Saying Goodbye to California Overthe next two months, Brian and I will be traveling around the area, seeing friends, family and places that we love but have to say "Goodbye" to at the end of that time. On July 31, we will be turning over the keys to the house we live in and on August 1, start out on a very long drive across country to Maryland.
I've been told that the last time someone in my family (the Dykstra side of the world) moved 3,000 miles was my grandfather, when he came from the Netherlands. That same person told me that wanderlust skips a generation and, since my parents never moved more than 30 miles from the places where they were born, I'd have to say that that is true-- at least in my case. I seem to have received the lion's share of the wanderlust trait in my family.
The difference between this move and the last four have been the reason for moving: adventure and curiosity have spurred me most times but this time, it is for plain old-fashioned functionality. My company is moving us across country and, we're looking forward to seeing the Atlantic Ocean and the Smithsonian and The Washington Monument and the VietNam Memorial, among many other things.
In the meantime, we're going to say "Goodbye to California" with pictures of the travels we make over the next two months. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do in seeing them from time to time.
July 29, 2002
We have approximately 36 hours til we pull out of the driveway of the house that we have called home for these past years. Brian and I have been married for four years and our married life has, to date, been in Sunnyvale. Brian was born and raised in California but, as my brother likes to say, I'm the family gypsy and, will be making this trip my fifth "cross-country" type of move.
I moved to California because I wanted to become the Great American Screenplay Writer. Well, I am a produced playwright but I would've been no matter where I lived. My play was produced by my sister's school and I'm proud to say that I have a tape of that production that I periodically watch to remind myself that I have achieved that goal.
I've also come to realize in the last years that it doesn't matter where I am living-- what is important is that I'm with people who care about me and that I care about. I've been lucky to find a man that is not only wonderful, warm, generous and loving but his family is, too. They treat me as though I were a daughter and I couldn't ask for better parents. They are loving and warm as well. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law are also wonderful and warm people-- it must be something in the way they were raised! ;>) Their families have etched, poked and prodded their way into my heart and I will those memories as well to share for the years to come. We will miss this family because we won't be able to see them every few weeks for lunch or dinner but, we will see them-- they will come to visit and we will have an open door for them at that visit. They are family and we will be with them again.
By moving to the east coast, it means that I'll be closer to my family, too-- I have two siblings that live in Michigan, one in Maine, and one (as you know) that is in Brazil. Perhaps this relocation will help us to become more than geographically closer. I don't know-- I'm not going to set expectations that cannot be met by anyone. That doesn't matter, either-- we're still family.
So while there are some pictures to post here and some thoughts to close with, our final "Goodbye to California" is imminent and the reluctance has left and, with all of that comes expectation: the drive across country, the arrival of the truck with our possessions, the unpacking and settling in and beating our own personal path to the Smithsonian (our other new home), we will make Maryland our home because we-- Brian, me and Sally-- are a family. We are together-- Thankfully.
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Family:Brian's family lives in California-- for several generations, anyway. We are both very close with his family even though we don't spend as much time together as we should it seems. A few weeks ago (June 9), his sister and her family from Sacramento and us met at their folks house in Orinda; his brother and his daughter weren't there but the spirit of the family was gathered together.
Bob (the equivalent of "Grandpa"), Mike (brother-in-law), Alexandra (Mike & Barb's (Brian's sister) oldest child), Rob (their youngest child), and Brian and I went to a park in Orinda to play with Sally and the swings. We had a really good time-- spending time with children is always a wonderful experience.
Rob and Alex
Rob & Alex
Brian and Alex
Brian and Alex
Mike & Bob
Brian, Sally & Rob
Alex and Rob playing catch with Sally
Ordering Sally to chase a ball.
Rob, Sally & Brian
Sally's finished playing catch
Rob & Mike
Blurry but he's so cute, you had to see this one!
The California Sky (over our house . . . )
Pacific Ocean, June 1, 2002
Sally's First Day at the Ocean!
Okay-- here you go, Girl!
Yes, its the ocean.
Looks like one giant bathtub, doesn't it?
Sally? I was kidding--
you're not getting a bath...yet.
A boy and his dog...
Exploring...
A girl and her dog...
Which way is home?Brian's Favorite-- Rocks and ocean stuff!
Lots of Jellyfish!Copyright © 1999-2002, Marcia L. Dykstra
