First Days in Monterey

As you all can imagine...it did not take us long to want to explore the new area.  There are many things we would like to do, but Michael was glad that we made it in time to go to the Memorial Day ceremony on base.  It was done a couple of days early so the military could enjoy a four-day pass.

It was a nice ceremony...a story of bravery...21 gun salute....large cannon blast.  Edward described it in these simple words...Attention....At Ease....Salute.  What more needs to be said...and yet it was meaningful and inspiring...and brought me to tears.

We then did the next most important thing...we went grocery shopping!  The price of food is so high...I hope we can afford to feed this crew while we are here in California.  I was thankful for the commissary that is only a mile from the house.  The price of food was a little better there.  I am going to need to adjust my shopping skills to make it work.

We also found the various libraries, the chapel, and the playground (There are several in the area but one up the hill from the house is awesome and even has a dog park.)   I think I will spend the next year absorbing the various plants and wildlife in the area...so different from Texas and other places I have been over the years.

The next big project is getting this house looking like a home.  There are a lot of boxes to unpack and at 1000 square feet smaller than what we have grown accustom to in Texas...we are also going to have to make our garage a storage room.  Picking and choosing what to keep out for the next year will be a challenge but it will all work out in the end.

We have our flag waving in the front yard and the grill will be going on the back deck this afternoon.  All is good...except we sure miss our older boys.  We also miss our family and friends.  Every time we turn around we are thinking about things they would enjoy seeing with us.  I am glad the boys will be joining us in a month so we can really begin exploring the West Coast.