After lunch today we said goodbye to the Berkeley based family and our super granddaughter which officially ends the holiday season for us. Tomorrow may be my older son's birthday but he has to work and I dropped off his gift on New Year's Eve. Always shortchanged with a very early January birthday as people are celebrated out LOL.
Anyway, I've spent part of the day looking at year end financial numbers and our plans for next year which are still pretty much up in the air on the moving front. We spent a ton of money in 2018 if you count turning family loans into gifts. But we did inherit more money so .... We will continue to contribute to a 529 plan for our granddaughter but at our children's request we have reduced gift giving even more for Christmas.
And (thanks California DMV) despite getting driver's licenses about 1 1/2 years ago we both need to make appointments, dig out all the required documents and pay another $35 to get the Real ID Driver's License! Yuck.
I think I am going to try to not shop out of boredom or unwillingness to wait (for a book from the library for example) this year. I have done my winter wardrobe using Project 333 and am already bored (but that is a personality problem not a wardrobe or need to go shopping problem.) So what behaviors can I substitute for shopping/browsing online or going to stores and wandering around? Eating is out and library trips usually involve a coffee and sweet but could switch to lunch. Exercise is good. Hmm - what else?
We are talking about using Hubby's cancelled flight credit to both go to Dallas as he had originally planned to see the Kennedy assassination museum. I might go to the Dallas art museum instead! Then we would drive to Austin and on to San Antonio (where my parents were married at the end of WWII). I had originally thought of going to Santa Fe but this makes more sense and will be fun.
Ideas for what to do in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio please! And when is it best to go in late winter or spring before it gets really hot/humid but not during the rainy season?
We need to research where we might live in or near Berkeley and have what we want house, price, walkability to restaurants, etc. and opportunities to meet people and make friends vs an area that empties out every day. Moves during retirement are tough on the making friends and finding meaningful and fun things to do front.
So here is to kicking off 2019!
Do both. Even you will appreciate the sixth floor museum and standing on the Grassy knoll I expect. Let me know how long you will be in each place. I would try to get to San Antionio before the end of April.
ReplyDeleteThis may or may not work for you, but part of my morning pages thing is to do an alone exploration once a week, so a made a list of all the local things I haven't seen. M list ranges from going to the library and lunch to going to a local art gallery, to even walking at our upscale mall and grabbing a bite, to checking out little local art galleries. I can walk the mall and not buy if there is not a soft surroundings in it, lol. Seriously I made along list (but this is stuff for me to do alone, that's the point). I agree that it is difficult to move and make new friends, it took me quite awhile to get to my comfy place, and I could end up moving again, who knows.
Thanks for the suggestions! We will be making plans.
DeleteMid to late March is comfortable and a pretty time to drive the roads around San Antonio and the hill country...not too hot yet, and the blue bonnets will be in bloom. Should be a pretty year as we've had plenty of rain in the fall/winter.
ReplyDeleteIn San Antonio, the missions (https://www.visitsanantonio.com/missions/ ) are unique and moving. We haven't been in years, but they've been made a World Heritage Site fairly recently, so I expect they have experienced some upkeep enhancements. The River Walk has shopping and restaurants galore, but is a bit too commercial for me.
If you or your husband are interested in WWII and feel like venturing a little north of San Antonio, Fredericksburg has the National Museum of the Pacific War as well as Admiral Nimitz Museum, along with wineries, galleries, and interesting buildings dating to the German immigrants. I've been to the Nimitz museum before, but husband hasn't, and neither of us has been to the Pacific War museum...he just got through asking me what we should do while he is off, so I think I've just talked myself into a little trip of our own tomorrow! :)
Thanks for the great ideas and information!
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