So – good news – we got an apartment. A cute, 2-bedroom apartment in a really nice neighborhood called CLAIREMONT in San Diego. It’s 5 minutes from Pacific Beach, 10 minutes from Hillcrest and about 15 minutes from the Downtown area. Eric really liked it best because there were lots of trees, and plants around. Their landscaping is really beautiful. The apartment itself is bigger than a lot of others we looked at, and it’s really clean and neat. Also, we get one parking space in their outdoor, gated parking lot and we can actually store the RV there! So, no RV storage fees! The rent is also very reasonable. And there's a pool in the middle of the courtyard -- instead of a fountain! We move in on Monday! So, we’re happy that we’ll be getting out of the RV very soon.
We drove over this morning. We dropped off a deposit and signed a commitment letter. We sign the lease on Monday! We also arranged with our movers to have our things brought over on Monday.
Next we were supposed to go pick up the PT Cruiser, which was being delivered to the sales office this afternoon. Unfortunately, they said it wouldn’t be available until Friday, which was no big deal for us. So, we’re still driving around the Kia Rio rental, which is fine.
We came back to the RV and Eric and I had a long, long talk. He's been depressed about the mountain biking situation. He isn't thrilled with San Diego. I told him it wasn’t too late to change our minds. I wanted to make sure he wanted to stay, to make the jump from the RV to a real apartment. I told him that, if he wanted to, I was ready to get back in the RV and start traveling again, to find a better place to live. I don’t have my heart set on San Diego. I just wanted to get away from the winter cold.
We talked for a long time. We agreed that the RV situation is becoming part of the problem and we think things will be better when we’re in a normal space again. It’s just been too long. We need to get out of the RV.
So, we're going for the apartment. Our stuff is being delivered on Monday. It will be stressful to go through all our stuff, and have to sort and unpack, but it will also be comforting to have a lot of our familiar things again. Eric will have his massage chair, all his record albums, and his stereo equipment. I know I’ll be happy to have all my clothes and accessories. I’ve been wearing some of the same clothes each week for 14 weeks! I did purchase some new things in different places, but not much. I don’t know how much of my old stuff I’ll even fit into, but I’m working on that, too!
So, we’ll be buying a car on Friday and moving in on Monday. We’re making the commitment to stay, but we’re keeping our options open. Eric says we should give it a year, and I agree, but I’m really hoping that he finds happiness here on his bicycle very soon.
I think the combination of things is getting him down – the lack of riding, feeling out of shape (due to the lack of riding), and the uneasiness of being in a new place. I really feel for him, because I know how much his riding means to him, but I honestly believe that getting into a normal routine will help him.
If it doesn’t, if he’s really not happy in San Diego, I told him we could go anywhere he wants, as long as it doesn’t snow. That leaves lots of places, right? I just want him to be happy and – believe it or not – I honestly believe I could be happy anywhere, as long as it’s not a tiny town out in the middle of nowhere (which I don’t think Eric would like either). So, we have a deal: We try it here. We see what happens. We stick together (we’re a team).
So, after our long talk, we got back in the car to go bed shopping. After all, if we’re moving in on Monday, we’re going to need a bed on Monday night! We had already tried the TEMPUR-PEDIC mattress, which didn’t thrill us. We liked the SEALY POSTURPEDIC “TRUE FORM MEMORY FOAM,” which is SEALY’S version of the same thing, but it was still expensive -- $1,699 for a Queen. We saw a commercial on TV for a furniture store called JEROME’S FURNITURE, which is California’s largest furniture company. They advertised a PRIMOPEDIC, which is their version of the same type of mattress. Theirs was hundreds of dollars less and their store was right nearby, so we headed over there to check it out.
Of course, they were closing early, because it’s the day before Thanksgiving, and as we were walking towards the entrance, people were leaving and they said, “Oh, they’re closing in five minutes.”
Isn't this comfy-looking?
We decided to go inside anyway, and practically ran to the mattress department (on the second floor of this REALLY beautiful store). No one stopped us, or said anything about closing, but as we were lying on all the mattresses, trying them out, they made the “Closing in 5 minutes” announcement. We tried the PRIMOPEDIC ULTIMATE, which has the pillow-top. It’s an all-foam mattress with 5 inches of space-age memory foam, low motion transfer, a cleanable stretch cover and the same warranty as the Tempur-Pedic! It felt exactly the same as the SEARS version, which was $1,699.
This one was a much better deal. After adding the Premium Mattress Protector (which guarantees a healthy, anti-allergy sleep zone, which is breathable, waterproof and stain proof), the bed frame, delivery, and tax, it was still more than $150 less than the SEALY! We both thought it felt SO good. I love the bed in the RV, so I’m happy to know that our new mattress will be super-comfy, too!
We came downstairs and asked who we should talk to about buying a mattress. The guy was SO nice. He told us, “I just told the people before you that they were the last sale of the day, but I guess I was wrong!” In 15 minutes we were out of there and the mattress will be delivered sometime on Monday!
Everything was falling into place. We decided to go to the CORVETTE DINER, which is – by now – our favorite restaurant in San Diego. It’s just so much fun to be there and their food is really good, too. Doesn’t everyone like straws thrown at them? I knew Eric was feeling okay if he wanted to go there. You only go there if you want to have fun.
We sat in a booth and started with two egg creams. They’re SO good. I had the Grilled Veggie Sandwich and Eric had a Turkey Burger. Both came with French fries. There were a lot of families with lots of kids sitting near us. They were so cute. Eric and I really enjoy other people’s kids. Anyone who knows us knows we love kids, so it’s strange that we never wanted our own. I don’t know why that is, but we both felt exactly the same way. We just love looking at (and loving) everybody else’s kids!
We were lucky, because we have so many beautiful nieces and nephews and were always surrounded by children – those of our friends and family. We still enjoy our relationships with them, even though they’re all grown up now. We’re even a Great Aunt and Uncle, which makes us feel really old!
Anyway, we had a great meal and then came back to the RV. It was a big day for us. Lots of decisions made and I pray that we made the right ones. It seems like the right thing to do, right now – settling down, starting our lives here. There doesn’t seem to be anything else to do. It’s actually kind of exciting, because the future is wide open. We could end up anywhere. But I’m sure Eric doesn’t think it’s exciting at all. He’s just worried and nervous and anxious. He needs me to show him that it’s all going to be okay – that together we can get through anything. And I need him – for everything.