To combat homesickness, I've created this list of things that are great about my new town:
1. The weather – I think the hottest it’s been here since we’ve arrived is 85 degrees. Usually, it’s around 78. You get cool morning fog from the ocean, it burns off about 10:00, and in the afternoon, when it starts to get hot, the ocean breezes kick in and cool things off. I’ve never been in better weather than this. We’ve eaten dinner in our house (as opposed to the patio) twice since we’ve lived here.
2. The beach – we’ve been to the beach 3 times since we’ve moved here. The first time, Ryan ran to the water yelling, “Cowabunga, dude!” (Where did he get that?). We’ve seen flocks of pelicans, dug up sand crabs, pretended we’re sea monsters (drape seaweed over yourself and you get the idea), and gotten knocked over a few times by the waves. Once, while we were building a sand castle, we spotted a pod of dolphins swimming out in the water. Beautiful.
3. The public library – a café? A bookstore? A beautiful, Spanish-style building complete with fountains, decorative tiles, and palms in the entry? Leather chairs? Tall windows with seats for reading? A pirate ship in the children’s section complete with a mast and sails? Murals from classic children’s books on the walls (Dr. Doolittle, Swiss Family Robinson, Heidi)? Self-checkout? Need I say more?
4. The hot tub – went in tonight. I can’t believe we went so long without having one.
5. The farmers’ market – It’s huge. Plus, here in CA, it seems like everything grows all the time. Some are selling asparagus and artichokes. Others tomatoes and corn. It’s almost like the seasons have no meaning here. I tried to find, and couldn’t, oregano and fava beans. I guess it’s not that perfect. But still, how do they do it?
6. Old Town Camarillo – quaint, charming, old Spanish-style with little statues everywhere. Look there’s a cowboy! Look there’s a farmer! Good restaurants, too.
7. Mexican food – It’s kind of like what I grew up with in LA. Great chips, great margaritas. I had forgotten how good it was. When I eat it, I’m reminded that my first year in Spokane I was craving tortilla chips. Yolanda’s tortilla chips.
8. Listening to my kids attempt to speak Spanish in the park – so lot’s of kids and families here speak Spanish. My kids have watched Diego and Dora. They are so desperate for friends that language barriers are not enough of an obstacle for them. Lauren will say things like, “Hola, vamonos!” or, “Tango sink-o ahn-yos, how old are you?” Even in Spanish, she has to establish the age-related pecking order. A funny exchange between Ryan and a boy last week:
Ryan: “Hey, what’s your name?”
The boy: “Nino, mira, mira!” (the boy is doing his best jump off the play structure).
Ryan: “Hey, what’s your name?”
The boy: “Hey nino, hey nino.”
Ryan: “Hey, what’s your name? Mom! He won’t talk to me!”
The boy: “Nino, mira, mira!”
The boy’s dad and I were laughing.
9. The LA Times - What a great paper. I had forgotten how good it was. I remember when I first moved to Berkeley at the tender young age of 18, I was looking at the San Francisco Chronicle and thought, "That's it?!" But I was used to the LA Times. Over time, I grew to love the Chronicle, and I had my favorite columnists and favorite sections and well, it was my local paper. Then I moved to Spokane, and I read the Spokesman-Review, and I thought, "Ooooh, this is a small town." But I grew to love that paper, too. I still miss Paul Turner. But oh man, The LA Times is awesome. Book reviews every day, world news every day, everything every day. It reminds me of when I was young and had dreams of being a journalist. It was because the LA Times was the local paper in our home day in and day out.
1. The weather – I think the hottest it’s been here since we’ve arrived is 85 degrees. Usually, it’s around 78. You get cool morning fog from the ocean, it burns off about 10:00, and in the afternoon, when it starts to get hot, the ocean breezes kick in and cool things off. I’ve never been in better weather than this. We’ve eaten dinner in our house (as opposed to the patio) twice since we’ve lived here.
2. The beach – we’ve been to the beach 3 times since we’ve moved here. The first time, Ryan ran to the water yelling, “Cowabunga, dude!” (Where did he get that?). We’ve seen flocks of pelicans, dug up sand crabs, pretended we’re sea monsters (drape seaweed over yourself and you get the idea), and gotten knocked over a few times by the waves. Once, while we were building a sand castle, we spotted a pod of dolphins swimming out in the water. Beautiful.
3. The public library – a café? A bookstore? A beautiful, Spanish-style building complete with fountains, decorative tiles, and palms in the entry? Leather chairs? Tall windows with seats for reading? A pirate ship in the children’s section complete with a mast and sails? Murals from classic children’s books on the walls (Dr. Doolittle, Swiss Family Robinson, Heidi)? Self-checkout? Need I say more?
4. The hot tub – went in tonight. I can’t believe we went so long without having one.
5. The farmers’ market – It’s huge. Plus, here in CA, it seems like everything grows all the time. Some are selling asparagus and artichokes. Others tomatoes and corn. It’s almost like the seasons have no meaning here. I tried to find, and couldn’t, oregano and fava beans. I guess it’s not that perfect. But still, how do they do it?
6. Old Town Camarillo – quaint, charming, old Spanish-style with little statues everywhere. Look there’s a cowboy! Look there’s a farmer! Good restaurants, too.
7. Mexican food – It’s kind of like what I grew up with in LA. Great chips, great margaritas. I had forgotten how good it was. When I eat it, I’m reminded that my first year in Spokane I was craving tortilla chips. Yolanda’s tortilla chips.
8. Listening to my kids attempt to speak Spanish in the park – so lot’s of kids and families here speak Spanish. My kids have watched Diego and Dora. They are so desperate for friends that language barriers are not enough of an obstacle for them. Lauren will say things like, “Hola, vamonos!” or, “Tango sink-o ahn-yos, how old are you?” Even in Spanish, she has to establish the age-related pecking order. A funny exchange between Ryan and a boy last week:
Ryan: “Hey, what’s your name?”
The boy: “Nino, mira, mira!” (the boy is doing his best jump off the play structure).
Ryan: “Hey, what’s your name?”
The boy: “Hey nino, hey nino.”
Ryan: “Hey, what’s your name? Mom! He won’t talk to me!”
The boy: “Nino, mira, mira!”
The boy’s dad and I were laughing.
9. The LA Times - What a great paper. I had forgotten how good it was. I remember when I first moved to Berkeley at the tender young age of 18, I was looking at the San Francisco Chronicle and thought, "That's it?!" But I was used to the LA Times. Over time, I grew to love the Chronicle, and I had my favorite columnists and favorite sections and well, it was my local paper. Then I moved to Spokane, and I read the Spokesman-Review, and I thought, "Ooooh, this is a small town." But I grew to love that paper, too. I still miss Paul Turner. But oh man, The LA Times is awesome. Book reviews every day, world news every day, everything every day. It reminds me of when I was young and had dreams of being a journalist. It was because the LA Times was the local paper in our home day in and day out.
10. The Outlet Mall - Okay, Camarillo has the biggest outlet mall I've ever seen. It has everything. I got my kids Stride Rite shoes for $19.99. It's not E-Bay or Craig's List, I know, but when you can buy the same shoes, brand-new, that you bought in Spokane for (gasp) $46, it's pretty incredible. Almost every store you can think of is there. Unfortunately, I've only shopped for my kids there so far, but a trip for me is not far off! Eddie Bauer and the Gap, here I come!
(11. Mrs. Vesey & Teacher Annie)
1 comment:
Sounds great! I am glad you are looking on the bright side. Just think of all the different experiences you family is taking in between Spokane,Camarillo & more. Thanks for keeping us up to date!
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