You Mean I Have to PAY to Drive Here?

Before my life as a military spouse, I was born and raised and grew up in California.  Not Northern California, either.  The part of California where most people live - in various towns back and forth between the coast and the Central Valley.  I started life as a military spouse with all sorts of pre-conceived California notions.  Like:

Snow is exotic and interesting and fun!

Rain is wonderful!  We don't get enough of it!

Toll roads!  Ha!  What a novel idea!  I supposed it's a good idea if it helps to keep the roadways fixed!

Tortillas and fresh guacamole are staples of life.  I'm SURE we'll be able to get them wherever we end up stationed!  I mean, we're still in the CONUS, right?

Ahem.

Can we start with what I've learned about snow and also extremely cold temperatures?  Because they really aren't fun.  Really.  Not at all.  Well, maybe for, like, an hour. 

The first non-vacation snow storm I ever lived through was when we were stationed in New Hampshire, and it was a blizzard.  As soon as white out conditions started I was pasted at the window, oohing and aaahing over the wonder of it all.  I even bundled up (to Michelin Man proportions) just so I could go stand outside safely out of the wind and "experience" the snow coming down around me.

The next morning I discovered snow shoveling.  For one, maybe two, snow days I was able to jump into the joy of shoveling with an attitude of, "I'm exercising!  I'm exercising!  I'm healthy!"  Then I was just too irritated (and cold) and cranky (and cold) and tired (and cold) to want to deal with that patooey before Air Force Guy could manage to drive to work. 

Now I alternately dread and look forward to the first snow of the year.  I mean, I've never lost my love of the white winter wonderland (and sledding, I adore sledding),but it's definitely tempered with an adult realization of high heating bills and hard work to follow.  Not to mention that I manage to take a good dive on the ice Every.  Single.  Year.  And it's usually spectacular.  One year I managed to take my annual ice fall down some stairs at Rockefeller Center during Christmas Season.  I took out an entire line of tourists.

Also in the areas I grew up in, rain was treasured.  First of all, in most of Central and Southern California it only rains at prescribed times during the year.  The window generally runs from (possibly early November) December through February, with some chance of rain in March.  It's like a clock.  You can plan picnics and outdoor weddings with impunity from June through September.  I'd never even heard of a rain date until I moved to Texas! 

We're in Virginia now.  It has rained a few times every single month we've been here.  Usually when we have something important planned.  In fact, this particular month of rain has started to make me wonder if we need to build an ark or something.  Every time I check accuweather.com I see that irritating banner for a SEVERE WEATHER ALERT!  I used to find rain pleasant - now it just gets in my way.  In fact, AFG came home from a 6 month TDY on Friday and I gussied myself up just for the occasion.  Guess what?  It was raining.  And since the natural state of my hair is disorderly frizz (thank heavens for Redkin 05 and Sebastien Potion 9), that is how I greeted my husband.

Another great lesson brought to us by the military lifestyle - sometimes rain sucks.

Oh, and toll roads.  I'd like to mention now that I'm not a fan.  How much else is there to say about tolls?  I was permanently burned off the novelty of tolls when we drove to visit a friend in New York (every other visit involved the wonderfully easy - and cheaper - rail system) and had to cross the Varrazano-Narrows Bridge.  And that was only ONE of the tolls we encountered en-route.  A recent drive up to West Point for my nephews' baptism only stoked that irritation, although I did have the pleasure of gassing my car up in New Jersey (where, for the record, it is illegal to pump your own gas and every station has an attendant to do it for you).

And no, you cannot get fresh guacamole and tortillas in New Hampshire.  Or Maine.  At least where we were stationed.  Then again, I'm pretty sure you probably can't get fresh shrimp or lobster around Fort Hood, so there's a give and take everywhere you go.  I realize this now.

It's been more than a decade of this lifestyle for us, and it has become second nature to adapt to local weather, food, and pay-for-driving traditions.  At this point in my life I love being a nomad, because it's like someone else is paying for my vacations.  I know that might make me sound like  Pollyana, but I'm reminded of how different my life (and my children's upbringing) is every time someone from "home" comes to visit us.  We have a grand old time showing them around DC - there are some awesome places everyone has heard about and some amazing places that you only find if you live here.  We had the best week ever hiking in the White Mountains with my grandmother and brother and ordering lobster that only cost 8$ a plate in Maine.  And few things beat dining outside on the Riverwalk in San Antonio for pure romanticism.  Sure, I miss the tortillas and guacamole.  And I'm really ready to lose my mind if the rain doesn't slack up right quick.    Oh - and any visit home involves me driving up to Kings Canyon National Park and sniffing Redwood Trees for about six hours.

But  I'm ready for my next cultural attitude adjustment!  And since we have received notice that our next move will most likely take us to quite an exotic locale outside the CONUS - I'm already making plans.  It's a pretty safe bet they do not sell tortillas or guacamole there, however.  On the bright side, I'm also pretty sure they don't have toll roads.

Comments

[Laura, A Military Mom]

AFW I do love your sense of adventure! Reminds me of #2 Son and Wife when they had their adventure to Belgium with NATO...she had taken 5 years of French which was helpful until they had been there 6 days and #2 Son got so sick he had to be hospitalized (did I mention that it was also the time when everyone in his unit was on their block leave, so no one was there to help them) he was put in a Belgium hospital where they ONLY spoke French. Visiting hours were like ours 20 years ago 3-5pm, DIL had a car but it was a manual transmission which she'd never learned to drive and all those years of French don't help you when you are speaking to nurses and doctors in medical lingo. He was in the hospital two weeks and boy what an adventure! Hope yours turns out to be another to remember.

[Penny]

I grew up in the south where snow is absolutely treasured.. Since we're planning on moving to a northern state, every single person tells me they grow to hate it b'c of all the problems and work involved with it.. hehe

As for the fresh tortillas and guacamole.. Yummy! I'm not sure what I'll be doing without them.. I'm in love right now so definitely enjoying it while I can ^_~

[Marine Wife]

I lived thru 2 monsoon seasons in Korea. It truly goes beyond rain. I started to empathize with Noah on a whole other level! And the toll roads... they were everywhere leaving Seoul and I had to hope for the best since I didn't speak the language and my husband (who does) wasn't always with me.

[Christina]

You sound just like me . Im a SoCal girl .... Now Im in Washington covered in snow and so over . Though they do have plenty of Mexican restaurants, we were in Japan for a year with no mexican. Blah. Oh FYI , there are tolls in Japan. Like the only freeway ( thats what I call it ) is a toll road. Wish all the best. Sorry that you are in maine I couldnt imagine dealing with more then a foot right now.

[MO]

Wow did we have the same trip or what :P. I'm a central cali girl myself, our first duty station, Ft. Story, then back to Cali, then AK now TX. Back to great Mexican food, but not such good sea food as we enjoyed on the Chesapeake Bay.

Very frustrating to have cravings you can't get anymore. I went through that when I was pregnant. You crave pizza from home, crab from VA and Thai from where ever LOL!

[SFBornandRaised]

Amen Sister! You had me rollin'. I too am a native Californian (San Francisco to be exact...) Currently stationed with my very own AFG at Scott AFB (Metro St. Louis, MO) I have been forced to enter several words into my vocabulary, Ice storms, Thundersnow, Float-Trips, Washers (pronounced War-shers ~cringe~) and basements. I also have learned the difference between a tornado watch and a warning, well sort of. I just know when my handy dandy NCOAA Weather Radio alarm (I guess this should go into my "items I never knew existed prior to moving from the promised land" list as well) goes off AND the City Siren Blares...I should probably take cover. Which, as a note, tornado safety precautions are pretty much the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what you are supposed to do for an Earthquake - so find myself standing in doorways a lot before I scurry down to the basement. Seafood - Nope. Chinese Food - Nope. Mexican Food - Nope. At this point, I would give my AFG's Left(insert inappropriate appendage here) for a taco truck at this point. As for toll roads...don't get me started on not .25, not .50, but .35 cent toll roads? C'mon...that's just being difficult.

[Cas]

I'm a Cali native too, central and southern. You had me cracking up. No one ever believes me when I say I grew up where it snows a foot at a time. I'll never forget the first time my husband and I drove from VA to New England. I was FLOORED by how many states we drove through in the same amount of time it usually takes us to drive from San Diego to Fresno. I live in VA now and I miss all the good stuff. Being in the snow one hour, then being at the beach the next. I miss mexican food and the sun setting on the RIGHT side of the ocean. And, I miss "the 5" and not "95"! Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get used to the east coast. There's something about being able to wear flip flops 365 days a year. *sigh* Take care.