Tuesday July 27, 2010 - Tempe, Arizona to Burbank/Camarillo, California

For the second time in as many months, I leave my family behind to fly out to California. This time, I go not to discern whether or not the Lord is leading me to accept a Call as Pastor, but rather to try and figure out where we're going to live.

It's not like we haven't been looking.

It's funny - when we were moving to St. Louis six years ago for me to attend seminary, I flew out to St. Louis for 3 days, and in that time located a house, made an offer, and began the process of purchasing the home. Six years later, after weeks of searching, I haven't been able to have the same success.

California apparently has this law that forbids realtors and other folks looking to sell or rent a home from providing interested parties with information on the square footage of a house. You have to actually come out and measure it yourself. I've never heard of anything so monumentally stupid. One of the most fundamental pieces of information in buying or renting a home is being deliberately withheld - by law - all because of some ridiculous lawsuit in the past, no doubt. Incredibly frustrating.

House prices in Santa Barbara are astronomical. It could cost us three times as much to rent a home in Santa Barbara as it's costing my brother-in-law & sister-in-law to rent a place in Hawaii. HAWAII. Come on people. This makes no sense! But it is what it is.

The plane flight to Burbank and the train ride to Camarillo were uneventful. It feels so natural to be back, and yet everything will be different very soon when we find a place to live and settle into a new town and a new job and and new routines. We're grateful to have some good friends a short drive from where we'll be living & working - I know that will make the transition a little easier for all of us.