Saturday, June 24, 2006

Into the Fog

We have arrived in Carmel. Unbelievably, we have now been here more than a week. The trip across country (or half the country) gave us opportunities to see some old friends, relax a little between packing and unpacking and spend time with the girls. We had suprisingly good weather with only a few rain drops. The new-to-us pop up camper was perfect. We had thought to only use it half the time, but ended up using it every night. We can now set it up in 10 minutes or less and take it down in about 15 minutes. The girls think it is akin to an amusement ride or piece of playground equipment.

We did feel like the poor relations in a few of the campgrounds. The monster RVs named Tsunami, Apocalypse, Venetian and the like dwarfed our Lilliputian camper. The RV drivers would pull into their spaces pulling SUVs and mini vans, push out the 16 additional pop outs on their RVs to bring their total floor space to something only slightly smaller than our house, put up their satellites and water filters and plug into the electric/water and sewer. Some of the campers had been stationary a bit long with wooden porches and decks, birdhouses and full patio tents.

After seven days on the road, we arrived in Carmel last Thursday afternoon and the whirlwind began. Our household goods arrived on Friday in a huge truck that blocked the road and caused one minor fender bender with our first introduction to Carmel police. The boxes filled up the house, the garage, the carport and spilled out into the driveway. Our purging efforts prior to moving had not been enough! We've spent the week purging more, unpacking, finding creative use of spaces, re-arranging and stuffing things in. We put the girls' room together early on and they seem unaffected by the chaos other than to use the boxes and stuff as additional playthings. We've taken them walking and to the beach and library. We love being able to walk from the house to the beach, to the post office and so many other places. The first few days were sunny and warm. The infamous Carmel fog showed up on Wednesday. Drive two miles north, south or east and it is sunny. The locals tell us the fog stays for June and July, but that fall and spring are lovely here. We have trees everywhere--any window I look out of I see beautiful conifers and broad leaf trees. We have blue jays that crack nuts on the patio. We feel blessed to be in the fog and spending two years here.

The next few weeks we will spend getting connected: finding a church, doctors, classes for the girls. If you are in the area, come by for a visit. We only have a few boxes left and you can help us unpack or purge.