Back in the States!!!

We made it! Jessi and I have made it to San Diego and have outprocessed the Air Force! We have already had some Mexican food and a walk on the beach...I think that this place could agree with me.
England made it on the plane with us. We did have to break into Eric's house to get her out but she made it through the almost 24 hours in her kennel and is none the worse for wear. Joe and Anita picked us up at the airport and had the house and our room all decorated for a home coming...it was really nice!
Yesterday we went back up to LA to outprocess. Now it is just a matter of a month of vacation and we are back to being civilians. We spent a little time in LA! it was a beautiful day...75 degrees and so sunny that our eyes (still not used to seeing the sun after three and a half years in England) were sore by the end of the day. We had lunch at a little organic cafe that was very good. I am not sure of the name of it but it was lovely. Then we went to an eclectic little bookstore and found some reading material and a gift or two.
On the way back to Escondido we stopped in a little town called San Clemente...it was so Mediteranean I felt like we were back in Crete! The town center had a lot of little shops and while you can not escape the size of American buildings these relatively small houses and shops made me feel right at home! The beach was beautiful and not too crowded. There were a few surfers and as we walked it became obvious that some people had skipped out of work early to come down and enjoy the beautiful day. I was surprised by the age of the surfers. While quite a few of them were young, the majority seemed to be older men with salt and pepper hair and when they looked out at the water they had a kind of intense ease in their gaze. Like they knew that they had to get out there, and do what they loved, but there was no particular hurry, they certainly didn't run or even walk too fast. I thought, "here are some people who do everyday the thing that they love." It was very nice to watch.
Like I said...I think that this place could agree with me.