So What's It Like?

A little early to tell for sure but so far it ain't so bad here. I've never been one to NOT try new things and I've lived in several very different places so adjusting to a new place isn't really that much of a challenge for me. The settling-in process is what is frustrating for me and that won't be happening for another few weeks. *SIGH*

Anyway, we've been trying to learn the city. Jeff is leaving his GPS with me during the day while he's at work so I can find my way around and its been a life-saver. Annabel and I found a really nice water park on Friday and it was such a nice reprieve from the heat--I only wish we found it sooner. It was a great afternoon for both of us. i was able to even out my burn (which has finally faded to a tan) from the drive here and Annabel made a new friend. She gave her our phone number and hopefully we'll be able to play with her again soon. I'm so not worried about Annabel adjusting. She is so quick to make friends. Its great to see that.

After Jeff got home from work we all went for a bike ride in our new neighborhood. The ravine behind it has a great trail through it and there is a large park (Homesteader Park) just a couple of blocks away. 'Haven't been there yet but plan to soon. There is also easy access to the Hermitage Park, another very large park that runs the length of the river with trails for both hiking and biking in the summer and cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing in the winter...and loads of site seeing and bird watching. We plan to head over there today.

The weather here is great. Aside from it being blistering hot while we were unloading the truck its actually really nice when you're not working so hard. The first few nights were a little tough to sleep but then we had a nice BRIEF rain storm that cooled everything off very quickly. The great thing about it is that after it rained the clouds just blew away and the sun came out again. As strange as it is to look at the horizon and NOT see mountains the benefit is that the weather just keeps moving on. It doesn't linger for days and days. So we have a 10 minute thunderstorm and 30 minutes later the ground is nearly dry again and you would never know it happened. I'm sure there are longer storms at times but these little ones are great! And the thunder and lightening is nothing like coastal BC...it actually reminds me alot of South Carolina--which I miss.

Is there anything I DON'T like?........Sure there is. i don't like that my family and friends are 1300 kms away. I don't like that these people are so far behind in their "green" efforts. I don't like the Safeway here (but I didn't like the one in Abbotsford either...it was the only grocery store I could find on Thursday without the GPS and I needed to buy food). I don't like this temporary townhouse. Pretty minor really. Overall I think I can actually begin to call this home--after we move to the other place, of course.
Till then I still just feel like I'm visiting.