We visited California for several reasons. First, we were scouting San Diego as a potential place to live. Second, Henry had never been to the west coast so we wanted to take the opportunity to see what is going on in this part of the US. Finally, Claudia’s parents and Grandmother flew from Boston and Ohio to say hello and have some days off from the cold northeast winter.
San Diego delivered from day one. The weather in this city is probably the best in the continental US. It is sunny and warm with soft winds that make life outdoors enjoyable and exiting. While we were in San Diego we were welcomed by Claudia’s good friend Neda. She was extremely kind and generous by welcoming us in her home, allowing us the use of her car and taking us out to discover all the good things that San Diego has to offer.
We visited La Joya, Del Mar, PB and many more amazing beaches that make San Diego a beautiful beach town. We also spent time eating around San Diego. Neda loves food so we went around the city enjoying her favorite places. Some years ago in Boston Henry discovered Iranian food through Neda and since then he loves Iranian food specially the traditional Fesenjān dish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fesenj%C4%81n). Thankfully we had some of that for our new year’s celebration. But once was not enough so we ended up going to a Persian restaurant to try a few more things. Very nice food for sure! As mentioned, we did a lot of eating in San Diego.
Speaking of New Year’s celebrations, we got together with some of Neda’s friends to welcome 2015. It was a very cosmopolitan group of people from many different countries: Russia, England, Turkey, Colombia, US and Nigeria. It was a great celebration with the right food and company.
Our days in San Diego were far from over because Claudia’s parents Alberto and Amparo, came over to see us for some days. Mamia, Claudia’s grandmother also joined the gang to see some of San Diego and LA. Claudia’s parents got a house for the five of us north of San Diego in a place called Escondido. From there we did some nice day trips to San Diego, we visited El Coronado, the famous San Diego Zoo (well deserved rumors of a good zoo) and other interesting areas of the city. We also made an overnight trip to LA to see, in our opinion, one of the coolest art centers and museums in the US. The Getty Museum is by far the secret treasure in LA. From the location to the design of the building everything that is happening on that hill overlooking LA is worth seeing. We tried to see as much as we could but it is huge so it will require another visit at some point. We hope soon. Regarding the rest of L.A. Aggh! Nothing to see, we think. We did more short day trips, drove along the ocean road and even crossed over a Sierra from the coast to the valley north of SD. It was very good to be among family for a change. We had home cooked meals and a space to leave stuff in the floor without worrying much about it.
People have asked if coming back has been difficult. No, it has not. The US system and pace of life put us right on back on track. Within minutes we were aligning with the rest of the people. Very quickly we passed from spectators to participants. Yesterday we were debt free today we have a big car with a loan to be paid the first five days of each month. Stress and pressure are building up quickly. In ordinary circumstances this type of situations might not generate much of discomfort but because we have been away for some time if felt stranger than usual.
We left southern California with mixed feelings. We really love SD and Neda did a great job showing us around. The coast and weather are unbeatable; Spanish seems to be the common language so we have that cover by default. The cost of living is better than in the east coast and people seem to be genuinely nice. The big question was if we wanted to live there permanently. By the way, the day we drove out San Diego was cover with rain. Recently, it seems like we are bringing the rain everywhere we go. Not a fun felling.
One Step Forward RTW 