Those are words that I never thought would come out of my mouth.
Col. Sew Fab applied for his dream job which just happened to be in Fresno, California and he got the job. He's going to be the guy in charge of an F-15 squadron AND he'll get to start flying again!
Sooooo.....that means we'll be packing up 2 houses (our house on the military base and our "real" house in Destin).....one quilt shop.....and heading off for a 4 day cross country road trip sometime at the end of June or beginning of July with 5 pets. We're leaving the beach and heading to the desert. Sounds like quite an adventure, doesn't it?!
Now that I've had a few days to adjust to this news and the shock is starting to wear off and the room is no longer spinning I'm starting to have all sorts of random thoughts and questions popping up in my head......
-There aren't Waffle Houses in California, are there?
-We'll be living in the Pacific Time Zone.
-There won't be hurricanes in Fresno.
-What the heck is Trader Joes? I hear about this magical, wonderful place from people on Twitter and Facebook but I have no idea what it is. But everyone seems to love it.
-Will people look at me funny if I say "y'all" in California?
-There's a marathon in Fresno in November. I think I'll sign up.
-I just bought a large jar of mayonnaise last week. Will we be able to finish it before we move?
-Oooohhhhh......we'll be near wine country!
-Uh oh......we have about 6 months worth of work to do in 2 months.
And the rest of the time my mind is like one of those fuzzy screens you see on your t.v. when the cable goes out.
But wait! I forgot to tell you the BEST part! I'm going to get a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy! So who cares that we have to pick up our lives on short notice and move to the other side of the country because I'm going to get a puppy!!! That was the deal - if he gets the job, I get a mini-Emma to love and hug and kiss and squeeze and hopefully Emma will teach it everything she knows about how to be EMMA!
Hugs,
Jenny
P.S. As you can imagine the shop will be closed for a couple of weeks this summer as we move. And it will also be closed at the end of this week and for most of next week as we travel to Cali to look for a place to live.
15 comments:
My husband had a work conference in CA last summer, we traveled from TX to there, it is gorgeous and the weather is wonderful. Wait until you try real Mexican food, you have to try fish tacos -I loved them! That's all I know though. The cost of living is higher in CA than the South. We just had a Trader Joes open up in Ft. Worth, it's a small organic grocery store, but a 45 min. drive for me, so not really worth it. We are moving with 6 cats to MO this fall, we are going to tow our car and pretty much let them have the car to themselves. LOL
Congratulations! I grew up in Fresno. "Y'all" will get weird looks unless you're in neighboring Clovis, home of the rodeo and cowboys. It's hot but not humid so there's that. There are a million movie theaters as a consequence of the heat. The soil conditions are pretty great if you are a gardener. There's a recently booming retail area, with a ginormous JoAnns. University, miniature golf. Not too far from Kings Canyon or Yosemite. And "four hours from anything" as they like to say. And trader joe's was hipster before it was cool.
Good luck.
Be sure to hit the garlic festival in Gilroy at least once while you're in the valley. And learn the names of the grape varieties, it will help you blend in.
I think I could just go on and on, now I'm thinking of all the local interesting stuff. And the rain and the Bulldogs and and...
Oh, and call it the San Joaquin Valley for local street cred. Way better than the Central Valley, they let just anybody in. I'll stop now. I've got Fresno on the brain thanks to you. :-)
Very Cool!
I don't consider Fresno in the desert, great farming area...LOL! Although it gets pretty hot there. About an hour from Yosemite! Not too far from the ocean.
Love Trader Joe's...neat little place to shop. Cool flyer to read.
If'en you like baseball you have the Fresno Grizzlies...my SF Giants Triple A ball club. :)
Oh my this is going to be quite a change in pace, Florida to California, hurricanes to earth quakes. Kudos to your husband in getting his dream job.
I lived in San Luis Obispo California for 6 years but that was 26 years ago - so I cannot be much help - except you will love the weather (it does get hot there though) and the fresh food and YOSEMITE is awesome! We used to go up and camp at least once a month.
And now I definitely want an Emma of my own! She is precious! Be prepared for driving through Texas though - it will take forever!lol!
Have fun be safe!Take lots of hand sewing!
Jan
Oh. Wow.! WOW!! Sorry, I have no advice, no words of Cal wisdom. WOW! My sister lives in San Francisco, so...there's that. WOW!
I'm SO excited for you! What a fun adventure! Congrats to the Col!!
How cool. I've been to CA three times to visit a daughter and family, but it was Northern CA. One of the trips we drove, stopped at a few hot spots, I don't think you will do much sight seeing with all the pets! Congrats on the new puppy, you getting her before or after the trip? Good luck with the move.
Welcome to Ca. Fresno has a great Zoo you will like as you love your animals. Years ago I made the trip from Vermont to Bakersfield and love my new home lots of farms and very friendly people Fresno is just 2 hours north and I'm sure they have a great quilting community as does Bakersfield. Good luck on your move. Our local
Guild is the Cotton Patch Quilters of Kern County Janet Lapan
Jen, awesome news! You will love California. As a transplant from Arkansas 18 years ago, I still say ya'll and people love it. I'm just up the road in Sonoma's wine country. I love it here. Fresno isn't too terribly far from the beach. Day trips or overnights are easy. Hot down there, though. You will love the food. Fresh fruit and veggies year round. You will LOVE Trader Joe's. You've got a great online thing going, so you'll do great!
Congratulations! I live just below Fresno about an hour away. It is a farming community with wonderful farmer's markets. However, you also have that fresh dairyaire (yes, it is meant both ways). You will be a couple hours from SF and Sacramento and even Yosemite. All are fun to visit. Not really desert, though it is 95* at 6:30 right now. uggh... Make sure you find a house with amazing air conditioning - you will need it. Enjoy your stay and if you find a Claim Jumper Restaurant the Chicken Fried Steak is Amazing.... And my favorite online fabric store is soooo much closer ! Have a safe trip.
I'm excited to have you come join me in California, even though I live in So. Cal. You'll be able to visit beautiful Lake Tahoe, Napa (wine country), San Francisco and many other wonderful areas. There is even a super big annual "Garlic Festival" that you may want to join and oodles of great quilt shows and retreat. Of course, I'd love to have you join me at the Empty Spools/Asilomar quilt retreat in March 2014 (wonderful retreat/location).
And, I think you'll love Trader Joes too!
SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com
I went to college in Fresno! I'm about 3ish hrs away! It gets hotter than hades but they have great a/c there. Foggy foggy foggy there in the winter but it's a nice place. Congrats to the hubs! Happy moving (if there is such a thing!)
I live in the foothills outside of Fresno on the way to Yosemite National Park! I am so glad to know you are moving this way! We are just 35 min to Fresno... close enough, but nice to be get out of the heat a bit. Please let me know when you are settled... there is also a shop hop going on through the Central valley this weekend... did you plan that??? LOL
oh wow! Are you guys going to be stationed at Lemoore?? I'm in Newport RI right now and one of my friends husband just made command going to Lemoore soon. I forget which squadron he got. But he flies the FA18s though, I think. anyway.....I grew up in CA. few hours North of Fresno though. Man...there isn't really anything right there in Lemoore BUT you are close to a lot of cool stuff. Like someone else mentioned 4 hours from everything...We are moving back to CA from Newport in June. (Ventura County). Well...I love CA since I lived there my whole life other than where the Navy has sent us. You'll enjoy it. Maybe not "Fresno" per se, but the rest of the state is pretty awesome. ;)
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