California, Here We Come!

 

I found this license plate at the classic car boot sale in the summer.  I paid a whopping 5 pounds for it and saved it to give Collin for Christmas.  I meant it as a nod to his home state, but it turns out I was also prophetic about our next home state. 

You heard the lady!  We're going to Cali!  Collin accepted an offer from the San Fransisco office, still with Deloitte, and when we sadly leave London in July that is where we'll land.  

We decided not to return to Boston.  This was for several reasons, but mainly we felt it was still too far away from our family.  

I will always love Boston.  We grew our family there.  Our friends were our family in a very real way.  I love apple picking in the fall and eating canoli in the North End.  I feel nostalgic for the sound of that dreadful accent talking about the Red Sox.  I love the view of the city sparkling over the Charles River.  I will miss so many parts of our every day and our adventures.  I won't miss winter snow storms and I won't miss August humidity (although, granted, being pregnant through a couple of those probably make me remember them as more awful than they really are).  I hope we return to our Boston for many happy visits (preferably all in September and October!).

I am looking forward to figuring out how to enjoy an American suburb in Northern California.  Our kids yearn for bikes and a place to kick the ball without me calling for them to be quiet against the neighbor's wall.  Eliza wants dance lessons so badly.  I can't wait for Trader Joes and, yes, even Costco.

And mostly we are looking forward to being in the same--or nearly--time zone as our family, a day's drive, or a one hour flight.  We hope to have family visit us whenever they can, as we always love, and also anticipate making our journey to them more often.  Maybe even for Sunday dinner someday, just because.  (I guess we won't be THAT close--but still, if we drove all day Saturday we could make it!!)  

I won't even go into what we will miss about London--that is its own (or several) entry.  

I never really thought I would say to anyone "I'm from California" but I suppose I'm okay with that.  I'll be proud to add it to the long answer of where our family has been.

Lastly, but quite importantly, I can't wait for the smell of eucalyptus and redwood and sea.

Beatles, Vaulting, Chalk Horse (N Wales 3)

I put on some Beatles and Davy was amazed that I knew the words to songs he'd never heard.  Well, I've been trying to rectify that since, playing oldies while cooking dinner. 

We made the quickest stop ever in Liverpool, parking the car illegally for two seconds while we ran out and saw the statue of the boys walking.  Then we drove down to the neighborhood barber shop of Penny Lane.  We were in Liverpool for 45 minutes max, but I kinda liked what I saw.  Reminded me a bit of Boston, all the brick and port town vibe.

We drove south for a while--Harry Potter all the way!--and found (legal) parking to spend some time in Gloucester Cathedral.  (I really enjoy the fact that in London I don't have to worry about where to stash a car--I just hop on and off public transit and am instantly mobile.)  I love old churches, especially ones with incredible fan vaulted ceilings in cloisters, but I'll admit the main draw of this one was the Chamber of Secrets wall.  The children particularly enjoyed the inner courtyard of the cloisters, running around and generally being quite irreverent. 

The light from these windows is so mystical, so magical.  I sure hope heaven has this ambience.

The past year has been so full of light, so full of dark, and all the ranges in between.  Places like this, that people have created to mimic the full range of human emotion and divine attributes, they just fill me with wonder and awe.

Walking to and from the cathedral, finding interesting architecture in the town.  England is layers on layers, all mushed together in a picturesque whole.  I love it.  I can never get enough of it.

Racing the sun to get to Whitehorse Hill before dusk.  We barely made it.  The kids fussed a bit about getting out of the car in the middle of a chapter on the audio book and getting their coats back on, yadda yadda, but as soon as they opened the gate and saw the wide expanse ahead they were off and running with no further encouragement.

We found horseshoe tracks and I imagined what fun it would be to gallop up these fields.

The white horse is an Iron Age creation, maintained now by the National Trust.  They regularly rechalk, but the outline has been on the hill for centuries.  Quite remarkable, all these reminders of people who have come before and made fascinating things.  Our souls are creators at their very core.

We caught the sunset from the hill, and as we walked back in the growing dark we had a lively discussion on what flavor the sunset would be if it were a lollipop.  This is what I'll remember most fondly when I'm 70 and looking back on life.