Uncertainty: Part II

The uncertainty finally came to an end today.

We are staying in San Diego!

Jeremy was officially dropped from recruiting school today due to his injury last week. I get to keep my job and he is non-deployable for a while while he heals and starts physical therapy. The doctor says it could be 6 months before he is fully healed.

We were looking forward to going someplace new and hopefully being closer to his family, but there are plenty of perks to staying here. San Diego isn’t the worst place to be stuck for a few more years! Keeping my job is a huge plus, it’s an awesome job and I am very grateful to be able to stay on since I was originally hired as a temp. We are going to start looking for a house to rent since our lease is up on January and we have the new puppy.

In 2 years we can hopefully pay of all of our debt since we are both working full-time, which will prepare us for Jeremy finished up his contract with the military and making the transition to civilians. I will hopefully get enough hours to become a licensed clinical social worker, which will open up job opportunities for me when we move.

All in all, things are pretty good aside form Jeremy’s injury. But mostly I am just happy about knowing for sure where we are going! I can find the good in pretty much anything.

San Diego Bucket List

I’ve lived in San Diego for almost exactly 6 years. I remember when I first moved down here I was excited to have the beach so close. The beaches in Northern California are nothing like the beaches in the south. Up north they are cold and it’s a long drive to get there.

I’ve since gotten used to living in San Diego and I don’t really do many of the typical touristy things. I’ve been to Sea World (many times), to all the beaches (including the nude beach!), Downtown, Old Town, Torrey Pines and many other San Diego travel destinations.

But now that we have a date for when we are moving (in December), I’ve realized that there is so much to do in San Diego that I still haven’t done and so many things that I should continue to take advantage of! I never go to the beach anymore and I rarely eat at a local restaurant. Now that my time in San Diego is ticking away day by day, I want to make a bucket list to be sure I don’t miss anything.

First on my list was kayaking. I’ve been to the beaches, but I’ve never been kayaking. So when a Groupon popped up in my email, I jumped on it. A few months ago me and my girlfriends took a kayak tour of La Jolla Coves and it was so much fun. We got to go in the caves and get up close to the seals.

Next on my list was SUP (Stand Up Paddle-Boarding). I’ve been surfing, I actually took a class in college (and got school credit! Yup, “surfing” is on my college transcripts lol), but paddle boarding has become more and more popular here over the years. So I got another Groupon and Jeremy and I paddled around Mission Bay last weekend.

My next plan is to go hiking at all the top-rated trails here in San Diego. In addition to my desire to lead a more healthy lifestyle, it’s not everyday that you get to live by the beach and hike along the cliffs over the ocean. I need to take advantage of it while I can!

When I was looking up trails (specifically ones that include Cliff Jumping, which is also on my bucket list), I stumbled across paragliding at Torrey Pines! That is now on my list too. It’s only $150!

If you can’t tell, I am not afraid of heights and I like to try everything at least once. I’ve been skydiving (for my 18th b-day outside of San Francisco) and I really want to go on a hot air balloon ride. Unfortunately, my husband does not share my enthusiasm and thinks I am crazy and have a death wish (slightly dramatic, I think), so he has been nominated to be my photographer.

This weekend is hiking. Next weekend is paragliding! Let the adventures begin!

Weekly Photo Challenge: My Neighborhood

Here it is. San Diego, CA

Unlike most military families, we have lived in San Diego County for my husband’s entire military career.

I moved down to San Diego in August 2007 to go to college at San Diego State. I lived on campus in the dorms…crazy experience, but one I think every freshman should have.

I then moved in with two of my friends from college to an apartment about 15 minutes north of campus. Jeremy was living in the barracks at Camp Pendleton about 45-60 minutes away and would come see me every weekend at my apartment. I lived in the living room of a 3-bedroom apartment with 3 other girls. Oh the joy of being a poor college student lol. I paid $450 and put up a curtain haha

After Jeremy and I got married we moved up to Escondido, about 1/2 way between my school and Camp Pendleton (the gray area at the very top left corner of the map). We lived there for 2 years until Jeremy got tired of the commute.

When I started graduate school we moved to Oceanside, where Camp Pendleton is located and I commuted the 60 minutes to San Diego State 2x a week for classes.

January 2012, Jeremy got order to MCAS Miramar (that’s the grey area on the center of the map). We were VERY lucky to be able to get a local duty station change so I could finish up graduate school. I don’t know what I would have done if they had sent him to another state with me being just 1/4 of the way through my 2-year program.

So here we are, coming up on 6 years of living in paradise.

I don’t want to settle down in San Diego, and I would not want to raise a family here, but I must say, it’s not a bad place to be stationed for a few years 🙂

I hear a lot of military spouses complaining about their duty station. Maybe I see things different because I chose to move to San Diego and wasn’t forced to because of my husband’s job, but I think in most cases a duty station is what you make of it. If you think it is going to suck, it will probably suck. But if you think it will be fun, and you try to find things you enjoy and take advantage of what is around you, then you will have a much better experience.

And when I hear fellow military wives complain about San Diego I can’t help by laugh. Your going to complain about living somewhere that people pay to come to on vacation?! Seriously?! I promise you, it could be MUCH worse.