Arriving in Oakland, California and Getting Settled

February 1

With a short day of driving - about 200 miles ahead of us, we checked out of the Best Western after breakfast at 7:15 AM PST, temperature 45 F, and headed for I-5 N again. The highway runs through California's heavily agricultural Central Valley. 

Almond groves with bees ready to pollenate the trees

One of the many Parking areas that the trucks use on 1-5

At 8:30 AM, we stopped to look at pumping station along the California aqueduct where there is a wetlands restoration project.

We saw many signs protesting state and federal water policy.
Drought has hit hard.

We left I-5 for I-580 which would take us into Oakland. 

Livermore along I-580

At 9:46 AM, we entered Alameda County – our new home county. 

Approaching Oakland, California

By 10:40 AM PST, we were unloading the Prius and getting our temporary home set up for a two month stay. We were welcomed by sunshine, a bright blue sky and mild temperatures – sweater weather.

The afternoon of the 1^st, we headed to Trader Joe's to stock up. I made a sauteed pork tenderloin with onions and mushrooms dish, steamed red skin potatoes and green beans for our first dinner in the “urban cottage” where we'll be staying for a couple of months.

February 2 (Ground Hog Day)

We woke up to the sound of rain – much needed here. After breakfast we made an inventory of household items we needed in order to make our stay more comfortable. Around 10 AM, we headed for the IKEA store nearby to acquire a couple of chairs, lamps and other items.

A couple of hours later we got a call from Erika suggesting we take a look at a house on Amito Drive. So, we hopped in the car and toured that one plus one on Rydal Court. Both are a bit to high in the hills to suit us; but they are both worth keeping in mind.

We returned and assembled the IKEA items and got the cat feeding stations ready. Erika and Michael invited us over for dinner to piggy-back on our plans to come fetch Ziggy & Sunny from them. By 8 PM, our “urban cottage” household was complete. The cats explored their new temporary home thoroughly before settling in.

This ends the travel portion of the blog.  I'll continue to post periodically as we settle in and get down to serious house hunting.