Things I Will Miss

If you've been reading my past few posts and thinking wow, it sounds like Kristen is really jazzed about moving to Blacksburg! then you would be correct. However, that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of things about California I won't miss. Maybe even some things about Los Angeles... well I won't go that far. Here is my list of things I know for sure I'll be missing. 

-Proximity to family and friends. From our current apartment, I'm close to my new friends in LA, an hour and half drive from San Diego/Oceanside where my brothers live, and a three and half hour drive from my parents. I won't be able to see my sister-in-laws and my nieces and nephew as often let alone my brothers, who both work out of town. AND my parents will be even farther away! What's more? Our place in LA is only a quick two hour flight to Seattle, where we like to pretend that we live part time. It'll be 10-12 hours total travel time to get to Seattle or San Diego from Blacksburg. Ugh! I'm still in shock over the distance and I think this will be the single hardest thing about moving for me. 

-Disneyland. Mark and I both have annual passes and I love the Disneyland Resort (DLR). Living about a thirty minute drive from the park, it is easy to make evening or half day trips and I'm really going to miss Mickey Mouse. I don't know what I'll do when I have to face buying plane tickets, paying for a hotel, and buying hopper passes every time I want to go now! Sadly, I think the answer is that regular Disney trips are going on hold for a bit now. However, we will be moving much close to Disney WORLD. 

-Avocados. There is a reason why in other states when you order something called a "Californian ___" it is the same menu item with an avocado on it. I love avocados and I am accustomed to putting them on most everything: salads, sandwiches, burgers, tacos, omelets, etc. I'm going to miss being able to add avo to anything I order in a restaurant and I'm surely going to miss being able to buy fresh, good quality avocado in the grocery stores for a good price. 

-Trader Joes. I think it's interesting that Trader Joes seems to have this reputation as an elitist hippy store in states/regions that don't have a Trader Joes. Maybe for some people that rep fits? But for me, I love shopping there because of the good prices, the good quality, and the nice people who work there. I mean, where else can you buy $1.99 cheerios, $0.19 bananas, and have a checker remember that you're from Washington but moving away to Virginia? No where else in LA, I'll tell you that. 

-Eight Lane Freeways. Okay, I know I whine about the traffic, and I know I hate commuting. And overall it is probably a good thing I'll be leaving that life behind. But when there's light traffic (this does actually happen, sometimes) driving in LA can be exhilarating. Especially in Mark's WRX, in the fast lane. The urban girl in me loves taking six freeways to get to Disneyland, loves taking the cloverleaf interchange on the inside lane... all at or below the speed limit of course...

-The Weather. Hard to complain about the small window of weather we've enjoyed in the last six years. Rarely too hot or too cold, not too muggy or to dry, pretty much perfect year round. I am looking forward to real seasons, but it is nice only needing to own a spring wardrobe and being able to wear flip flops in February. I'm sure I'll have a part of me that always misses that. 

-Apartment Amenities. I won't lie. I'm going to miss having a pool, hot tub, package service, 24 hour maintenance, huge trash and recycling bins that I never have to bring to the street, and night security. Not that those things make apartment living worth it, but they still make the list of things I'll miss. Especially the hot tub.

-Coffee Shops. I think my days of living in the cute little coffee shop culture are numbered. Blacksburg has two Starbucks in town and I honestly didn't see any other coffee shops anywhere. And none of the grocery stores had coffee shops in them like the do here. I honestly don't know how any of the Tech students graduate!

I'm sure there'll be more things I'll miss, but that's it for now. Seven nights left in our LA apartment and then we're off!