new couple, but we requested no such thing. Whereas many newlyweds accumulate to build their life together, Mary and I were doing just the opposite in an attempt to move down from a large home into a tiny one before even leaving that behind as we crammed our car with just a few necessaries. The shedding process included yard sales, garage sales, bartering, gifting, and several trips to the trash dump. What we lost in personal belongings, we gained in the freedom to travel where ever opportunity presented itself. So far, that being California, but many years lay ahead for us to explore.

The highlights of our first year included sharing our last summer with Molly in Santa Monica. We made the most out of time with her and yet it doesn't seem like it was enough.

Making friends in Santa Monica helped ease into our travel life, we saw our dream of having continued relationships on our travels come to fruition.

The move to the Beach House helped remove the stress from driving in L.A. and I arrived home from work in a much better frame of mind. Walking on the beach became our favorite past time, whether it was to collect sea glass, exercise, or just to stroll while holding hands. The best thing about life on the beach was after a busy year, it was a opportunity to slow down. Mary had time to landscape the courtyard, eventually rekindling the owner's enthusiasm and I used time to tap on these keys thoughts and insights.

So has marriage changed us any? I suppose so. In a year marked with so many changes in our lives the commitment to one another holds true and our trust grows.

The coming year together promises different locations, more time together, as always… a promising outlook.

Easter is on the way and you can view Peep Perfect Pictures at

Peeproast.com

Roasting Peeps has been a family tradition for us for several years now,  you can learn how the tradition began by clicking here.

Hello San Diego!

“So how far are you from work?” asks another nurse.

 

“How close is Sea World?” asks a friend.

 

The answer would be “fifteen minutes” to both of them, and most any other location give or take a few.  We are located in a central part of San Diego adjoining Balboa Park. What Central Park is to New York; Balboa is to San Diego, filled with trails, the zoo, a golf course and several museums.

 

Today we visited Balboa, first the dog park which is a short bike ride away. Mary has plans to run Princess there when I am at work.  The late morning we made our first visit to the Zoo.

 

I had purchased season membership passes online at home earlier that morning and printed out a copy while we wait for the cards in the mail.  On the way out the door I also picked up a copy of our lease thinking I may need it to prove residency.

 

After parking, I asked Mary where the printed pass is, and realized I left it at home though still had the lease.  Like a lease was gonna get us in the zoo.  My brain raced with questions of where I might have placed it in the car, why didn’t I remember it, and “ain’t that just like a Cox for ya” thoughts.

 

The print out was from an emailed receipt since it was purchased online, so I pulled out my fancy “smart phone” and guess what?  There was my email copy on the phone. 

 

The two women working the ticket booth seemed amazed at the novelty of my phone as proof of purchace, making me think I may have been the first to have used a paperless entry into the zoo.  Anyway, it worked!

 

So far we have located and visited two Wal-Marts and one Sams Club.  The Wal-Mart up North was nice but a little too white, while the one further south definitely was diverse in culture.  There is nothing like a Wal-Mart to bring together different ethnics, races, and groups of people while everyone still feeling safe. That Sam was a smart fellow.

 

My GPS sent us on a couple of pointless searches for a Best Buy and a downtown Wal-Mart, both at least made for interesting discoveries, especially driving downtown where we located a cool tourist area filled with restaurants and bars.

 

The previous day we had lunch at The Big Kitchen, a diner of national fame featured in Bon Appetit and The Food Network, and ranked as the Nations’ best breakfast.  Whoopi Goldberg once worked there, and to think it is just a block down the road from us!

 

Our home is small, only six hundred square feet, and I have had many homes with closets bigger than this bathroom, but the place is well furnished and makes best use of the space. The courtyard is amazing and our hope is to enjoy the warm summer evenings there. 

 

If we spend excess time in our small living area, then we will have failed to truly enjoy what San Diego has to offer.