Episode CXCIII: January Holidays

January 2024 was our first full month in California. We took advantage of a few January holidays to get out and about in Southern California.

The most significant holiday to me was my birthday - my 40th birthday 😬

To celebrate, I took on the challenge of the American Ninja Warrior obstacle course (as if to prove I was still young and physically fit).

A good time was had by all - kiddos, adults, and grandparents. Amazingly enough, we sustained no major injuries- not even to my 40-year-old body.

The family was off of work and school in honor of MLK day, so we took a 2-hour hike of our local mountain (Mount Rubidoux).

Halfway up

View from the top

We took a weekend afternoon walk to our local public orchard - a very Riverside thing to do.

We also took a weekend walk to Poly High School. We are temporarily living in a rental house which just so happens to be next door to Riverside Polytechnic "Poly" High School. Which is where my grandma went to school 73 years ago!

Poly in 1951 (it's Alta!)

Poly in 2024 (it's us!)

Finally, we are just now opening some of our remaining Christmas presents that we never got around to due to our busy moving schedule. This is a game that the whole family enjoys, and indeed is probably the first game that both Elliot and Lydia get equal amounts of enjoyment from. 

Episode CXCII: Move to California

The Norris Family has successfully made the move from Dallas, TX to Riverside, CA. The first step was getting all of our belongings packed into a giant moving truck.

The truck was as long as ~4 houses on our street.

Then the whole family got into Meg's car for a road trip across the country. We took our time (four days in total), stopping at three National Parks along the way.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Preparing to descend.

Here we go!

At the bottom of the cavern.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park, New Mexico.

Saguaro National Park, Arizona.

Overall, the kids did great. We spent most of each day driving. Kids napped and slept well in the car. 

Nap time.

We ate lots of fast food.

We kept driving west until we hit the ocean!

Greetings from California.

Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve.

We arrived in Southern California just in time for Christmas with the family.

Traditional Shearer family walk/frisbee around the block.

A few weeks later, I flew back to Dallas to pick up my car and to pack some precious things from my lab. Most importantly, deep-frozen cryopreserved worms that need to be kept at -80 Celcius (-112 Fahrenheit). So I stocked an ice chest full of cryopreserved worms plus 30 pounds of dry ice, and once again drove from Dallas, TX to Riverside, CA. This time the trip took less than two days.

My lab's most precious possession - worms!

All packed into the back of my Mini Cooper.

Both trips were successful, and The Norrises are now settling in to our (temporary) home in Riverside while we look to buy a house.