They are living in a rental that is not too far from the ocean. They do have somewhat of an ocean view now. It's a 3 bed room 2 bath, that IS kind of old and a bit unkept, but it gives them a roof over their heads, running water, it came with furniture (and everything else, even the owners clothing in the drawers...), and their long desired ocean view.
Do you see the ocean?
We did get to enjoy a nice Thanks Giving Dinner with our family & close family friends. It was the highlight of the trip to be able to celebrate this family tradition of having Thanks Giving in San Diego.
We have visited my sister's home that burnt down on "Ash Lane" , how ironic...On the way there, driving down the freeway, you can see the damage for miles. It didn't really hit me how bad it was until I actually seen and smelled what happened.
Right around Lake Hodges, where my sister used to live, the forest fire smelled awful. Everything was in ashes and there was no sign of coyote's or road runners, which were very common in the area. My sister's neighbor said that the vultures were so fat that they couldn't even fly. In the surrounding forest there were tons of deer carcasses.
To see my sisters place in ashes, really showed me how devastating this was. I guess the severity really didn't dawn on me until then. To see everything, EVERYTHING gone, I just cant imagine how it feels. I was just sad about not being able to have Thanks Giving there, and how my few months of memories of the place was torn by this fire. To see everything gone, I just can't imagine how it feels. Mina does a great job not showing her stress and sadness. To loose everything that you have ever owned...
It was amazing how EVERY SINGLE THING can just turn into ashes! Really, I thought at least the Fridge can keep out a fire but NO! The only things left in it's original form were bottles of nail polish (Strangely these bottles don't melt), the Le Creuset pots (cast iron), & the bath tub. That's it! We tried to look for some of her jewelry , but we could not find anything.
She did find her platinum ring though, we highly recommend getting jewelry in platinum and getting Le Creuset pots. :)
While we were there, we found out that the state got some extra funding from the Federal Government, and will be able to aid in the disposal of all of my sisters ruins on her property.
About rebuilding, they are still debating if they should just try to sell the property or build a home and then sell. My sister's company is sending my sister back to Japan next June, so there isn't that much time to look over construction and such. They may have to settle with just selling the property. Financially they may take a hit doing this, but it may be one less thing to worry about for them. Mina is on the phone every day with the insurance company, talking to contractors to figure how much they need to build, and all other businesses she has to take care of. It may just be easier to just let everything go.
My sister and husband have learned a lot from this episode, and I have learned a lot as well. We are all happy and fortunate that we have such great friends and family. Makes you realize that everyone needs help at one point and many are there to help. This experience has helped me look at things in a more positive way.
