HI!
I haven't written much since, whoa!, last April. At that time, we had a pretty well organized life that went on predictably from day-to-day. Sure, new things happened every once in a while, but eventually what was became what is.
Recently, good friends Anthony and Sue invited us to come to Estes Park Colorado to help them celebrate their son Ryan's graduation from the US Merchant Marine Academy and the marriages of their two lovely daughters, Kat and Diane. We dragged the trailer 1300 miles one way, stopping at the beautiful Overlook Ranch just outside of Estes Park, settling in for a week of fun and frivolity.
That time passed well, so well in fact that I commented to Deb on the way home that "I could live here." Prophetic. Two days travel, 48 hours of "Why do it?" and "Why not do it?" discussions in a car, not more than two feet from each other, we'd decided to move to Denver.
Snap decision? Some people think that's the case, but they are wrong. If you look at the list of places we go for visits and vacations, you'll see names and places like Alaska, Las vegas, Sedona, La Placitas, Sante Fe, Burlington, Cabo San Lucas, Grand Tetons, Yosemite Valley, Zion National Park, Bryce National Park, Glacier Park, Cape Cod, ....... and it goes on and on. Everywhere we went, the common element was the enjoyment of the presence of great friends and family. And, a common thread was the question "Is this the place?"
The week in Denver, the presence of old friends (only in the sense that we've known these friends for a long time), meeting new friends, seeing the mountains, the plains, the City, the trees, the water, the lights, the darkness and silence ....... caused us to answer, "Yes, this is the place."
Why leave Alameda?
Being brutally honest, there are things I love and things I don't love about this area. Alameda is an island and has been isolated from the mainstream of the Bay Area since the days of World War II. People who live here might not want to admit that, but it's true. It's very close to Oakland, a city of many faces. The worst face of Oakland is the violence that occurs too close to Alameda - less than a mile from our house. In the summer, at night I can lie awake, listening and not knowing whether the noise I hear is celebratory fireworks at the A's game or gunfire from International Boulevard. I don't like being so close to that. The only thing that keeps us apart from spillover is the slough.
Graffiti is epidemic nearby. Tagging is evidence that someone is saying "This is mine!" When applied to freeway signs and concrete barriers, overpasses, buildings, bridge columns, cars, trucks, construction vehicles ..... everywhere there's a spare square inch of open space, someone is saying "What was yours is now mine." I don't like that.
Traffic congestion is one price paid for being in the Bay Area. We have freeways that are 6 lanes wide and bumper-to-bumper at 20 miles per hour during rush hours. On Fridays, it takes more time to go 15 miles ("out of town") than it does to go 90 miles to get to Sacramento.
And, there are questions about the ability of California to govern itself in a way that produces progress and a better life for its citizens in the future than they have now.
A double-edged sword is our home. It's a work of art, created with love and care over a period of 14 years. It had good bones - a great starting point for artists to begin creating. Now, the creation is complete - there's no more to do except maintain. Nothing to create, no projects to do. How does one just stop creating? Doesn't everyone need a new canvas now and then?
So, for all of those reasons and a few more, we are between opportunities. We've seized the opportunity to build a life in Alameda; we leave satisfied and move to the next opportunity - creating something extraordinary in Roxborough Park, Colorado.
