Dear San Diego

San Diego, we are REALLY going to miss you. The first time we ever heard your name was on a TV show we used to watch as children – Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? How fitting. Here are some of the things that we’ll miss the most:

-      Your incredible weather, which has allowed us to run outside in shorts and a t-shirt even in the depths of winter. When national news reports say that other parts of the country are under snow advisories, we delightfully giggle together.

-      Your seemingly endless supply of amazing restaurants. We’ve put a dent into as many as we possibly could, but we leave behind so many to enjoy in the future.

-      Your within reach treasures of ocean, desserts, mountains and cities. In our short time living here, we’ve gotten to explore San Francisco, Monterrey, Carmel by the Sea, Yosemite, Mammoth Lakes, Joshua Tree, Palm Springs and Los Angeles. We have also toured wineries in Napa, Sonoma, the Russian River Valley, the Central Coast, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, Temecula and Mexico. So many good memories.

-      Your sunsets…each day competing with the last, for the title of “best yet”.

You have also provided a nearly perfect playground for us to pursue new interests including beach volleyball, rock climbing, hang-gliding, running, surfing, paddle-boarding, paragliding, swimming, and biking. We have accomplished goals that were never even on our radar before living here:

-        Katie completed 6 triathlons, including her first ½ Ironman

-        Steve completed 7 triathlons

-        Katie ran 2 marathons

-        Steve ran his first ½ marathon

-        Katie swam a 3-mile ocean race

These athletic endeavors, and all of the training that goes into them, have honestly changed us. We’ll probably never go another year without training or competing in some capacity. Thank you to the Tri Club of San Diego for all of the mentoring and inspiration.

And finally, thank you for the friendships we’ve made here. It has not been lost on us that we don’t have a single family member in California. Our closest family is an 18-hour drive away, and so our friends have been our local family on many occasions. They have celebrated birthdays and Thanksgivings with us, and we’ve enjoyed 4^th of Julys and the ringing in of New Years together. We are so grateful for their friendship.