February 26

I must admit… I think I am actually going to enjoy commuting here. Our drive from Imperial Beach (where we will be living) to The Naval Amphibious Base is about 12 minutes up the Silver Strand Highway- a road planked by green plants and families biking with their kids, with the bay on the East side and the Pacific Ocean to the West. It’s a bit more scenic than 285.

Now granted I’ll be making this commute every morning at 4am… until we buy David a car. But waking up to drive him should keep us on the same schedule (going to bed at 8 each night and up by 4), and it will keep me on a closer schedule to my Atlantan home-base (we’re three hours behind you guys!)

I made the drive again today as I went to look at more houses, and I had an overwhelming sense of peace and excitement (yes, those two can happen together). It was 75 and sunny and I was driving next to the ocean with my windows down, thinking that it really wouldn’t be so bad to call this place home.

There is an overwhelming sense of patriotism here, and I am so proud of my husband for serving the way he is. There is also an overwhelming sense of …doom, I think… as we see guys in the BUD/S program now, waddling across the road (running almost 10 miles each day leads to waddling if you’re wondering) just to get their lunch. We saw the remnants of BUD/S class 275 (David is 276) waddle across the road yesterday in their brown shirts, meaning that they are graduates of Hell Week. And we look at them and think: Who of David’s friends and classmates will be there in two months, with brown shirts and camo fatigues and the numbers “276” stenciled to their big green helmets?

David had his first day at the BUD/S compound today- just checking in and processing (of course he’s been there over 12 hours, but that’s just government efficiency for you). His room has an ocean view and is literally beachfront, and he shares it with three other guys. We think he’ll be able to stay with me some during the week and definitely on weekends, but we’re not getting our hopes up. Our focus is on his training now, and we are just thankful to be in the same state!

We found a charming house that we are hoping to move into early next week- it has three bedrooms and a huge backyard for Samson. I affectionately call it “the double wide”, but David says we can’t move in if I keep calling it that. So now it’s “the house on Emory Street”. It’s about a mile to the beach, and you can see Mexico from the roof.

It is even stranger than I imagined being so far away from home, but we are both excited and thankful to be here. Despite the quizzical looks we keep getting when I order sweet tea at dinner, say “yall” in conversation or explain that our dog is a “coon hound”, I think we’ll fit in just fine.

We’ve already found some amazing spots to take our visitors (like the incredible Asian bistro we discovered last night or the runway on base where jets fly in and out), so start planning that vacation to sunny California!