Since real time blogging is near impossible during travels, I’m going to go ahead and interrupt Eaman’s lovely stream of Iran posts to give you an update on what’s next for us because newsflash: Eaman got back last Thursday! And bigger newflash: We’re moving to California in the new year! Yep, our vague notion back in 2011 of moving to San Diego has become a reality. And we’re road-tripping all the way there from the East Coast!

First let’s start with what’s been going on. As you know, I’ve been home for six weeks, during which time I’ve reacquainted myself with my parents’ comfy leather sofa, read, watched TV, frequented Target, got all my doctors appointments in check and caught up with the friends and family I missed so dearly. (Lucky for me I was even here when one of my closest friends got engaged.)

Last Thursday, I headed to JFK airport to welcome Eaman home and during our last few days in Manhattan, we indulged at all our favorite restaurants (Shake Shack, ChikaLicious, L’asso and Habana oh my!), held our stomachs in food-coma agony, saw our friends, danced a Saturday night away, Sunday brunch-ed and said goodbye to that great, great city. In 2011, I ran away from New York; in 2012, I walked away with some sadness. No place like New York, that’s for sure.

On Monday, we traded skyscrapers for suburbs and hung out with my parents in New Jersey for the rest of the week. This Sunday, we’re packing up a rental car with all my necessary possessions and driving to Nashville, where we’ll be staying with Eaman’s aunt and cousins for two nights — a perfect midway stop before we make our way to Oklahoma to spend the holidays with Eaman’s family. We’re going to Thunder basketball games, having a belated traditional Thanksgiving dinner and buying a car, a necessary evil now that we’re moving California. A bit crazy to think we’ll be car owners. So grown-up!

We’re then road-tripping again (in our new car!) to San Diego probably some time during the first week of January. No, we don’t have jobs awaiting us. No, we don’t have an apartment lined up. No, we don’t have a ton of friends there. And actually, neither of us has family out there either. We just loved San Diego during a short trip in 2010 and its sunny impact on us hasn’t faded since. We love the weather, landscapes, healthy lifestyle, fresh food, people, pace of life, road trip possibilities and smaller-city feel. Honolulu was also a very real possibility, but after being away for more than a year, we didn’t want to be away from the mainland U.S. yet again. Plus, I’m not sure expensive Honolulu would be kind to our skinny wallets right now. (That said, we’re missing our Hawaii ohana like crazy.)

In any case, we’re excited to just go for it, try something new and keep our explorer spirits alive in new territory. San Diego, here we come!

And guess what? I loved the blogging thing so much that I’ll be chronicling this next chapter on a new, soon-to-be-announced blog. Check back here for details.

Thanks for continuously following us on our journey. Hope you’ll join us for the next one!