VOLUME 2: BOOMERANG

today's song = "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"

frequent quote = I hope this is the last move....

grateful list: I am grateful for...

not hanging anything on the walls

not painting this apartment

not unpacking everything

a beautiful Fall and Spring in Philly

time with the family

It has been an unsettled couple of years for us, first living in Maryland for 8 months, then in Philly for a year. Now, we have decided to decide! In other words, we are choosing to put down anchor in a place with a warm climate and familiar surroundings, with the addition of good friends. What does this mean? We are heading back to California.

Some of you may think of that as an expensive place to live. However, I always question that after having lived there for five years. I have seen many homes on the East Coast with the high-priced sticker. Usually, the price per square foot and acreage is lower, but the total can be very similar. Add to that the cost of heat in the NE. On the West Coast, near the sea, I didn't need to turn on the heat for long durations and seldom used air conditioning. My taxes on my home there were the same as on my home in upstate NY which had cost far less. The cost of gasoline is almost the same as the Philly area and my car insurance in CA was less for TWO cars than it is for one in Philly.

On the downside, we will see less of our family. We've enjoyed getting to know the grand-twins and having family occasions together again, including the beautiful wedding for our daughter. However, we do hope we'll be able to provide cheap accommodations for those who would like a southern California vacation.

The movers arrive in three days and we'll begin driving west on Thursday. This time, we plan on following interstate route 70 across the country. Let's hope that tornado season is taking a hiatus -- for everyone's sake.

So, if you've got a few minutes and want an escape from wherever you are, you can follow our u-turn trip on this blog.