San Diego Surprises

I brought to California my preconceived notions that it would be an overpriced, expensive place to live. But to my joy, I quickly discovered that I was wrong.

Wait, I take that back. Housing in San Diego is ridiculous. I mean, 500 square feet apartments renting for $1200 per month. Yes, ridiculous. But the city is beautiful, with panoramic views of the Pacific, surreal weather, friendly people...the list goes on. There's a reason people want to live there, and the housing price is steep.

Other costs, however, are not. Expensive groceries? Nope. I discovered this little grocery store near where Nate might be working. I was floored to find boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.50/pound, 5 oz. goat cheese logs for $1.50, pounds of dark-roast local coffees for $5/pound. Is this for real, I thought? Can groceries really be cheaper in SoCal than in Athens, GA?

The prices for eating out were reasonable as well. We found this great little restaurant, The Mission, in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego, we ate breakfast there on Friday. Nothing more expensive than we find here in GA. And much cheaper than we experienced in Boston a year ago. Sweet!

Overall, San Diego doesn't seem to be the expensive place I thought it would be. And boy is it beautiful. I will post pictures soon. In the meantime, here is the Naval cemetery that I spent an afternoon in while waiting for Nate to finish his interview.



I sat in our rental car, quieted by the gravity of my surroundings. The sacrifice evidenced by the white marble was overwhelming -- all I felt was gratitude. Then I heard 3 shots, and Taps began to be played by a sole bugle. I lost it, tears fell down my face as I thanked God for his goodness to us...