Today was my "sentimental journey" day. Forty-one years ago my family lived in San Diego for nine months. It was supposed to be longer, but the Navy changed that. This trip is the first time I have returned since I was almost 14. Today I had the opportunity to locate my school, our house (which we only lived in about seven months), an area that we used to romp around in, and one of our favorite restaurants. After an uplifting church service with my friends, I set my GPS and headed down Memory Lane.
Today was definitely bittersweet because so many of the places I saw I wanted to share with my sister. She would have loved this opportunity I've had to return to a place we once lived, something that is not always easy to do when you're a military brat. I have a very special picture of the two of us, when she was 8 and I was 13. We are lying in the middle of a field of dry grass and just relaxing. I remember those trips to the "big field" where my sister, brother, and I would run until we collapsed exhausted in the grass. My mom was able to capture that in a photo, a photo which sits on my coffee table. I walked that same field today, alone, except for my memories. It was something I really wanted to do for both of us.
There were some lighter parts to the day also. I got to eat at Jack in the Box. It was very near my school and our house. We always thought that was the coolest place to eat because we had never had one in a place we lived before. It was fun to eat there and humorous to see the sign on the counter. (pictured below) It was a day for signs, I guess. There were two signs posted near the trails where I walked. Back when we lived here, there were no developed trails; it was just a former military installation which had been left vacant. Those signs also pictured below give greater explanation.
At the end of the day I was gifted with another gorgeous sunset which I attempted to capture for all of you. I know that some of the following pictures, like my school and a random house, won't stir the same feelings in you that they stir in me. I still had to post them for my own memories. But as you view them, imagine being able to return to someplace from your distant past and imagine the feelings of awe, poignancy, and nostalgia that you might feel. That was me today.
This has to be the biggest yucca plant I have ever seen!
Tomorrow is my last full day in California. I'm not telling yet what tomorrow will bring...
❤️
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