Where Are The Grits? : Settling in on the West Side

Well, this has been a long time coming. After 2,410 miles, 36 hours of driving, 6.25 tanks of gas, an extra quart of oil, some washer fluid, 4 time zones, a lot of laughs, some delirium, lots of pictures, extreme heat and elevations, loading and unloading my car too many times to count, David and I finally live on the same coast, in the same state, and actually in the same apartment!!

We are settling in as best we can in our new apartment. I came out with only what would fit in my car and he doesn't have furniture out here since he's been living with someone else for the last few years. Therefore, we don't have a lot of furniture at the moment. We have been shopping for some couches and things and are waiting to get my furniture sent out from South Carolina. We will get there. For now, it's fun and we are loving it. The biggest hiccup we have encountered so far is the gas company out here apparently has a monopoly on things and are very busy. This meaning that when I called on June 28, or 30 -- I can't remember -- they told us the earliest appointment was on July 12. So, for those of you who don't run your houses on gas, this is what that means. It means we cannot cook on the stove or in the oven, we can't wash clothes (gas dryer), can't wash dishes in the dishwasher because it needs hot water, which, yes, means we have no hot water!!! We have gotten very proficient at the quick showers! I think we could probably win an olympic sport with the speed of our cold water showers. We also met our maintenance crew fairly early on as our AC unit decided to leak (from the ceiling) on our first night. So, night one was spent with the windows and balcony doors open to get some air. Luckily out here it's not very hot at night time. The crew quickly took care of the situation the next day.

Mom rode with me out here. She took over the wheel for a couple of hours when I just needed a little power nap. I drove a total of about 33 hours of the 36 hour trip and mom actually stayed awake with me the whole time. So, naturally, while she was here we went and did some sightseeing so that she could experience a little bit of LA and make that crazy trip worthwhile in the end. We went to the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, saw the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, took our picture in front of the Hollywood sign at the Kodak Theatre, took her to Santa Monica to see and experience The Pier and put her feet in the cold Pacific Ocean, and had some pretty good meals too.

Mom flew back to SC on July 4. That was the day I was hit with the exhaustion from driving and the time difference. So, after we dropped her off at the airport at 730am I came back and slept until about 330pm. Then, we went over to Rob and Jamie's place for a July 4th get together. It was nice to grill out and have a little bit of normalcy after driving and being out of a routine for so long. It was also nice to get to meet some new people and put faces with names I have been hearing for so long. That weekend, David had to work some so I actually ventured out on my own some. I met up with our friend Erin and we had a girl's afternoon together which was very nice and very much made life feel a little more settled. To say the least, we are working on getting adjusted to living on the same coast, in the same time zone and actually getting to see each other every day!

Life is definitely different out here but so far I am enjoying it and loving learning new things and getting used to the west coast lifestyle. This first blog is short and sweet but I wanted to get it up and running and I, we, will be updating periodically to keep everyone posted on life out west. So, check back from time to time and see what's happening with the newest Bakers!

Sally