It Begins...

Like all blogs, this starts with good intentions. The intention is to keep this up to date with how we're getting on now that we're in California. This is a public blog, so there'll be some things that are deliberately omitted. Anyway, let's see how it turns out... ARRIVAL British Airways Club World has to be experienced. Specifically, it has to be experienced on an 11 hour flight with a toddler. The ludicrous amount of floor-space and the lie-flat beds meant that the journey wasn't too painful. Thankfully, Lucy was able to sleep for quite a lot of the journey. Strangely, Merlot was checked in at the normal check-in desk along with our luggage. He was taken away and we didn't see him again until we got to the baggage hall at San Francisco, where he was already waiting quietly in his box by the time we got through immigration. We had fun trying to fit all of our luggage into the car that had been booked to take us from the airport to the apartment. Some Tetris skills were put to use, and eventually everything (alive or luggage) was loaded - Becky and I were under a small pile of belongings, but at least we were on our way. APARTMENT The apartment is in a gated community. It's slightly odd to have to use a remote opener (like a car central locking remote) to open the gates to drive in and out of the apartment complex. The complex is very pleasant, with a lot of trees, and with well maintained garden areas. There are also a couple of swimming pools and a gym. The apartment itself is a spacious 2 bedroom apartment - plenty big enough for us for a few weeks while our household belongings bob their way across the Atlantic. JET LAG Saturday morning was an early one, with Lucy waking up at 2:30am, and Becky and I doing shifts throughout the early hours. Sunday morning was more normal. By Monday we were all getting into the swing of the new timezone. SETTLING IN We've got a 'Settling In' service, which is like having a Personal Assistant for various necessary tasks: the very helpful Sherri. Our first meeting with Sherri was on Saturday morning, where she brought a pile of paperwork which explained everything from where the shops were, to who the sports teams were and how to apply for a driving licence. Then we went on an area tour with her to try to orient us a little. She ultimately dropped us off at the car hire location, and we were on our own. It gave us what we needed to do the first set of necessary shopping... which included a visit to Best Buy, where we got the bargain-tastic laptop that I'm now using to type this. ROUTINE Now we're trying to settle into a normal routine. It's Tuesday, and it's now beginning to feel like we've got all of the mundane provisions that you take for granted but miss when you haven't got. Issues like exactly what time to set the alarm, and how long it takes to drive to work now have to settle down and become second nature. NEXT STEPS Things still to be done include getting a Social Security Number (for me); getting driving licences; getting credit cards and mobile phones; buying a car or two; finding a house or flat to rent, and probably a whole lot more. Still, it'll take a very long time before the novelty of driving to work in the California sunshine wears off...