The First Week of Retirement

Thessalonians 5:18. Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Thiis week and next are filler weeks. We were planning on still being in Utah, but our house sold quickly and it seemed more fun to not work and visit interesting places during the two weeks before the start of our USA tour. So this is actually bonus time for us.

So a recap of this past week.

Friday – Pack the car and head to Fishlake National Forest for a single overnight.

Saturday – Drive through Arizona, just a little bit, to get to Nevada. We stayed as long as humanly possible for a Lay Dominican before we needed confession! One night.

Sunday – We arrived at Big Bear Lake. This was a beautiful stop. We unfolded our kayaks and hit the lake. Sebastian was able to go swimming, we had a lovely camp site … and we could have stayed there all week, But, Sebastian had barely any room in the car so we had to drop off some “stuff” in Palm Desert before staying just outside of Ojai CA.

Monday – A long day… we drove to Palm Desert, two hours into 106 F temperatures. I saw my mom and Sebastian and I hung out with Mr. M, my step-dad, while Michael unloaded his books and two car seats. Then we made the three hour drive to Steckel campground. We arrived to the smell of cigarette smoke and litter all over our campsite. Our immediate neighbor kept their porch light on all night and the pay showers were dirty. We were supposed to be there four nights. We stayed one night.

Tuesday – A nice day. We visited St. Barbara’s Monastery, home to six Russian Orthodox nuns and Thoman Aquinas College, a small Catholic college with a great books curriculum. The campus looked like it belonged in a Tuscan village. All the classrooms had octagonal tables and the faculty were called tutors. As an educator from a community college I found them proud of their mission and I appreciated the Catholic culture and values. We looked in on the church as the priest was exposing the Blessed Sacrament, which was a nice treat. While leaving we spoke to a wife of one of the tutors and she said before the school year starts the college invites the spouses to a little retreat at the college with mass, confession and adoration, and a little sweet treat outside. I thought that was lovely and a nice touch to get everyone on the same page of the mission of the instiution. After leaving the college we wound our way into Ojai. Ojai is a super cute town. We stopped at Ojai Vineyards. This establishment welcomed dogs inside and that was a welcome change to our patio adventures with Sebastian. I enjoyed the wine tasting. We had the red and white tasting flights. I really liked the Rose and the Syrah and Michael liked the Pinot Noir.
We decided to move to a hotel in Oxnard, California. It was a little cooler than Ojai and we found a timeshare room to stay in relatively cheaply for the three nights we would have been at Steckel Campground.

Wednesday – A good day! We played with Sebastian on the beach in Ventura and read a bit to the sounds of crashing waves. We went to a fish taco place, Spencer Makenzie’s, that received good reviews but the tacos were just ok. My favorite was the grilled fish taco. They were at least two-for-one on that day. We then walked up the street to a tiki bar, VenTiki Tiki. This place was fun. They had great drinks and the atmosphere was fun.

Thursday – A long day. We were in traffic most of the day. We had to go pick up our federal (newly-decimated State Department) Apostille of our FBI background checks from Gillian’s apartment in LA. We had missed the delivery in Salt Lake City by one day. Our good friend, Lynn, mailed it to us. Just like our honeymoon when we left our charger for our camera at home. After Gillian’s, we stopped at Cafe Brazil to use the bathroom and I ordered a glass of freshly squeezed passion fruit juice. Yum. Then we headed to lunch, another taco place, Guisados, before heading to the Getty Museum for the afternoon. We drove back to Oxnard in traffic, picked up Sebastian and went to a place called the Cellar in Ventura. Here you could put in your card and try wines by the glass. I think these places are a little over priced… but the location was nice and Sebastian was with us.

BLS- We stopped by the BLS and I became very disheartened about the appoinment process. The man we talked to suggested we try every half hour. to get an appointment. It is kind of a bummer.

Hasta luego,

Thessalonians 5:18. Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.