Well I guess it's been about a month since we made the move from SoCal to NorCal. Livermore is as far East Bay as you can get without going over the hills and being considered part of the Central Valley. It's what I like to call, a big-little town. It's got a small town feel but it's big enough that there's a Target, Trader Joe's, and In-N-Out.
Livermore has a population of about 90,000, which I believe is about the size of Huntington. It is part of the Tri-Valley region (Dublin and Pleasanton making up the other 2 cities) and is right off the 580 freeway. Livermore prides itself on being Wine Country. There are about 60 wineries here and most are relatively cheap if you want to go wine taste. There is a small downtown area that has recently been updated with new restaurants, the Bankhead theater, a movie theater, and free parking.
Livermore often has lots of local events i.e. the rodeo, the harvest wine festival, Sunday farmer's market, etc., but there are also a lot of things to do in the surrounding areas. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) stops in Dublin/Pleasanton and goes directly to downtown San Francisco as well as the SFO and OAK airports. It's super convenient. Besides SF being about 46 minutes away, there is plenty of state parks in the vicinity. So far we have hiked part of Lake Del Valle, which is about 9 miles south, and Brushy Peak, which is about 5 miles northeast. Plus we are now much closer to Tahoe, Yosemite, and Monterey!
So far I really like Livermore. I still don't have a job, but I'm starting to get involved with guide dogs for the blind and the golden retriever rescue up here. I'm excited to actually experience seasons even though there have been exceptionally hot days this summer and I'm sure there will be exceptionally cold days in winter.
Come visit us, we'd love to see you and show you around our new city!
P.S. I have not been baking/cooking in awhile, but now that we are settled, I will start putting up creations again.
