the journey ends but the adventure is forever...(part 3)

More border patrols, more cactus (cacti?), more sand....and mom's first In N' Out Burger in Arizona (yum!!), and we were getting close! The foothills entering into California are so crazy I have no pictures. There were so many bridges and windy hills with enormous boulders - we had to focus on the driving. Then as you get outside of San Diego you are absolutely blown away by the monolithic windmills. They are so huge it is difficult to get a good picture of them, and they are absolutely awe inspiring...

They are actually producing so much energy for the area, it is very interesting to read about them. A few more crazy foothills (where you get up to 4000 feet), and then:

Finally!

Better call those movers that I set up weeks ago to make sure we are all on the same page - yep, they will meet us at the cottage.

Um, many of you know about the years I had to take care of Smokey the cat that was not mine and how happy I was to get away from her. Look who lives at the cottage: I mistook her for an armadillo...

So I met the wonderful neighbors and we started unpacking the truck while we waited for the movers and then the landlord and her hubby came by so we could talk while we waited for the movers and then the cable/internet guy came by and installed the cable while we waited for the movers and called them and got some excuses and the electrician came and installed my lighting while we waited some more and then the chickens next door came by:

while we waited for the movers and then they would not answer the phone anymore to my calls. DO NOT EVER USE MY MOVERS  IN SAN DIEGO - THEY ARE THE WORST!

By this time it was the end of the day and we could not get another set of movers for the same day, so we called some who promised to be there at 8am. We decided to go to dinner and to run some errands. When we came out after eating to start the car: it would not start!

It was at this point that we started saying, "If it weren't for BAD luck we would have no luck at all!" I will spare you all the details about the mobile mechanic, but if anyone ever breaks down in San Diego anywhere at all, Jose and his daughter will come fix it. 619-339-4863  Se habla español.

The next day Gorilla Movers came - they are professional and great! We spent the entire day unpacking and setting everything up and we kept asking everyone where we could take our boxes and trash. In NOLA I would have just put them on the curb, but you cannot do that in Cali. We finally figured out that there is an EDCO recycling center literally 2 miles from my cottage. Sounds pretty clean, right? Turns out it is an indoor landfill and you should def get face masks if you go...

I mean MOUNTAINS of garbage with birds and rats running around - a mist comes out from the ceiling to keep down the dust. The workers there do have masks on but we inhaled this mess for ten minutes as we tried to quickly throw the boxes onto the piles...

With our sinuses and lungs permanently damaged, we called it a night. The next day was our last day together and we decided it was finally time to reach the coast we had set out for so long ago. It seemed like months since we had left New Orleans.

We finally reached the Pacific! We spent a gorgeous day in La Jolla together and then my mama had to head back home. I can't believe all we went through to get here. I am so thrilled with the cottage and the weather and this new adventure - please check back in to see what we did with the cottage.
We will never forget this trip - thank you so much, Mama!
E