Not quite what I thought...

When we were in the planning stages of moving to California, I had pictured certain things in my mind and how life would be.  I played out scenarios constantly of what our lives would be like, down to every little detail.  I'm not honestly sure how I got to the point of thinking we'd be moving to some sort of Utopia or something, but what I had pictured and planned in my head, wasn't necessarily exactly what it turned out to be.

Don't get me wrong, before I continue I want to make it absolutely clear that we are very happy and love it here.  We're not going anywhere.  Life here is wonderful and I wouldn't change one thing about it.

I just have a very active imagination and I let it get the best of me sometimes.  I pictured life to be like our 4-5 day get aways to Disneyland, and it overshadowed the actual reality of working long hours, living our life day to day, paycheck, to paycheck.  Living here full time would not be like the euphoria visiting two times a year gave me.

The weather is everything one could hope for and we love every 70 degree sunny, slightly breezy day of it.  We love to be able to head down to the beaches just 6 miles away and spend a few hours walking along the sandy beaches and getting our feet wet, taking pictures along the way.  We've been able to go to Disneyland twice, which still hasn't sunk in yet.  We're already realized that living locally, has changed our Disney routine.

For right now, there's no more 4 day weekends at the parks, riding, resting, dining, and drinking.  We'll enjoy those days next year when we have accumulated more vacation days and plan ahead to use our DVC (timeshare) and be able to spend a few days like our vacations before.

Until then, we've learned that as a local, heading to Disneyland for a full 16 hour day is not possible anymore.  Hell, it wasn't possible before.  I'm 51 years old, both hips replaced, bad neck and back, and lastly only a year out from quadruple open heart bypass surgery.  I don't last long at the park.  Three or four hours and I'm tired, needing a rest.

Now, we head there and spend 5-6 hours walking, shopping, people watching, enjoying a cocktail or four in a bar.  We ride a few attractions, catch one or two of the evenings entertainment.  Spend a few bucks and go home.

So despite all of the ideas that floated around in my head for months before the more, I've learned quickly to love what we have, where we're at and what our lives have become.

I feel like a local now.

A Disney local.