thinking about san diego

it's weird moving like we do--here, there and everywhere. we just go where and when we're told. a life that we're rather accustomed to. i consider ourselves so blessed to have lived in san diego for the 4 1/2 years that we did--miles of beaches, beautiful weather, the convenience of pretty much anything and everything.  what more could a person ask for, right?

but returning there this past weekend made me a bit sad. and frustrated. of course, i didn't seem to notice any of these things, while living there, but who does... the crowds and crowds and crowds of people. the excessive 2 PM traffic, which only gets worse as the day goes on. the begging homeless on street corner after street corner. the graffiti that seems to be everywhere you turn. the trash, which lines so many streets and highways. the overwatering, even in a time of severe drought, in an attempt to keep the naturally existing brown at bay. the high cost of everything--from groceries, to gas, to houses.

while we lived in san diego, i closed my eyes to all of the these things and just considered myself damn lucky to live there.  i mean really...why would anyone want to dwell on the negative aspects of the place they call home?  but moving all around allows us to see the positive, negative, beauty and uniqueness of each location.

and in this part of kansas we're currently living, it's so green--full of land and fields.  tons of space and little to no traffic.  things move slower out here, something i've been working to embrace (despite my speeding ticket a couple days ago).  and maybe it's for those exact reasons that i seemed to hone in on these other aspects of san diego, when i was visiting.

i once thought that san diego would be one of the places we would consider retiring (if we could even afford it), but i'm not so sure. to be honest, i have absolutely no idea where we'll one day settle.  i actually panic a bit when i think about calling a single location home, for more than a few years, which is why sailing the americas for a year or two after steve retires from the navy is so enticing!

and please don't get me wrong...san diego took really great care of us for 4 1/2 years and for that i'm so thankful. without a doubt, we will continue to visit over the years...and simply continue to ignore all those other aspects of san diego, as i'm sure so many tourists do!

sharing a couple shots from my san diego sessions last weekend...