Hello from California! We’ve been here two weeks and already love it!

David REALLY likes his job: all sorts of interesting, challenging things to learn, and he especially likes the people that he’s working with. They have been so welcoming and supportive!

Our apartment is great: marble fireplace, kitchen bar, large open living room, and beautiful grounds at the complex. The best part though is the location. We live on the edge of town just a hop skip and a jump from David’s workplace and directly across the street from a City Park adjacent to a County Park adjacent to a State Park. Every evening we walk over to the parks and hike/walk/run around the lakes and in the hills. It’s been so great! What a beautiful spot! As for our place, we still have tons of stuff in boxes, but my desk is finally set up (a la apartment therapy) and I think we’re about as unpacked as we are going to get for now.

We’ve have lots of social time: cooked dinner with our friends from Silver City Christana and Richard twice (they threw us a welcome to California dinner at their beautiful farm house in Healdsberg), headed to Berkeley to see my high school friends Kenny and Yuni who are getting their PhDs there, met lots of people at the pool/hot tub in our apartment complex, and went out with one of David’s coworkers and his wife for dinner last week at a fantastic Italian place near the downtown area.

We’ve also visited the beach (twice!) and seen all sorts of wildlife, headed to Sonoma and Glen Ellen (the later we especially loved), and enjoyed our afternoon in Berkeley (Kenny gave us a great tour and we hit a fabulous bookstore). Next up: Muir Woods, Point Reyes, and Napa. We also have yet to visit a winery; we’ve just driven by dozens!

It’s been great seeing friends and meeting new people and discovering new places. Northern California is really starting to feel like home and we are so happy.

This week I head to New York and New Jersey for my Mom’s graduation (she’s getting her masters degree from Rutgers) and I can’t wait to see friends and family. Despite David staying behind, it should be a great trip–it’s my first time back in over a year and a half.