A report on Costco, and my OTHER new favorite place.

[Warning: This post, and most other recent posts, is typed entirely on my phone with two thumbs. And blogger doesn't make all edit functions active via the phone so it takes forever and I'm less inclined to edit properly. This post is published AS-IS and is non-refundable.]

I feel like I can actually function now.

Today we picked up our van. Our OWN van. When we had the rentals (first a van, then a compact car that was cheaper) I didn't know when or if I'd have my own car again, so I was feverishly trying to get everything we needed while I could. Knowing I now have my own transportation that is bought and paid for feels so relaxing. And guess what? I don't have to go to the DMV and stand in a long line to register it. It turns out that the government here is perfectly capable of tracking the new owner with the existing plates on the car. The dealer just turns in who the new owner is, and since the registration has already been paid, I don't have to do that either. Well, until it expires. What a logical system. I even like the license plate.

And Allen had filled out insurance information online the night before and paid for the entire year with a credit card. Heck, I even paid for the CAR with my credit card. It's the only way we pay for anything here. I'm racking up some SERIOUS points on that thing.

This car is NICE. It has a working cassette player! For real.

We had turned in our rental the day before, so we decided to figure out the train system around here to get to the car lot. We each had to buy a MYKI transit card. The card is reusable and you load it, or "top up", with the amount of money you want. For us we loaded only enough for our trip today which was $4. We were moving from one zone of origin to another so we could go anywhere within that zone for the same price. We had to transfer to a different train once. The train station was very near the car lot so it was only a five minute walk till we got our own wheels. The train will be Allen's main transportation into the university so it was good to figure it out together. 

So since we were all street legal and could go anywhere we wanted, we headed straight to Costco. It's about 25 minutes from our house but we were almost there with the car lot already. I was really excited to go. But it looked even more exciting. 

A Ferris wheel! It's actually some tourist thing across the street but it will help me find costco from anywhere nearby! I'll be sure to take the kids next time we go. 

Costco had some things I was hoping for, but not all. There was some familiar foods like pizza and rotissierre chicken and shredded cheese and snack foods, but the fresh produce was all different. I missed large bags of broccoli and carrots I can steam. There wasn't a large bag of frozen strawberries for my smoothies. No large tub of cottage cheese. But I'll live. 

It did have this:

 

So...no. I didn't buy it. I told Allen we have to meet one first. Still haven't seen one. 

I found chips and salsa but it wasn't the amazing deal it is at home. They only had one kind of tortilla chip and it was a smaller bag than normal. I don't love these tortilla chips as much. And the salsa was smaller. Oh well, with the fresh markets here I will just make it more often. I brought my own chipotle. :)

As soon as we got home from spending another fortune at Costco, we loaded the family in the new family car and went to see the beach. It was so beautiful! It was windy and cold, but I was so excited for the many days I know we'll come here and relax. It's just so pretty. And the water is so clear. And I just feel so happy today. We LIVE HERE. 

Tomorrow I'm taking the kids to the library to get some books and wifi. And in the afternoon I'm going on a run. I may run right to the beach and make the pier my turn around point. Yes. Okay, just kidding that would be 16 miles round trip and I haven't exercised in two weeks. Let's be real.