Liking the beach and hating Delta this weekend

Our first foray was made this weekend to a bona fide California beach... Yesterday afternoon we went down to scope out Ventura's "Surfer's Point." We wandered up it a ways, watching the wetsuit-clad surfers in the water, as well as the other beach-goers along the board walk. J. was initially not thrilled but warmed right up once he realized that no one in our party was going either swimming or boating. The ocean was beautiful and it was nice to be out as a family, taking it in.

Earlier, we'd hit the Saturday morning farmer's market and found that it felt good to be doing anything for a second time. The sausage man remembered us from last week, a small comfort, and we loaded up on fresh produce. Shortly thereafter I broke our kitchen disposal during a session of baby-food-making for Q., which we, especially Y., could have done without. He dislikes disposals and attests that the majority of their users misuse them, and here I was, 10 days into our new lives as suburbanites with suburbanite kitchens, proving his point. [Happily, he was able to fix it within 15 minutes.]

A bigger annoyance occurred this afternoon, when the scheduled flight to CA on which I'd booked our yellow lab A. went wildly awry - after a ridiculous amount of effort on my part to ensure that it not. Y's sister and brother-in-law were flying him out from Hartford and had been armed to the teeth to drop him off at the Delta cargo terminal. The number of hoops one has to jump through - and dollars one has to pay - to fly a canine anywhere in the US today is not to be believed. Veterinarian certificates, temperature checks, airline approved kennels, and more. Having spent untold hours since May to research and prepare for it, then having booked the Delta flight last weekend, and finally having confirmed the flight with them twice in the past 48 hours... I received a call from my brother-in-law at the airport saying the dog couldn't fly. Hartford doesn't ship any cargo on Sundays. What?! It was more than I could take. Two managers ignored my outrage and fury over the phone, and disregarded my intention never to fly a pet using Delta services again. Two more hours on the phone later, and I'd booked the dog on another flight using United for tomorrow - so hopefully this one will work. We feel terribly about the inconvenience we are putting Y's family through... and frankly also find it hard to believe that the most taxing and time-intensive component of the entire move has been this. the seemingly straightforward task of flying a pet.

Meanwhile, Y. and I put about 5 hours into hanging art, clearing boxes out of the house, and organizing the garage (in part to accomodate the Chuck Norris total gym he just bought today off of craigslist!), and depsite being completely exhausted, we're now enjoying a house that feels more settled than anything either of us have lived in for months.