Greetings All!  Hope this blog finds you happy and relaxed from a fun filled weekend 😉

The little city that I live in made it onto the Top 10 best places to live (U.S. News Magazine).  This particular list focused on places with strong economics and affordable cost of living.  The cities also needed to have tons of fun things to do~  So here we are sitting pretty in slot #7…under La Cross, Wis. and above San Luis Obispo, CA.

I must say that I am surprised that San Luis Obispo made it onto the list.  Having lived down the road from there for a couple of years and wishing we could stay but not being able to find work or a place that we could afford to buy (EVER)…I wonder what the list people were thinking.

Which makes me question the whole list!

Maybe I am just not quite understanding the criteria used…San Luis Obispo is gorgeous with so many fun things to do and maybe for a California city…it is affordable and maybe there are jobs there that actually pay people decent salaries that they can afford homes.  Who knows.  Things may have changed…I mean I haven’t lived there since the late 80’s…that is a long time.

The article goes on to talk about all of the fun things that we can do here in our little city.  It even has a picture of a child and his dad playing on a metal sculpture in one of the parks!  Ohhh, looks like fun…I will have to try that the next time I go for a walk in that park! Well, it really doesn’t look like that much fun…maybe if I was 4 years old.  Maybe.  But, I do enjoy that park and all of the amazing metal sculptures that hang out there.

So, yesterday my fella and I decided to go on a bike ride in our fabulous Top 10 city. There are a few cool things about this…not only were we able to bike ride in a top 10 city…cuz WOW that is exciting…but, I was actually able to ride the bike with minimal pain.  Any of you out there who have IC (Interstitial Cystitis) know what I am talking about.  Bike seats are NOT our friends! My fella had recently bought me a very cool, big seat (like those seats on the beach cruiser bikes) and I was feeling brave so, I jumped on and what a difference it made!!!!

Off we went!

Along our little journey, we saw lots of prairie dogs romping and playing with each other.  We saw a fox scooting quickly across a field.  We saw a group of white pelicans hanging out in the lake.  We saw a bunch of birds and a falcon.  And then of course there were the mountains.  The Rocky Mountains.  Standing tall and clear.  Snow on the caps and in the lower elevations.  The air was so clean and clear that we could make out some rock formations that we enjoy hiking around.

Gorgeous.

The other cool thing is that there just isn’t much traffic here.  Some say there is too much.  But, I am from the Bay Area…and 5 cars on the road does NOT make a traffic jam 😉

I have lived in many places and though I still have moments when I miss the ocean…I don’t miss the financial stress that living in those places can cause.  I don’t miss all the tourists that flock to the beaches.  I don’t miss all of the traffic.  The high property taxes.  The crowded schools.  The stressed out fast moving people.

It’s funny that I have found a home in this little city.  Sometimes, I look around and feel surprised to be here.  But, here I am.  And here I will be…at least for awhile.  Until one day we feel a stirring.  A new wind blowing.  A desire to try out another new place to live.

I wonder where we will go next?

Maybe to LaCross, Wis.  that could be fun:)

Have fun in your neck of the woods!