Thank you Monterey

Our first few days in Monterey were "brutiful" meaning both brutal and beautiful...

The view from my bedroom- 

The view from our livingroom- 

And off the deck-

The only thing that went badly on the day we traveled was that at 4pm the day we arrived at the condo- the power went out! We went down to the beach and all was fine, we came back and no power!

Thankfully we were exhausted and jet lagged, so we had cereal for dinner (thanks to Lynn for grocery shopping for us and having everything stocked with all our favorites), played a board game and went to bed as the sunset.

Sadly, we woke up and still no power! So off we went in search of coffee and food. And wouldn't you know it, Starbucks was CLOSED! I sent a message to Lynn and Kristen saying "what kind of America is this? No power, no Starbucks and a deadly virus! I should have stayed in Jakarta."

So we grabbed some fast food and went and parked alongside "Tate's beach," rolled down the windows and enjoyed brunch. And there were sea otters playing right below us that we were able to watch while we ate. AMAZING!

Then we took a drive and ended up finding rockstar parking at Asilomar Beach, so I decided to pull over and let the kids go explore-

 Seriously- everyone raves about Bali, but I for me it the winner is Monterey!

As the kids played in the sand, waded in the water and watched the surfers, I remember just sitting in the car with the sunroof open, in prayerful conversation with God. I was so present in the moment- the fresh air, the beautiful beaches, the safe wide open spaces for my kids to explore. All was right for  that hour.

And then we headed back to the condo, and loo what we saw-

 The electric company working to restore our power! It finally came on about 3pm- 20+ hours after we lost it the day before. We were fine, I was only worried about all the food in the fridge and freezer that Lynn had just stocked for us. And in the end, nothing went bad. God really does have a plan for everything- even that gallon of milk!

The power came on right in time for us to figure out how to hook up the internet! That's the only thing the condo was missing (okay, also a meat thermometer and potato masher. HA) and Lynn had everything set up so when we arrived, there was a box of equipment on the front stoop and we just needed to install it- for school TOMORROW morning!

Tate is willing to try, but I'm a dinosaur when it comes to technology. Thankfully Kristen (and Chris) were willing to sacrifice a couple hours to work this out with us.

Over the next couple days, I loved seeing the kids in various spots, like curled up on the stairs-

Or taking a "recess break" from school to grab the binoculars and check out the sea life- 

And guess who was still in town as an RA in the international dorm at CSUMB when we arrived?

 Kayla! Our second day there she sent me a text "Titi, I'm on your beach!" And we immediately went down to see her, while practicing our physically distancing- which was SO odd with a family member who'd not seen in too many months.

Every single day. I vowed that we would hit the beach every single day we could. Proof-

One day while on the deck, I looked up-

And it was blue. The bluest of blues. In Jakarta, it's always "overcast" from the pollution. We don't see blue like this EVER.

While it will be hard to appreciate all of this because I DO NOT want to be here, I will appreciate it. I will try not to take it for granted, because when it is over (and I pray it will be over...) I know that I will miss it ALL. This is my happy place. I vow to be happy. The kids need that, they deserve that. I will show them how to do this. It will be hard, but we can do this.