Catching up... Taking you back to October!

Hey everyone!!  Needless to say, I am sooo far behind.... Life just hasn't been the same since October 15th, 2011.  I'm going to go back to that date and our first trip ever to Whidbey Island!

We left for the road trip on Saturday, October 15th at 0715.  We drove a total of 204 miles and then we hit our first stop.  We stopped at Murray's family farm in Bakersfield, CA at 11:30 a.m.  It was your typical roadside farm stand with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and a petting zoo.  We decided on some baked veggie chips with habanero seasoning and they tasted really good!!

Murray family farm

Our snack

At around 1:00 p.m. we were getting hungry and wanted to stop for lunch.  We saw a sign for the Harris Ranch restaurant and my hubby says that he was told by a friend that this place has the best steak in the WORLD... So of course we wanted to try it out.  We park the car and head in to the restaurant - very excited and very hungry ;) We step inside and while we are waiting to be seated we begin looking over the menu http://harrisranch.com/dine_menus.php.  The prices ranged from 15.95 to 65.00!!  Yikes!  And the 15.95 plates were not ones you would waste your time on ordering. If this place has the best steak in the WORLD we will never know!  We hightailed it outta there and fast!  I sure hope for somebody's sake that it's good LOL

So now we are back on the road.  And of course since we have had the chance to smell delicious food, we are even hungrier! We continue driving until we see an Apricot Tree restaurant and decide that this is our spot.  The prices were equal to that of a Denny's or Ihop and the food - was disgusting. Oh well, at least we aren't hungry anymore ;)  We drove until 8:00 p.m. and decided to call it a night at the Days Inn in Willows, CA.  It should have been called the Hard Rock ... because that's how the beds felt! Our total driving for the day equaled approx. 11 hours and 613 miles.

On Sunday October, 16th we got a pretty late start (thanks to those lovely beds) and did not get on the road until 0900. We drove until 10:41 and decided to stop because we were seeing some beautiful scenery.  We took a turn-out to Bailey Cove which is inside the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.  It was gorgeous here.  When we got out of the car the daughter yells "This smells just like the California Adventure ride!"  I think she has that a little backwards ;)

After a quick stop we hopped back in the car and headed to Oregon.  We crossed the state line at 12:37 p.m. and we were so happy to know that we were finally in another state. Now we are making progress!! Driving in Oregon was the first time that we started to see trees with leaves that had the changing colors of fall. It was so pretty.  We stopped in Medford, Oregon at 1:04 p.m. to eat lunch and gas up.  We ate lunch a place called The Black Bear Diner.  The prices here were reasonable and the food was excellent, portions were great as well. We were a happy bunch! When we pulled in to the gas station we were surprised to learn that you are not allowed to pump your own gas in Oregon.  So strange... All of the gas stations in Oregon are full service.  Definitely felt different. 

On to Washington!  We entered Washington at 7:12 p.m.  I wanted to take a picture of the "Welcome to Washington sign" but it was too dark :( We stopped in Longview at 8:23 p.m. and stayed at a nice place for the night. It was a nice room with good beds and we all got a good nights sleep. Back on the road... again.  This drive takes us to the Navy Lodge in Marysville.  We arrived here at 1:00 p.m. and this is where we will be staying until Wednesday. It is quite far from Whidbey Island but the Navy Lodge there was fully booked due to the celebration of the Navy's birthday.  This room was super nice and had a full kitchen stocked with everything you would need to cook your own meals. After we checked in we headed to Whidbey Island!!!  It's such a strange feeling knowing you are headed home and yet it is a place you have never been!

We arrived on Whidbey Island and crossed the Deception Pass state bridge at 3:00 p.m.  The first sight of this bridge and the Puget Sound absolutely takes your breath away!  It is beyond beautiful and pictures do not do it justice.  I immediately think - "I can't believe I am going to live here".

Deception Pass State Bridge

After passing the bridge and drive on the island towards Oak Harbor the scenery remained just as beautiful.  Something I did not expect though.... farms, everywhere.  Long winding roads and farms.  I definitely was not expecting a tropical Hawaiian island but for some reason the words island and farm just don't go together in my brain. The vast amounts of land was unbelievable and there were cows, horses, sheep, and goats all off in the distance just grazing.  

This is the view during most of the drive

At 3:15 p.m. we are in Oak Harbor!  We spot a restaurant, Zorba's, and know immediately that this is where we have to eat. The hubby and I have a favorite restaurant in San Diego that is called Zorba's so there is no question that we have to check this place out.  Sadly, it did not compare to the SD Zorba's and the two are in no way affiliated. Prices however were good and the food was decent. We didn't do any sightseeing or looking around because we didn't want to be leaving the island after dark.. and we really didn't even know where to begin as far as what to look at. So we drove the entire length of the island south to the Mukilteo Ferry for our first ever ferry ride!  This was exciting!!  The daughter was very scared when she realized that we going to be driving the car ONTO the ferry boat.  She was terrified that it would sink lol Luckily, it did not.

Here comes the ferry!

We took the ferry to the town of Clinton and then proceeded to drive to the Navy Lodge in Marysville. The rest of our week on Whidbey Island was a blur.  We were only here until Saturday the 22nd and we needed to make sure that we found a house to rent before then.  There was no time at all while we were there to get oriented, see or discover anything.  We spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday looking at houses.  It was so difficult and overwhelming to see so many.  Once we finally made our decision we  had to begin filling out all of the application paperwork and obtaining document for proof of income.  We were told that the approval process would take some time and would NOT be completed before we left! This was nerve racking. We were headed back to SD not knowing if when we returned again we would even have a place to live!  On Monday, October 24th, I received a call stating the we had been approved and did indeed have a place to call home!  Whidbey Island here we come!

Home!!

Thanks so much for reading!!  I'm going to be caught up real soon, I promise!!

To see the entire album of the photos in this post click here http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2088718386087.2102695.1489030904&type=1 and also here http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2149858794559.2104416.1489030904&type=1

Dates Set, Plans in motion!!

Finally it is starting to feel like our move is within reach!  One of the hardest parts of this whole thing has been the waiting... the feeling like the day for us to go - will NEVER come.  For at least one month I have felt like I am physically living in San Diego but mentally I'm somewhere else.  And it's pretty hard to "mentally live" somewhere where you have never been.

Exactly ten days from today, we load in to the car and begin to head North!  This trip will be an exciting one, but not one meant for fun or sight seeing.  We leave San Diego on the evening on October 14th and hope to arrive in Oak Harbor by the evening of October 16th.  We will have exactly 5 days to find the place that we will call home for the next 3 years and pick a school for Katelyn.  I feel some pressure having to accomplish something so important in so few days.. but I know it can be done. 

So far we have appointments on October 17th and 18th at 10:00 a.m. with a Property Management company that will be showing us around town.  There are 8 homes that we have seen on their website and asked to see specifically, if necessary we will be shown "similar" homes after looking at those.  I am really hoping that we do not need to look at more than 8 houses!  But, you never know..

Once we have established where our home will be, we will need to move on to the Middle Schools.  There are two middle schools located in Oak Harbor - Oak Harbor Middle School and North Whidbey Middle School.  We will be taking a "tour" at both schools closer to the end of the week.  The biggest concern for Katelyn is a school that has an arts program.  We will be looking to see if either school offers choir, music or theater.  I will also consider class sizes, test scores and proximity to our home. 

If there is any time left at all, I would like to find out if there are any Ophthalmology clinics on the island itself.  During my googles searches almost all of the clinics I have been directed to are in Seatlle or some other city on the Mainland.  I would like to avoid a commute over the bridge or via ferry if at all possible.  I am also considering that this may be a time in my life where an occupation change will be necessary.  I am leaving all options open!

Once we arrive back to San Diego on October 22nd we will have 5 days until the movers arrive!  Which means I really need to get busy sorting stuff at the house!! Not much time left!  My last day at work will be October 28th.  I have left myself one week without work before we leave San Diego for the final time.  I hope to spend this time enjoying friends, the Zoo and the wonderful city we have lived in for so long.  On November 4th we will once again load in to the car and start our journey!  This trip will be a slow and relaxed one and we will make sure that we see and do everything possible along the way.  And of course that is when the blogging will really begin!
                                                                Whidbey Island

Whidbey Island is approximately 35 miles (56 km) long (from the extreme north to extreme south, and 1.5 to 12 miles (2.4 to 19 km) wide, with 168.67 square miles (436.9 km²),^[2] making it the 40th largest island in the United States.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whidbey_Island)

Here goes nothing....

So... I've thought about blogging - a lot.  I haven't talked to anyone about it, just thought a lot about it.  Tonight I finally decided to put the fingers to the keyboard.  I'm not sure that my blog will be all that exciting because I don't find myself to be very creative and I definitely don't use "fancy" words when I speak.  But I've been thinking about it so much that I find myself creating "blog entries" in my head while driving home from work everyday.  I guess that means it's time.  And hopefully, I don't end up being the only one reading what I write!

My desire to blog came partially from reading other blogs and really enjoying them but the MAIN reason I decided to blog is because I couldn't find a single blog on the subject I wanted to read the most about - LIFE ON WHIDBEY ISLAND.  Oh sure, I've Googled it - one million times.  And I've learned just about everything there is to learn about it as a place or destination, but I want to know more.  What's it like to live there, to be a mother there, to be a teenager there, to be a family there??  What can I expect my life to be like when I get there?  

I am the only one in my family (of 3) that is excited to be moving to Whidbey Island.  Paul believes that any and all excitement is going to exit his life as soon as we arrive there.  He keeps telling me "There's not even a movie theater there!"  However, in one of my one million Google searches, I found out that there is.  Katelyn doesn't want to leave her school, our church, her friends.  And that is completely understandable.  I keep trying to get her to see it the way I do - a new journey, the next chapter, new friends, new adventures.  She just rolls her eyes.  I'm hoping that once we are moved and settled their attitudes will change and that mine will not!

So this is it, my blog.  I'm going to continue to blog as much as I can from now until moving day, November 4th.  I really want to document our travel there to find a home and then our travel there as we move.  I would love to tell everyone about everything we see and experience and the emotions that go along with it.  Once we move in and settle I am going to pour over every piece of that island and learn absolutely as much as I can about life there ... and try to relay that here.  Maybe, just maybe, someone else wants to know what life is like there too.