I’ve spent the last few weeks just waiting until one more thing was finalized before I shared a current life update. But that one thing would happen and I would think of another and another. Maybe I just couldn’t quite process that this adventure around the globe was definitely going to pause for a while.
I guess I should’ve known when we asked the Magic 8 Ball in March if we were going to end up in San Diego.
It’s official. We are home.
Rewind. How did we get here?
During our travels, we brainstormed a list of all the cities in the US we thought would be cool to call home. It included places in the PNW, Austin, New Orleans, Santa Fe, Denver, Bozeman and even Salt Lake City. Our 2o2o road trip was planned so we could visit many of the places on our list and make a decision on where to settle for at least a year.
We made our way through New Orleans and Austin first. Both are cities that we love and while they aren’t off our list for the future – they didn’t feel right for now. We continued to Santa Fe and loved the vibe there, but it was missing something.
Next up was the West Coast.
Our plan was to start in San Diego and then make our way north to the Canadian border completing a few dog sits along the way. It was a brilliant way to travel within our budget and get to check out cities at the slow pace we have grown accustomed to.
Sunny San Diego was our first sit with two schnauzers. The owners left for Panama on March 9th and we had two weeks to do everything there was to do in San Diego. Four days later, COVID-19 that we had been hearing about on the news was a pandemic and California was a place that was reporting a significant increase of cases daily. We received notification that the owners trip was cut short and they were leaving Panama before the airports were closed.
We found an AirBnB in the same neighborhood for a good price and figured we could just hunker down there for two weeks and stay safe. Then, all their guests cancelled for April, so we just stayed. Same thing happened in May. It was the first week of May that we finally decided to head back to the drawing board and figure out plan B. COVID wasn’t going away in the US anytime soon and we needed to make a plan.
Job hunting during a Pandemic.
It’s like the definition of insanity. Just applying over and over again trying to make cover letters sound excited without sounding too desperate. There were spreadsheets to track contact with different companies. After three weeks, Justin got a bite and an interview. Then a second interview. Today, he finishes his two weeks of training.
Things are going a little differently for me. I’ve had a couple conversations, but it turns out I’m “overqualified” to join a company at an entry level job. Trying to explain to places that I’m just interested in being part of their teams and would love any opportunity is proving to be hard. I’ve gotten a few freelance jobs and I will continue to apply, apply and revise, revise.
What else have we been doing for 3 months?
We have been lucky with our situation. The AirBnB we found is a cottage on someone’s property. There is another identical cottage next to ours with a longterm tenant. The main house is currently being rebuilt, but the owners have a small one bedroom apartment they are staying in above the garage.
In the last three months, we have grown close with everyone that lives here. We have formed a small quarantine bubble using shared outdoor living space.
There have been intense games of Farkle, Phase 10 and Clue played. We have shared giant pans of lasagna, boxes of wine and countless delivery orders when we are sick of doing dishes. Celebrations for birthdays, Easter and Mother’s Day have been different, but we are making the best of all of it. Baking projects, water balloon fights, air hockey games and scooter rides around the neighborhood keep us entertained outside. We have a collective garden now that is starting to produce veggies. Justin has found a kiteboarding teacher that just so happens to have all the beach toys you could ever imagine. And to top it all off, there are two dogs that now feel comfortable strolling into our living room when they need a change of scenery.
So where does that leave us now after 99 days in quarantine?
Still wearing masks and avoiding public places as much as possible.
But we also decided to make this cottage our new home. Addresses are all changed. We are registered voters in California. One of us is employed. We made a list of all the hikes we want to try in Southern California. We have semi conquered the DMV. Our PO Box has been closed (thanks mom). And this week, I got us library cards.
As of June 1, we are officially Californians. This is definitely not the plan that we had. San Diego was not on the list of places that we were considering, but if I’ve learned anything in the last year – sometimes you just have to throw the plan away and start with a fresh page.
Mountains, beaches, Joshua Tree, morning marine layer, sunshine, deserts. I think we are going to love it here.
I still have a ton of content to post from our past year, so this little website will be alive and well. Thanks to everyone who continues to read, support and check in on us. We are so grateful.
