tallulahruby sanctuary: March 2015

Real Goods~Hopland, CA

So....I've started this little page to basically keep track of my next project on the horizon~ my Sanctuary. Being able to watch and look back on how far I have come with Agnes has been helpful and encouraging. I am truly a nostalgic person at heart. It's also interesting to look back and watch myself make mistakes I had no idea I was making at the time "if I had known then what I know now." Anyway, I have been talking and dreaming about my sanctuary for a while. I have the Pinterest board to prove it :) My goal was to finish Agnes then take her on a road trip through the Pacific Northwest to see if I found a place I could imagine myself settling. Agnes got put on hold for awhile since I moved to Oakland last year and I did not see the trip happening anytime soon. So a few weeks ago I just got in my car and decided I should go explore Oregon and find out if it was a realistic notion to move there. I took at least 30 different addresses of farms and land for sale. I can see what they look like online. I can research the area, drive down the street on google maps (did anyone see the pacman April Fool's today on google maps?) But only driving around in person can I experience the lay of the land. The feeling in the air. The personality and vibe of the area. Meet people and observe. I tried to sneak peeks at properties without intruding and when asked always ended up in great conversation with really friendly people.
It was also my first airbnb trip and I will never go back to hotels! I met so many interesting people and have already planned to go back to my two favorite places to spend more time.

So my conclusion after my little trip to Oregon? Well, buying some land for Sanctuary is all I want to spend focusing time on. Now starts the overwhelming task of researching the financials, learning about wells, septic, spring water, timber on land, building codes and restrictions, weather patterns, flood levels.....and on and on. Of course all I really want to do is look at the pretty photos on realtor.com and pick one out. Starting a new journey and quite excited to see where it takes me next...