Oxnard, CA - So much fun and so much frustration!

We found ourselves at an extended stay hotel in Oxnard, CA in the county of Ventura. I knew very little about California, but I was enjoying the sun, the beauty, and the excitement of a new place.

We arrived on a Friday and that Monday, I made a call to my future employer. Conversations with the employer had started in Wisconsin and we agreed that once I got to California, around the 1st of the month, I should give them a call to do all the formal paperwork. My first call was not returned. Giving the employer the benefit of the doubt, I waited until Wednesday to call again. I left a message with no return phone call. Now, I was beginning to worry. The next three phone calls had the same result - voice mail from my end and silence from theirs. Finally, I gave up calling. Eventually, the employer called me back saying they had decided to go another direction with the position. I kind of figured that out on my own.

I was bound and determined to not let this set-back get me down. I did learn through this first leg of our journey that you must have someone along that is willing to go the distance. My husband was a real trouper - he didn't get upset about not having money come in. He didn't remind me that no employers were knocking down my door to gain my talent. Instead, he reminded me that we had saved up a few months of salary and four months worth of hotel costs just for this reason. When you decide to go across country you never know what awaits you.

Making the best out of a very frustrating situation, my husband and I explored.  After all, there wasn't much else we could do.  We visited friends in Santa Barbara. Decided to go the Navy base and see if it was what my Marine (once a Marine always a Marine) husband had remembered. We went to the beach a few times. We even made the long long trek up the coast to Santa Maria a couple of times to visit his daughter and her family.

 


I will have to admit that the food in Oxnard was superb! There wasn't a whole lot Midwestern food - unfortunately, no cheese curds and Friday night fish fries were unheard of. We had choices of Thai, Mexican, American, and everything in between - very different from what I was used to in Oshkosh.

During this time I continued to job search - sending out resumes, making phone calls, and continually hearing nothing in response. Not working was becoming a frustrating issue in my life quite quickly.

Adding to the frustration was the shear number of people. Coming from a city of just over 50,000, Oxnard's population of 203,000 people was overwhelming. Walking at night, which I had become accustomed to doing, was now out of the picture. This quickly added to the frustration I was feeling.

Oxnard lasted a whole six weeks.

We had no idea how long this was going to last, but we did know we needed to go someplace a bit more affordable. So, North we went.

Come back next Friday to hear about the next phase in our journey.