How To Build a Nest in 7 Days or Less - Part 3

It's still true!  We've tested the theory three times now. Back in August 2011, after we arrived in Washington, D.C., I wrote, "...while traveling in many different countries, I've noticed a fascinating phenomenon. No matter how strange the new surroundings are, after about one week in a [new] place, life begins to take on a sense of normalcy.... Experiences and circumstances that seem so peculiar and unusual during the first few days begin to seem completely ordinary much sooner than you'd expect."

Well, it's happening again, but it sure doesn't pertain to negotiating traffic....  We figured this time would be easier than the last two missions because we've spent a lot of time in Southern California over the years and we thought we knew our way around. Well, maybe we were a little too confident?! Now that we've been here a couple of weeks, we've discovered that there are a lot more freeways than we realized (not one of them without twists and turns), and we are also very UNfamiliar with all the surface streets in Anaheim and surrounding cities. We've taken wrong turns nearly every day, even with our GPS. As of this Friday, though, we can find our way easily to the mission office without the GPS. (Big sense of accomplishment here.) And finally, just today, we were able to navigate our way to our investigator's house and then to church and back without the GPS. Hooray for us!

The Gateway Apartments in Anaheim

Thankfully, our "nest" has been an easier transition. We were able to move into our permanent apartment at The Gateway this past Tuesday and we are feeling quite at home here already. We live in a very nice (albeit huge) 1500-apartment housing complex just 2 miles from the entrance to Disneyland.  Our apartment is small, with just one bedroom and a combination kitchen-living area, but just right for us. We park our car in a 7-story parking structure. At least all the palm trees and flowers in the well-landscaped common areas make it seem like a beautiful garden - which is a little less overwhelming.

Hibiscus, Plumeria, Bird of Paradise, and Bougainvellea
are all blooming in Southern Califormia right now.

Our apartment complex is right across the street from Angel Stadium.

We're pretty well unpacked (it doesn't take long to unpack what you can transport in your car), and we have now found most everything we brought with us. We've located the nearest Costco (where gas is mercifully a whopping $.40/gallon cheaper than the corner gas stations), a couple of grocery stores, Walmart, Walgreens, Home Depot, The Dollar Store, and Hobby Lobby. I think we'll be just fine!

On Thursday this week, President Golden asked us to take a young elder to a doctor's appointment at the UCLA Medical Center near Brentwood (close to Beverly Hills). That was a treat!  Because I grew up near LAX, I know that area very well, so it was easy to navigate those particular freeways. It was a beautiful day - clear and sunny and oh, so warm. As we drove, we could see the Goodyear Blimp located alongside the 405 in Torrance, the planes coming in at LAX, the Los Angeles Temple (just east of Santa Monica), as well as the "Hollywood" sign on Santa Monica mountains. We enjoyed spending the day with the stellar young elder we transported, and it was a great opportunity to get out and see some new sights (even if the rush hour  traffic did add well over an hour to our return commute.)

Friday evening after we finished at the Mission Office, we drove to the Newport Beach Temple for an endowment session with our good friends, the Gerritsens, then went to dinner together:  a great way to end transfers week in the mission office!

The Newport Beach Temple

Saturday afternoon, we had our second meeting with our cute young investigator, Jackie. We taught about the mission of the Holy Ghost and had a wonderful experience. Afterward, we attended the ward Thanksgiving dinner and service project together. Jackie had a great time with both the English and Spanish-speaking members. So did we!

It'll be a couple of days until we've been in our new apartment for a whole week, but we are feeling quite at home in our new "nest."  After zone conferences Tuesday and Wednesday this week, we'll be looking forward to some turkey and a day off on Thursday.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!

   -- Pat --