We took our first trip to the beach yesterday. Cruising along the 10 in the fast lane I noticed something that looked like a board right in my path. Turns out it was a hoe!! I couldn’t change lanes in time, so I went right over it. A few minutes later someone in the next lane over motioned that we had a flat. I worked my way over to the narrow emergency lane and changed the tire. Luckily it was the passenger rear.

We went to Seal Beach. It was a beautiful day: sunny and about 80 degrees with a light breeze. The water was warm and the waves were perfect for boogy boarding.

Yesterday, after packing our stuff for two days, the movers loaded the 53′ trailer and hauled it off. Flying in from California the plane went right over our house and I could see the moving trailer. Looked like it was taking up the whole street.

Money Magazine just released the top ten “Best Places To Live.” The town we are moving to came in at #5!! (Lake Mary, FL was #4, but they have bugs)

#5. Claremont, Calif.

Population: 35,900
Typical single-family home: $700,000
Estimated property taxes: $7,800
Pros: Tight-knit community with topnotch schools
Cons: Poor air quality, high home prices

A lot of Southern California suburbs are defined by trendy retail chains and cookie-cutter developments. Claremont is defined by a rich history, spectacularly tall trees and a mix of Victorian and Spanish colonial architecture. Thirty miles east of Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, the city came into its own in the early 20th century after the founding of Pomona college. Streets were named after prestigious east coast schools, and residents were encouraged to plant trees.

Today, Claremont is called the city of trees and Ph.D.s. That’s no exaggeration. The city has won the National Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA award for 19 straight years, and Pomona College is part of a prestigious seven-school consortium known as the Claremont Colleges. The downtown, or “the village,” is a mix of hip boutiques and old school businesses. And the historic College Heights Lemon Packing House is now home to the Claremont Art Museum, restaurants, a jazz bar and artists’ lofts. “There is no other place like this in Southern California,” says Jason Annigian, 32, an attorney who moved from Newport Beach with his wife Katharine, 28, in October. “It has a small-town feel, but it’s also artsy and eclectic.”

And relative to much of California, it’s affordable (emphasis on “relative”). The Annigians, who are expecting their first child in August, sold their Newport Beach condo for more than they paid for their 2,200-squarefoot home near The Village.

With 3,000 employees, the colleges are the largest local employers. Ties to academe have rubbed off on Claremont’s primary schools, which are among the state’s best. “I don’t know of a better place to bring up kids,” says Jeff Stark, 45, a financial adviser who was raised here and moved back after college.

As for the grown-ups, “in the winter you can surf in the morning,” says Stark, “and ski in the afternoon.”

So we put the boat back in the water last week on a boat trip with cousins. The weather was a mixed bag: sun, rain, almost warm, cold, etc. It was fun. As if to emphasize being taken off the endangered species list last week, a bald eagle swooped down about 30′ from our boat and caught a decent sized fish. At the launch ramp a guy showed us a 30 lb spring chinook salmon he had just caught. I am still sore through my arms, shoulders and upper back after ripping all the muscles apart wakeboarding. We were supposed to be houseboating at Lake Shasta this week, but plans changed with the move.