04.04 & 05.04 - Day 80 & 81 - Mission Viejo
Thursday 4th & Friday 5th April - Mission Viejo, California (Day 80 & 81)
A new chapter, new country and continent and a new book (that doesn’t mean much online, but trust me). It’s not often you can say you’re the first to sleep in a brand new room, but so it is here - Daniel and Maggie had, in the weeks before our arrival, carved out space in their bedroom and built an extra bedroom upstairs here in their Mission Viejo home.
It feels almost foreign to wake up and not hear the scooters tooting at one another below. From the room window is a sweeping view over the suburbia of LA over to the mountains. We’re all excited for a simple breakfast of Cornflakes and be able to catch up with Daniel and Maggie.
Sienna and Seb are keen to play with Annabelle (3.5) and Juliette (1). As well as new friends they’re excited for toys and books; new toys and books are always intriguing, but after 2+ months even more so.
A trip to Doria Park just a few minutes from the house requires trousers and jumpers - it’s low double digits which feels even cooler after consecutive days of 35+ degrees in Hanoi.
A warming homemade quiche for lunch with salad follows before Sienna and I walk to Target, because my 20 years of FMCG work hasn’t left me after just two months out of the game. It’s nice to be able to help out at home with some babysitting when Daniel and Maggie pop out, even if Juliette is still warming to the idea. And we wrap up this warm up day with Spaghetti Bolognese before we pack the kids to bed, Sienna in Annabelle’s bed, Seb on the floor on a mattress and Annabelle in with her mum and dad on the floor on a mattress.
How spacious the home and welcoming Daniel and Maggie are makes us feel very special and incredibly grateful after living in basically one room for the last two months. We may not leave.
Friday is slightly sunnier but still has a chill in the shade or on the breeze. The jet lag is better and we all had a good sleep. It’s another gentle family day, in the morning heading out in two cars to Irvine Spectrum 10 minutes drive away - me behind the wheel for the first time in the Model 3 Tesla. It’s only slightly stuttery as I get used to the regenerative braking (Sienna and Seb enjoying the ‘rollercoaster ride’). Driving on the right is fine, but Daniel assures me he wasn’t leaning in on the passenger side too much when I don’t remember my position in the lane. Thankfully everything is big, the lanes are big, the motorway is huge (6 lanes, sometimes 7?), the houses too on their wide frontal blocks. The kids play on Pringle Playpark and are very excited for a ride on the carousel.
With 9 days until we leave California we seek out a library for our voracious reader Sienna and budding reader Seb. Mission Viejo library is massive, complete with a stone walled reading room in the middle, and a fireplace below a large proud American flag.
Back at home, Seb gamely throws himself in the pool, but scrambles particularly quickly out and into the adjoining heated spa. There is even, shockingly rain, but it does not matter when we’re inside eating our home prepared chicken and mash, even the kids wolfing it all down, and seconds and thirds. No more rain and warmer temps forecast now for the rest of the stay here in Mission Viejo.
