So those familiar with the Navy are well aware of the friendly rivalry between an East Coast Sailor and the West Coast Sailor. Often times, where you start your career, or where you spend the bulk of it will determine what kind of sailor you are. I am discovering those differences extend far beyond the Navy. I know you may be thinking, well duh?! Keep in mind though, up till the man retired, the Navy was pretty much the only life I'd ever known-and for all the worldly experiences it brought, it also is somewhat of a bubble.
I have always felt true to my Southern roots and embraced that side of my upbringing(it was a nice balance with the Filipino side lol). Being a military brat and wife, WA turned out to be where I spent the single longest time of my life, 12 yrs(one third of my life-yeah, do the math, I'm almost 36...you have 238 days to shop...my Amazon wish list is on the right side of my blog).
My entire time in WA, I felt somewhat like an outsider.....I was not green/granola enough to be a true PAC NW'er. I drove a gas guzzling American made pick up truck. I don't care for the microbrews. I didn't drink coffee-Starbucks or even our beloved little local drive up coffee stands. I recycled a little, but was not fanatical about it.
After 6 months on the east coast however, I have discovered I am a PAC NW'er. My first 'OMG we're not in WA anymore' moment was en route to SoMD when we had dinner at Mickey D's and my drink came in a Styrofoam cup. WTF uses Styrofoam???
Some of the differences(besides the Styrofoam) I've discovered since moving:
-Starbucks isn't everywhere, even though the area we live in is somewhat larger with a slightly larger population, we only have one Starbucks here. In WA, we had 3(2 stand alone ones, and one in a grocery store), not to mention more mom and pop coffee stands than I can count. I may not be a coffee drinker, but I do enjoy a hot chocolate on a cold day, and an Italian soda on a hot one(not even sure I could get an Italian soda anywhere around here).
-I apparently recycle a lot, as I said, I'm not fanatical about it, but we did it. If I didn't feel like washing something to put in recycle, I'd toss it. If the paper bin was full, I'd toss my magazines, etc. I still do that-and sometimes out of necessity because the bin that is supposed to do the family for 2 whole weeks is sometimes overflowing! And I don't see a lot of recycle bins here as it's an option we pay for from the trash company, but after this long I can't imagine throwing certain things away on a regular basis.
-The running community seems a bit more structured and driven than it was in WA. The local running club in WA was way laid back...it was pretty much 'show up and run-and there may be beer after' lol. Happy to say though, since Maniacs and Fanatics are everywhere, that part of my running world carried over with me.
-I don't own an umbrella or rain coat...now I know that may sound strange having lived in the rainy PAC NW, but we don't get heavy rain there. So needless to say, I've gotten soaked a time or two already lol. On the upside, it is warm so I am not shivering and manage to dry rather quickly
Now, that's not to say that I dislike my new home, on the contrary there are several things that you just can't get in WA!
-Chick fil a
-sweet tea
-BBQ from roadside stands...hell BBQ joints period.
-out door pools! I forgot how nice and refreshing it can be to jump into a pool on a hot day(cause we only had 4 of them a year in WA, and they weren't consecutive so the water didn't have time to heat up in our one local outdoor pool)
-cold beer....yes, we had cold beer in WA, but in the same vein of the prior item about pools...there's something extra refreshing about an ice cold beer on a HOT day!
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