City Living

"Mom, look!  A Smurf!  A giant cheese burger!  A motorcycle!"

We have quite a bit to adjust to living the city life.  Billboards are a new favorite around here.  Especially the electronic ones.  After last week's too-many-rules pity party, this week we are focusing on all of the amenities that we can take advantage of while living the city life.  And the kids choose billboards as their favorite thing. Although I could do without the 4-lane, no-shoulders freeway that pass them by, I have managed to navigate my way around (with no thanks to Mandy, our Tom-Tom GPS who has taken to telling us that all exits are coming up in two miles when in fact they are about a half-mile away).

There are so many activities for the kids to try out here that it's hard to choose just one or two.  Now I understand how parents can slip into the running-around-like-crazy mode with extracurricular activities every day of the week.  We are using the summer to try out several, with the intent of each kid settling on their favorite one to continue when school starts. So far, both kids have completed several sessions of swim lessons at Aquatech.  Ava even moved up a level, which is huge for her.  Emerson still refuses to put his ears under water, so he may be stuck at the beginning for awhile longer.  In addition to weekly soccer class (which the kids have fun with but probably won't continue until next summer), Emerson has started Kung Fu and Ava is surprising us all by loving sailing camp.  I admit, I wish I was able to go to camp with her.  In the first week, Ava learned to tie knots, put together an Opti, and even had a field trip--by water, of course-- to visit America's Cup sailing Team Artemis headquarters.  Since sailing is only during the summer for kids her age, she has chosen ballet as her one after-school activity.  She loved her class last year in Homer at the Harbor School of Music & Dance.  This year, she will be trying out Dance/10, where her new babysitter (yay!!) is an instructor.

Starting off in an Opti without a sail

Proudly sporting her Team Artemis hat after a morning on the water

Brand-new white belt at USA Kung Fu Studio

We are also appreciating the conveniences of city life.  Like driving just 8 miles rather than 75 to get to a fabric store.  Emerson and I went to Jo-Ann's yesterday and were both overwhelmed by the selection and size of the store.  I think he was even more excited that I was.  Now to find time to finally get my sewing machine plugged in to make some pillows for the living room.

We are in the sweet spot with TriCare (our military health insurance) in that we live over 50 miles from the nearest military medical facility that accepts military dependents for treatment.  That means we get to see civilian doctors and don't have to pay any co-pays.  Ava saw a pediatric ophthalmologist for the first time ever about 3 weeks ago.  With a small tweak in her prescription and new glasses (which have zero coverage by our insurance!), her vision is now better than it has ever been.  We went for a checkup yesterday and the doctor ruled out having to patch one of her eyes to treat a slight amplyopia issue (one eye stronger than the other) because the new prescription did the trick.  Hooray for not being the new kid in school who has to wear an eye patch like a pirate.

Last weekend we checked out the Berkeley Kite Festival and the Alameda Food & Wine Festival.  The kites were much better than anticipated, but the art was a bit of a disappointment.  We did enjoy wine, beer, and lumpia while listening to some great live music, though.  We are planning to go to the Sausalito Art Festival on Labor Day weekend in hopes of seeing more artsy things rather than crafts and business vendor booths.

Octopus kites at the Berkeley Kite Festival

After telling my husband that I just wanted to find some "wild" trees rather than landscaped ones (which are all that exist around here because it does not rain.  All.  Summer.  Long.  Lawn irrigation necessary), I found one lone "weed" in the Shoreline Park at the end of our street.

This weekend, I am running in the USCG Station Golden Gate Heritage Run on Coast Day (August 4).  It is a 12K across the Golden Gate Bridge and back from Sausalito to San Francisco.  It's not going to be easy.  I have had a hard time adjusting to running here.  Even though it doesn't get much above 70 degrees during the day, that's still about 20 degrees warmer than I'm used to.  And I suppose that the bridge will include at least one hill in each direction, but I've been training in flat Alameda.  As my first race in a really long time, my goal is just to finish and enjoy the unique scenery.  Afterward, we are taking the kids and dog (yes, dog!) to Rodeo Beach, where dogs are allowed on the beach and some of the hiking trails.  This is a very rare find for the area.  On the way home, we are going to stop at Marin Brewing Company (also dog friendly!) to add to Mike's growing repertoire of microbreweries.  The day should include a little something for everyone: trees for me, sand for the kids, and beer for Mike.  Now if I could just find a coffee drive-thru...

Alameda, Ala-cheetah

So my kids love to rhyme.  And the name just kinda stuck.  Oh, well.

We have been in Alameda for two weeks now.  And yesterday was the first day that I had time to just sit for an hour and read a book.  But, we are completely moved in, unpacked, organized, and even have room in the garage for one vehicle.

Which is a good thing, because vehicle number two gets picked up from the shipping company tomorrow.  Hooray for the smaller car, because the larger one gets even worse gas mileage here than it did in Homer.  The entire island of Alameda has a 25mph speed limit, with lots of stop signs and traffic lights.  Not really great for a 4wd SUV...but the furthest we have to travel is 5 miles, so it balances out.

So, the question we have been getting the most, especially from family who are hoping that we love it here more than Alaska so that we don't move so far away again, is how we are liking it so far.  In short, it's an easy place to live.  We have everything we could need right on the island (and have learned that we will not be driving the multiple I-something-80 freeways to get to malls, Target, etc. more than we have to, which will certainly save money).  We live on a little peninsula connected to the main island of Alameda, called Bay Farm Island.  It's the same peninsula as the Oakland airport--yes, we are in the direct flightpath of Southwest Airlines, but it's not bad.  The kids even refer to our area as the "quiet" part of Alameda.

The tree-lined streets all lead to the San Francisco Bay Trail system, which is basically a paved bike path along the bay.  We are two blocks away, and can ride/walk/run a 6-mile loop without leaving the neighborhood.  Alameda is the most bike-friendly place we have ever lived.  We have had to trade in our views of eagles and mountains for egrets and city skyline, but Mike even rode his bike to work today.  Very convenient.  The elementary school is also two blocks away, and we can walk to at least four different playgrounds in 10 minutes or less.

This is also the most culturally diverse area that we have ever lived, which is quite a difference coming from a place like Homer.  We have neighbors of all ethnicities, and restaurants around town to match.  On Saturdays, we have learned to head down to the main shopping center on the island for Off The Grid, an organized collection of 10 food trucks that rotate each week.  Last week we had lumpia and pancit from a Filipino truck, and the week before it was Vietnamese noodles.  The kids, especially Ava, are doing a great job with trying pretty much anything.  We have yet to find a good local coffee shop, though. Certainly missing my K-Bay Caffe, as I knew I would.  I am already down to my last pound of beans and need to figure out how to get more.

We signed the kids up in advance for several activities to help them make new friends.  They have been enjoying weekly soccer lessons, and we started swim lessons this week and an awesome operation called Aquatech.  Today is lesson #2, and they are excited to go back.  We joined a local yacht club thanks to a very generous military rate, and have used the pool there a few times.  The kids went to a movie night there last Friday, which was conveniently scheduled at the same time as a rum tasting for the adults.  We met several club members and chatted with them about what type of sail boat we should get to do a little racing in the bay.  We were also convinced to sign up for their Monday Night Football program, in which members take turns cooking for everyone in the theme of the teams that are playing on your assigned week.  They gave us the Miami-Tampa Bay game as soon as they found out that we are from Florida.  I think we will be cooking up a November Cuban feast.

So, all in all, we are liking it just fine so far!  We love being able to keep the back door open all day, and the dog loves going in and out as he pleases.  We are sad to hear that we are missing out on the nicest Homer summer in a decade, though, and have found that it is actually cooler here than there right now.  It's going to take us quite while to become completely familiar with the town, as there are just so many local businesses, parks, and things to do.  But we are working on it...and trying to remind ourselves to take time to just relax and enjoy the sunshine sometimes, too.