All Good Things…

It has been said that all good things must come to an end.  So it is for us.  Our time on the island has officially come to a close.  When you hear from me again, hopefully, it will be from San Antonio. 

In case you didn’t notice, I’ve been working on a new name and a new look for the blog because Life in Lajes just won’t quite work any more.  The new name is Forever Home.  I hope you like it!

As we travel to our new home, I leave you with a list of things we’re going miss about the island as well as some things I am looking forward to in San Antonio. 

10 Things I'm Going to Miss:

1. The ocean… it’s everywhere here.
2. Our friends.
3. Three euro bottles of wine… don’t worry, we shipped home three cases.
4. A three minute commute… if you drive really slowly.
5. Not having a job / waking up whenever I want every day.
6. Sunrise or sunset over the ocean.
7. Cheap cell phone service… even if it does tend to include a steady stream of text messages in a language I can’t read very well.
8. A small base community full of people who really do care about each other.
9. Three hour flights to Europe and the vacation time to take advantage of them.
10. Scuba diving and snorkeling with some of the most beautiful sea life I’ve ever seen… yes, even better than Hawaii. 

10 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1. Target… or any store that’s open past 5pm, doesn’t close for lunch or at random, and actually carries things we need.
2. Chipotle… or really just the variety, speed, and convenience we’ve been missing when it comes to food.
3. Multi-lane roads with clearly marked lanes and drivers who stay in them.  Sidewalks and pedestrians who use them.
4. Produce that I can at least pretend came from somewhere on the same continent, and well-stocked grocery stores that are open every. single. day. 
5. Mail service that takes less than 3 weeks.
6. Having an American phone number.
7. Being in the central time zone.
8. A community outside the Air Force. We love our AF friends, but sometimes, you just want to get away and spend time with people who can’t have an entire conversation in acronyms. 
9. Having our own single family, detached house with a yard bigger than half a postage stamp… it will however, come without the ocean view. :(
10. Red Box, Netflix, Pandora, and a million other media sources that have been off-limits due to international copy write issues.