I love it here

Ok, I won't lie. I've wanted to live in California since I was little. Ok, maybe more like since I was younger, like 14, when I came here with Marie and her kids. It was so nice and WARM in the summer, and so green! (That was up north near San Jose.) And, then we came down to San Diego to visit Aunt Stormy when I was 16 for Thanksgiving, and I was hooked. Did I ever admit it? No. Of course not. It is a pretty well-known fact how Idahoans are supposed to feel about California. All the Californians coming to Idaho are just ruining the state. There's no public land for you to do anything in California, you know. Everything is just private land, and no one will let you go on their property. They post "No Trespassing" signs everywhere. Right? Isn't that how it is??? Well, regardless, I've always wanted to live here. There must be SOME reason all these people want to live here, isn't there? Well, Matt and I have definitely gotten the opportunity to see some of the reasons why people love living here. And you know what? If you don't want to live here, fine! There's more than enough people, and that just means there's more for me to enjoy :)

Here's some reasons why I love it here:

Look! It's the Hollywood Sign! Matt and I went on a hike (that's right, a hike. On PUBLIC land. No "No Trespassing" signs in sight. They actually let you hike all over the mountains here. There's trails everywhere. And, yes, you have to share with other people. You won't be the only ones on the trail. But, honestly, who cares? My tax dollars are definitely put to good use here!)

Matt, overlooking the city of Los Angeles. Absolutely incredible. There's so many people living down there! :)

Ok, this picture was taken about 10 minutes from our house. We're looking down on the "Valley," the San Fernando Valley, that is. This is the valley where we live. That day, we actually hiked up high enough to see the ocean, which is behind that far ridge of mountains you see in the picture. Those are the Santa Monica Mountains; we are in the San Gabriel Mountains, part of the Angeles National Forest. All PUBLIC land, by the way :)

This is more of that hike. Gorgeous mountains, right outside our back door :)

 Ok, if you look really closely, you can se the ocean in this picture. It was a little foggy out on the water, but there's a little patch of it... :) we can actually see the ocean from close by our house! :) Oh, and a spectacular view of the San Fernando Valley, as well. What a gorgeous day, and a gorgeous hike!

Ok, this was  a different day, and up the coast a bit, at El Capitan State Beach. We went camping there in July with Matt's family. What, a State Beach? We don't have those in Idaho, that's for sure! The State Beach system in California is awesome! Matt and I are looking forward to riding our bicycles and staying at the campsites on the hiker/biker rate of a few bucks a night :) That will be  little bit in the future, tho. 

Gorgeous sunsets. I know, I know. We had these in Idaho, but I truly missed them in Virginia. It was hard to see the sunset for all the trees, and the flat land. You could go up on Mount Trashmore, I suppose....

Disneyland! We have Disneyland just about an hour away :) We've only been once, but I'm sure we'll go again. What fun! 

 And, last but not least, Palm trees. We definitely didn't have these growing up. And I must admit, the first one I ever saw was at a hotel Marie and I stayed at on our epic journey to CA when I was 14...and it scared me! It looked so foreign, and somehow sinister...ok, so it had been a long car ride, in that little Geo Metro with 3 kids, two bigger kids (I won't say adults.. hehehe) and only 4 seatbelts. I rode most of the way in the middle back with no seatbelt so Tansy would be protected...I guess I thought it would be ok for me to go flying through the windshield....

Anyways, that about it for my rant. I guess the moral of this story is...I love it here. I'm glad Matt got his job here and we were able to live my {secret} dream of living in California. Beautiful, sunny, southern California where it is slated to be 78 degrees on the 11th of December :) Can't wait for tomorrow. It's been a long time since I've felt like that every day. I think this place is good for my depression. Ok, I don't just think it is. I KNOW it is. (Didn't know I suffered from depression? Where have you been? :) Just kidding. Seriously, though, that was the reason I got out of the Navy early, depression. Evidently I suffer from cyclical bouts of depression, which have recurred throughout my life. My worst cycle happened while I was enlisted, and that shouldn't be a surprise. But I've had some minor cycles, even here. But, the extra sunshine in the winter is helping, and I'm looking forward to the Solstice when the days will start to get longer again. I've not been diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder, but I suspect that the lack of sunshine in the winter contributes to my depression....anyways, what I'm trying to say is I'm feeling a lot better now than I have in a long time. Looking forward to the future. Not scared or anxious about what will happen next. It helps that we can literally go on a hike from our house up into the foothills of some amazing mountains, get some fresh air and exercise, and just feel good about things.

Well, guess I should quit stalling, get onto the next thing I need to do, which is exercise, then get ready to tutor 3 students this afternoon/evening. Thanks for listening (I mean reading) to my rant. :)

~Pam

PS. So, I got my packages sent off for Christmas yesterday (cost me a lot more than I thought it would) and now I need to work on the presents for those a little closer to home. The ones I can deliver in person. Since there's still a couple weeks before Christmas, I have plenty of time. Plenty of time, I say! :P