Tripping

This is the view from the yard. We're planning a trip to that yard. So, we're very busy and chaotic. We're going to be gone for three months. I guess you could call us snowbirds, and that would be somewhat true. Maybe we're rainbirds or gray-weather birds. Next week we're driving down to Santa Cruz and staying in the upstairs two-room garret of Roger's family beach house. It overlooks the beautiful Monterey Bay. When Roger and I first met we lived there for five years. We know how to live in very small spaces. In fact we prefer it. The house we are leaving is much too big for the two of us to rattle around in the long dark months. We could live in a space the size of our bedroom. The rest of the house is really superfluous. I'm not sure why the McMansion idea is so popular. So much space is a distraction.
This is the view from upstairs. We will try not to think about the cold and gray northwest while we gaze out the windows. We have housesitters lined up and other great caregivers. Someone plans to write the great American novel in our house. Someone else will check in on the garden, the plants, the birds. Someone will be sending us our snail mail. We like to spread out the work, so no one feels overwhelmed. Three months is a long time. Fortunately, there will be a warm body here all the time, so we feel okay about leaving. We are taking the cat with us. He doesn't like his routine disrupted, but we think he'll manage to create a new one in the upstairs garret with us. We imagine he'll like it very much up there. Lots of things to watch flying past the windows: pelicans, gulls, hawks, herons. We're looking forward to that too. That, and the sound of waves every night.

We've already checked the tide charts and noted when there will be minus tides during the daylight in winter. Something we never have up here. We're hoping to find the fossil beds not covered by sand. We'll be looking for octopus in the rocky tidepools. We're planning on taking the camera.

Well that's the plan. So if we're quiet the next few days, not stopping by all the blogs we usually do, or seem more distracted than usual, you know why.

Update: I see why I should not try to write a post when I have a headache. I left the impression that we were leaving sooner than we are. We're busy getting ready for a three-month trip, but won't be leaving until next week. But there's so much stuff to be done in preparation, it's taking a lot of our time. We will have dsl when we get to Capitola, and plan to blog from there. We'll still be blogging from here though for the next few days. Not sure what we'll have to say, maybe... hey guess what... it's raining!