Things Falling in Place

We've been here in California for 5 days now and I'm pretty happy with our progress. We got a van and also picked up our truck a few days ago. Shane started work and I found the most awesome park in Monterey for Caleb to play at. We're still living at a hotel, but even that has worked out okay. If you remember, Shane's relocation assistance from Booz arranged for us to stay at an Extended Stay in Morgan Hill, about an hour away from Monterey. But, we took it because it was about $55 a night versus the $150 I could find near Monterey. Turns out that the Extended Stay is a popular place and their two-dbl-bed rooms were booked for the next two months, so they stuck us in a one-king-bed room on a smoking floor. If you're wondering, it's not fun being 7 months pregnant and sleeping between a man who snores and a 4-year-old who sleeps sideways. So, the next day I desperately searched for a better place and miraculously found a two-room suite in Seaside, about 3 miles away from Shane's new job! And for only $89 a night. It wasn't there before, so I'm thinking it's just proof that we're moving our lives in the right direction.

Anyway, the main thing that still needs to get settled is the rental house hunt. And I think I've figured out what's going on. It seems that every house has a major issue. Like no garage for storage, or located on a terribly steep hill, or no tub. At 4 am on Sunday morning I had a revelation that we should reconsider a house that is pretty darn cheap for the area. The main thing wrong with it is that the rooms are too small. But, we'll obviously have to compromise on something and seeing that we just lived it up for two years in a super-fabulous and super-expensive apartment, I really think we need to get some cheap rent now. The house is in a great neighborhood near a park and Caleb would be going to a great elementary school next year. Perfect! So, I called yesterday morning and... it's already been rented. This has actually been a recurring thing. About half of the rental houses we call to look at have already been rented. I became confused again because it's just like how I *knew* we were supposed to move to Cali, but things kept falling through. But, you see, things did end up working out, so I'm able to see things differently about this situation. I came to believe that two things about this house were meant to be for us: the rental price and the neighborhood. Turns out there actually is a similar house one street over and for only $50 more a month. The main problem with this house? The lock box doesn't work so we can't get in and the property management office won't believe us and insists that other people are able to get in. We think other people are just not calling to complain, because there is no way they are getting in. We've gone to the house 5 times!! So, I had this thought that maybe their stubbornness and unwillingness to do their job is really a blessing. Because if they had fixed it and other people had been able to get in, it would probably already be gone. You see, it's actually being saved for us. I'm sure of it. So, I talked them into sending a guy out to meet me there to open it up. I'm hoping to meet him today. Of course, things could still go very wrong and I could be totally wrong about this all working out. But, I really hope not. There's a gas stove in the kitchen!

**UPDATE**
I got in the house! They actually figured out that the lock box was not working and fixed it. Caleb and I had gone to look at two other houses before we saw it, both of which had carpet that must be original... you know... like 20 years old. Gross! And in one house, the shower head for the main bathroom was lying in the tub. But this house I was convinced was for us is beautiful! Clean and new and I love it! The kitchen is super fab! So, I faxed over an application and they are going to try to rush it through since we are living in a hotel. I hope to here something tomorrow. And I'll try to get info on the whereabouts of our household goods. Shane meant to call yesterday and then today, but he's busy trying to get settled into his new job.

By the way, living in Monterey is supercalafragilistic! Caleb begged me to take him back to Dennis the Menace park today, but when we got there, it was closed, because it's closed every Tuesday. So, we just hopped on over to the fisherman's wharf and checked out the seals and bought salt water taffy and Caleb climbed some rocks. There is so much to do here and it's so beautiful. I have that same thankful feeling to live in a vacation spot that I had when I lived in Hawaii. Some things are so beautiful that they never get old. I never take the beautiful ocean scenery for granted. Soooo... when are you going to come for a visit?