Our plan to move to Temecula was most likely a surprise to the majority of everyone we knew, with the exception of very close family and friends. Robbie was offered a job here in Temecula, which is right between San Diego and Los Angeles, in mid-April, but the on-boarding process took nearly a month, and we didn't want to put the cart before the horse on such a huge announcement. So we waited until everything was completely official, and that's when we spilled the beans!!
When Robbie was offered the job and before we knew the lengthy process, we had planned to move here the last weekend in April, but then we got more of a timeline, and we put our moving weekend to Memorial Day weekend. This actually worked out well because we enlisted my mom, and Robbie's brother and dad to help us move from Vegas. Moving on Memorial Day weekend allowed them to take one less day of PTO and enjoy Memorial Day here in SoCal!
Robbie and I decided to move with a U-Haul, being Temecula was only 4.5 hours south on the I-15, and we had an awful experience with hiring a moving truck when we moved from Minnesota to Vegas. After thinking about the logistics of driving the truck through the Cajon Pass (going from the high desert to the low valley), neither of us were comfortable with driving a 20' truck through that, so we knew we needed help. Enter Robbie's dad. He drives truck for a living, and we knew he wouldn't have any issues driving the U-Haul. We brought him in for the sole purpose of driving the Cajon Pass, but he ended up driving the whole way. When Robbie asked his dad to come help, he didn't even hesitate to say yes. And apparently he told his wife that he was coming, and didn't even put it up for discussion! Ha! When I told my mom the news that we were moving, she said to just ask if we need any help along the way, so when we knew we were going to move ourselves, she was more than happy to come help also! About the same time Robbie asked his dad to help, he also asked his brother, and he was in as well! Robbie and I were excited for a really fun weekend, and a mini family reunion of sorts!
During Robbie's onboarding process, we both came to Temecula a few times, and one of them was to find an apartment! We had 2 in mind, with one as a front-runner from what we saw on the internet. We made appointments at both, and after we found out that one of those apartments didn't have the floor plan we were looking for, it was pretty much decided for us. The runner-up complex was nixed!!! The Vineyards was our first choice, and after seeing the different units and the rest of the complex, we were sold! We actually signed our lease that weekend! No messing around for us! Another trip to Temecula was to navigate the city and get a good idea of its layout. The very first time we came here, the moment we stepped out of the car, we noticed a huuuuge difference in the air quality! The air in Temecula is so cool and crisp, where Vegas air is hot and stagnate. Other things we noticed how nice the neighborhoods are, and how much green there is here, Even the mountains are green! Coming from living just off the strip in Vegas, it was a welcoming sight! Score for Temecula! We also realized that Temecula was only 35 minutes east of the beach. The closest beach to Temecula is in Oceanside, so we drove there on one of our visits, and it was gorgeous. Oceanside Beach is a quiet beach, and at the end of their pier is a restaurant!! We were excited to eat there in the near future!
Waiting a month to move had its advantages and disadvantages. Knowing we had several weeks to get our stuff together was a blessing because we could take our time packing and organizing. When we moved to Vegas from Minnesota, we had only less than 2 weeks! The time, however, was also a curse! After we came to Temecula and found that it was much more our style, we wanted to get here ASAP!!! We were growing impatient!! Vegas became old news real fast!
One week before we moved, we had to cave and buy a car! We had gone almost 2 years being car-free, but we knew we just couldn't get along without wheels in Southern California. We didn't need anything flashy, so we bought a 2004 Toyota Camry, and paid for it all up front. This way, we won't have any car payments (yay), and we just need liability on it, as opposed to full insurance like on our last car that we were leasing. Our Camry (who we named Tammy) runs great, and it will serve its purpose in the Daniels family!
For as many weeks as we had been anticipating our move, Memorial Day Weekend was finally here! My mom, and Robbie's dad and brother were all on the same flight, and due into Vegas on Saturday evening, with our move happening on Sunday. We figured the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend would be the day that traffic would be the lightest, especially in Southern California! When our family arrived, we had a hotel room at Hooter's for Robbie's dad and brother, and my mom was going to sleep on our futon in our apartment. On Saturday morning, we picked up the U-Haul, finished packing, and organized all the boxes and furniture in the order that we would be hauling them out, and even had time to take one last dip in the pool. The apartment was bare bones when everyone came! Shortly after, we took everyone out to eat at Buca di Bepo, which was in the Excalibur. We had a great time with some good laughs!
We had an early wake-up call on Sunday, at 5:30am with a plan of starting to move out at 6am!! Everyone had their own jobs in the process of loading the U-Haul. Robbie's brother and dad were in the truck organizing everything, my mom and I were the runners,bringing most of the boxes and furniture from the apartment to U-Haul, and Robbie was in the apartment loading boxes onto the dolly's. We had 2 bell-hop carts, one utility dolly, and one appliance dolly to work with. With all those carts and our meticulous planning, the moving out went really slick. We were completely moved out in under 3 hours! That time went really fast, and I barely had time to say goodbye to the home that I spent the most time in since I moved out of my childhood home. But, I knew that better things were waiting on the other side!
Robbie's dad and brother rode in the U-Haul, and Robbie, me, and my mom were driving our car. It was fun caravanning from Vegas to SoCal! We made 2 planned stops, just so everyone could stretch their legs and get nourishment. We stopped once in Baker, and once in Victorville, right before the Cajon Pass. After Victorville, our car drove ahead of the U-Haul so we could get our keys to the new apartment before the U-Haul arrived. All through our drive, Robbie was in contact with the U-Haul, and all our worldly possessions could not have been in better hands!
We pulled up to The Vineyards at around 3:30pm, and soon enough, we walked into our home! As a virtual tour of our apartment, I have provided pictures below, with captions of the flow.
Entrance to our apartment
Hallway directly to the left of the entrance. This leads to the laundry, guest bath, built-in desk area, and guest bedroom/office.
Guest Bathroom
Guest bedroom/office
My view each day out of the guest bedroom/office window
Kitchen and dining, just down from the apartment entrance
Kitchen, from the dining area
Dining area, living room, patio entrance off the living room, and master bedroom off the dining area to the right, taken from the kitchen
Living room, from the patio door
From the master bedroom, looking into the doorways of the master bath (left), master closet (right), and out into the living area
Master Bath
Master Closet
The only pressing appointment we had on Monday was a technician coming to install the internet. That happened in the morning, which allowed the rest of the day to be a beach day!! Around noon, we all headed over to Oceanside and put our towels down for much needed relaxation on the beach! We filled up a cooler with water, beer, and wine coolers! It was the best day! Robbie's dad and brother had never seen the Pacific Ocean before, and mom had never seen the Pacific in Southern California, so it was fun to give them all that opportunity!
After our hunger set in, we went to no other place than Ruby's on the pier, the restaurant I mentioned above! Ruby's is a diner style restaurant with amazing food and milkshakes! The day was slightly overcast, so by dinnertime I was a little chilly, so I stuck with hot chocolate. I'm taking everyone else's good word for it on the milkshakes! :) After the amazing day of relaxation, we headed back to Temecula and about crashed as soon as we got settled! We were wiped out!
Tuesday we said goodbye and a thousand thank-you's to our family for the immense amount of help they provided throughout the move! We drove my mom, Robbie's dad and brother to the San Diego airport for a flight back to Minneapolis. I can't believe that our airport is now San Diego!! It worked out so they all had the same flight back, which was nice!
Robbie and I both had the rest of the week off to get settled in and get acquainted with our new and exciting city and surroundings! During the week, we finished unpacking, tried a few new restaurants, I got my hair colored, we went to see the new movie San Andreas, we both got pedicures, and Robbie got a haircut, complete with a shampoo and scalp massage, a hot towel compress, and a back massage! We wanted to pamper ourselves as much as we could as a reward for our hard work the past few weeks! On that Saturday, we drove up the Pacific Coast Highway a couple hours, still in disbelief that we now live here, so close to everything we could ever want! It's going to take a long time for all this to sink in! I mean, I'm writing this as I watch little-leaguers practice on 2 baseball diamonds right outside our windows, which also happens to be the view I have at work, too! We are extremely blessed to have this life!
Our move to Southern California was an exciting one, and we have an endless list of things to do and see! Our plan is to lay down roots here in Temecula, and our next move will most likely be into our new home!! Our adventures here are endless!
"It's not only moving that creates new starting points. Sometimes all it takes is a subtle shift in perspective, an opening of the mind, an intentional pause and reset, or a new route to start to see new options and new possibilities." -Kristin Armstrong
