I Found My Vacation Sky- In Carlsbad

Vacation Sky. That’s what I call a day like today. Graham has heard it hundreds of times. “It’s a Vacation Sky kind of day.” Ok- so what on earth is Vacation Sky? Well, that takes some explaining. I didn’t grow up in San Diego. Where I grew up, hot summer days were usually smoggy. The sky took on this ‘not quite blue’ color when you looked up at it through the brownish-grey tinge of smog. Not like haze, or marine layer, or fog. Those are too blue-grey. It’s a distinct, translucent, muddy brown color. When it was both hot and smoggy, a common occurrence, we couldn’t even play outside at recess. That brown colored sky was a bummer. I hated it. When I moved to San Diego my freshman year at SDSU, the first thing I noticed was that the sky looked like the sky always looked when I went on vacation as a kid. Maui… Orlando… San Diego. They all have the same color sky. Not even the faintest hint of brown. I promised myself as I moved all of my things into those red brick freshman dorms, that SOMEDAY I would live in a place that had vacation sky. Not visit it. LIVE IN IT.
I would love to tell you that I graduated college, stayed in this picture-perfect postcard of a place, and never left. But I didn’t. I graduated from college, got married, and we moved back to my hometown. It was smoggy, but it was safe, and it was affordable, and we wanted to buy a home and start a family. But that sky. I couldn’t get it out of my head. After a few years, and our first, then our second home- our son came along. A perfect little boy who deserved everything we could give him. And the thought of him spending recess indoors, on those hot, muddy days… I just couldn’t. So even though we had built a thriving business, and were the #1 real estate agents in our city, we left- and went in search of my sky. I’m happy to say, several years ago, we found it in Carlsbad. The days here that are sunny, are glorious- Vacation Sky perfection. Even the days that aren’t- I adore. A girl from the desert finds a marine layer novel. I know, such a rube.
So, as I sit on my laptop, in my backyard, I looked up, and guess what I saw? My very own vacation sky, from my very own backyard. And the pride that comes from making that happen is more significant than a zip code. For me, it is the exact color of joy.
Today I wish you ALL a vacation sky kind of day. And if your version of backyard vacation sky is the sound of waves crashing, the smell of the salt water, the feel of the ocean mist on your face. Trust me, I get it. Dreams are so very personal. But we know what it’s like to chase them, and make them real. And the fact that in our business, we get to help other people do the same… Well, that’s just a perfectly poetic shade of blue, isn’t it?

-Kelly