Exactly 2 years ago today, we said goodbye to everything we ever knew. That included our families, our friends, our home and the small community we spent most of our lives in. We had decided to take the plunge and move from sunny southern California to northwestern Montana. For me and the kids, the move was simple. For Rick, it was much harder leaving all his friends from work and a well paying job of 20+ years. We wanted a change and wanted to live in a place we felt would be better for our children. Montana was where we vacationed and it just felt like the right place to be.
This was our home we left behind. It was a modest sized manufactured home on an acre with lots of oak trees. We had the house built there in 1995, so it had always been our home exclusively. Letting someone else move in was hard, but we got lucky. It turned out our buyers went to school with Rick. We couldn't have been happier having a nice family move in, especially since Rick's parents lived next door. We left behind a 33 foot above ground pool, a trampoline and a swingset. The little girl that moved in couldn't have been happier. We were so lucky to sell our house in this market. 
We packed everything up and were on our way to a new adventure. We packed up the kids and the cats. Kitty & Belle were not too happy. They took turns screaming in the car for the next 3 days as we made our way north. They did fine and eventually got used to riding in the car and stopping each day in the RV. We didn't move into our new house until October 26, 2006, so we had to camp out in our trailer for a few days.
Rick and I took one last drive through Ojai, pictured above. Down the road on the left is the Arcade, which is a shopping center. The post office tower is on the right, which is a common site if you've seen pictures of Ojai. To the right is the Ojai Playhouse. It's a small movie theater. I saw JAWS for the first time there, in the front row. Directly on the left is The Oaks, which is a famous health spa that people come to from all over. This is Ojai Avenue and if you were to keep driving straight down this road, you'd end up in the area where I grew up. These pictures were taken on October 20, 2006. I haven't been back to Ojai since. Rick has because he had to return to finish up work for 6 weeks. There are a few things I miss like my family, friends and a few silly places like Andria's fish restaurant and Trader Joe's. The move has been positive for us. It was a big decision, but I'm glad we made it.
Has it been that long? Wow! Well, happy move-versary!
ReplyDeleteI just love the pictures you post from Montana - it certainly seems like a great move. But those big changes are tough.
ReplyDeleteThanks Renata -- yeah, it's amazing how quickly the time goes by, especially when we get older.
ReplyDeleteThanks Adrienne -- It was a really big move for us, especially for Rick. If he would have stayed on with the sheriff's department another 11 years, he'd get full retirement. Since he retired after 20 years, he didn't get as much. We had to decide which was better, staying in CA to get the full, or moving now while the kids were young. Had we waited, the girls would be in their late 20s. The kids miss CA, but are happy here.
That is a big move! I imagine that was a difficult decision, but Montana looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI'm a major homebody...when I married my hubby I told him I was happy living in the general vicinity and not to look for jobs in other states! So he is stuck with me here :0)
It's so hard to leave, but a great destination makes it worth it. It's great that you made a good move and are still happy with it. Thanks for sharing the memories.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kelly & Stephanie. Ironically, Rick didn't have a job lined up here either. He worked two different ones that he wasn't really happy with. I kept telling him to be patient and that something would come up. It did finally and he really enjoys what he's doing now, which is kind of like what he was doing before, just less work. :)
ReplyDeleteA big decision to make, I am glad you are happy. Don't envy your 3 DAYS in a car with the cats... a few hours was enough for me!
ReplyDeleteWe moved from Victoria to Queensland when I was 13, Mum moving away from most of her family, but they have always loved it here, and being younger, I adjusted ok. Have never gone back, but I hope to one day.
What a big decision. A hard one but a good one I think - it seems to have worked out well for you.
ReplyDeleteI have never lived far from where I am now and can't imagine moving but I haven't closed my mind to it either. Vince and I have talked about 'what ifs' and while neither of us can picture leaving Canada, we are open to leaving Ontario!
Who knows what the future brings?
Tracy -- Canada is beautiful, at least the parts I've seen. I wouldn't mind living there. I was even looking at homes in Alaska when we first started thinking about moving, but Rick wouldn't go for it.
ReplyDeleteDee -- Fortunately for us, our kids do really well on long car trips. We travel by RV (caravan) a lot, so they're used to the long drives. I remember being bored stiff as a kid, but nowadays kids have iPods, DVD players, hand-held games and all that stuff. I used to have to read license plates or play the ABC sign game -- LOL!
You are so much more daring than I, Rena. My husband and I bought our house from my Mom and Dad. They bought it in 1962 and I've lived in it my entire life.
ReplyDeleteBTW: Isn't that a new avatar?
It's kind of new, Kim. I've had it for a few years now. It's what I started this blog with on my very first post. I got tired of looking like an empty head on other people's blogs I'm following. ;)
ReplyDeletehow exciting and scary that must have been...I have lived in the same area all my life and I don't know what I would do if hubs said he wanted to move away...I get lost backing out of my driveway, and it has taken me 42 years to find where I'm going around here...I'm too old to learn new directions...grin...
ReplyDeleteThis was a fascinating post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this.
It's lovely to learn more about you.