– After spending a year and a half traveling all over the globe, I decided to take 5 weeks to explore more of California, visit a lot of friends that live just far enough away that I can’t see on my quick trips back to California. I decided it also makes a lot ore financial sense to stay as I knew I was going to San Francisco for Suzanne’s bachlorette party and then would stay for her wedding in Orange County.
-Keep in mind…I was in Japan three days earlier, then flew to New York for 2 days, and then back to California. It was a little crazy, but it was cheaper to do this and money is tight and time is aplenty. So when I was back in San Francisco, I was looking forward to a little down time and went to check into the hotel early on Friday to relax at the pool and I lucked but as the weather was amazing. I was able to go to some of my favorite restaurants, where the owner at my Greek place recognized me and asked how my “basketball team” was doing. I used to go there all the time and he always mixed up Basketball and volleyball, but he remembered me. Then later off to Henry’s Hunan for my favorite Chinese and the owner to said to me, “Megan…when did you get back from New York? I haven’t seen you in months”. It’s these little things that I love.
The Bachlorette Party – San Francisco
– All the girls flew in and got to the hotel around nine. We all thought it would be a mellow first night, but for some reason, after a few bottles of champagne and wine, the nine of us were all ready to head out. Yet at this time, it was almost 11:00pm and we all were wanting dinner. Suzanne was all dressed up in a lovely bridal shirt with lots of lifesavers sewed on and we were ready to make some friends for her by offering them a candy for a dollar. After our first bar – we ended up at Burger King at 11:45pm (as all the other pizza places we wanted to grab a slide were closed. It was fun as Suzanne was “forced” to get behind the counter at BK as when else would you get behind the counter? She asked to make a burger, but the manager said no and just smiled for a photo. We got locked into Burger King as it was after midnight…can’t say I’ve ever been locked into a fast food place, so that was a little funny.
– Next stop was Lefty O’ Douls where it was a hopping scene, with a live band and to our surprise….a dentist convention. So all these guys we met that we tried to sell a lifesaver candy to….declined. the reasons they gave were 1) the sugar isn’t good for my teeth 2)Hard candy aren’t good and it’s not worth breaking a tooth 3) I don’t have a toothbrush to brush after all that candy 4) I don’t like lifesavers, but I’ll give you a dollar as she’s cute. So the lifesavers were a tougher sell, but we still were able to get many sold.
– Saturday was the main day for the festivities and were were off to Sausalito for brunch on the water, and it was one of the most beautiful days ever. It was a fun morning catching up with so many friends that all come together, a sailing trip past Alcatraz to the other side of the bay and then brunch and bloody mary’s with the girls. Perfect! We ended up spending the night at Asia SF, which is a transvestite dinner club and bar…so the entertainment was all the tranie waitresses and they were good. You really would think they were women if you didn’t know where you were. Dancing the night away, we closed the bar at 2pm and were off for late night pizza…just like when we were in college I guess. Such a fun bachlorette party for Suzanne and fun weekend for all the friends.
Lake Tahoe Escape
– From San Francisco, I headed north with Gina and Debs to spend a couple days with them, including a relaxing time at Lake Tahoe as Kate was able to join too. The three of them were excited to have a kid free night and just relax with friends and I was just excited to have quality time with friends.
Auburn – Life on the farm
– After Tahoe, I stopped in Auburn to visit Pat and Dave and spend some time on their farm. It was quite the change from traveling to exotic places and here, it was all about relaxing and being. I was excited to go gather the eggs from the chickens in the morning…but forgot some of the basic chicken 101 (as I raised chickens for a girls scout project when I was younger). I only found a couple eggs, and there should have been about a dozen a day. I saw one hen sitting down, and I assumed she was in the process of laying on…and had no idea if this takes a minute or hour. I didn’t want to interrupt her and just left her be. I later found out, the hen was just sitting on remaining six eggs and I should have shooed her off. So the next morning, I was mean and made the hen move to gather the eggs. Guess I’m not the best farmer, but I’m trying and love farm fresh eggs!
Bay Area Visits
– The next two weeks were all about seeing friends and I was driving all over the place to spend time with:
Debs and Zack – hanging around and meeting baby Hudson (baby #3)
Gina and Chris – quick stop to meet baby Kendall (baby #12)
Vanessa and Chad – hanging out at their house in Sacramento
Sam – enjoying Elephant Bar and Benihana
Gina and Ben – meeting baby Paige (baby #15) and catching up all afternoon
Suzy and Sanyi – meeting baby Eva (baby #16), cruising the farmers market and off to a wine event in Livermore
Jenny Crist – creating a tasty dinner at her apartment in Oakland
Allison – cooking a yummy Chinese dinner at her apartment in San Francisco and breakfast burritos at Nick’s Crispy Tacos
Rosie – creating fun gourmet salads at her apartment in Oakland
Andy and Heidi – enjoying more Mexican fare in San Ramon and meeting baby Mia (baby #11)
Shelby and Emerson – loving the Zachary’s pizza in Pleastanton
Emily and Bryan – exploring San Francisco with them during a anniversary trip. I missed their wedding the year before (as I was in India), so at least I got to spend the day with them a year later
Jennie and Josh – tasting some wines at their new home in Orinda
Joanna, Phil, Pat and Dave – cooking in Rossmoor
Santa Barbara and UCSB
– It has been a few years since I have been able to return to Santa Barbara, so I was due for a trip. I was able to spend three wonderful days with Jeanelle, Chris and the girls and be a mommy helper whenever I could. It’s the little things I miss…grocery shopping, cooking and just hanging out and that’s what Jeanelle and I did. I even went to a new gym…and joined. Who would have thought I would join a gym in a city I didn’t live in, but that was the best way to get a free week to work out there so I took the opportunity, even the free trainer session and then quit the gym the day I drove back up north. Shortest gym membership I had, but it worked out well. Jeanelle and I even made it to dinner at my favorite place, Something’s Fishy and we taught a guy at our table how to do a sake bomb (as he just turned 21). Jeanelle had the night off from the kids, so we made the most of it and cruised all the old favorite bars on State Street…and I even ran into Dan – who was our favorite bar owner when we were students.
– Next stop was a few days with Suzanne and Andrew. Since it was the weekdays, they all had to go to work, so I had the afternoons to play, go to the beach and then come back to cook dinner and hang out. I got to play with little Kiera as well. I can’t wait to return to spend more time, as it was all too short.
– I really wanted to see Tony and Kami, but scheduling with so tough, but we finally were able to meet up for dinner at Outback Steakhouse. I really struggled with the menu as there were so many choices…I really found it overwhelming. I guess after traveling and having few choices, the restaurant in the states just have too many options that it was hard for me to order. I finally told the waiter what I was looking for and told him to tell me what to order which was much easier.
– Plus I had to stop at UCSB for a day to explore and see how much it’s changed. I even met with Don, who was my favorite career counselor. We walked into IV for a pint at Sam’s…and even talk about reentering the work force and what new things I need to know about online applications and resumes. Very productive and fun time with Don.
Hearst Castle – finally made time to see it
– With all the trips I took to Santa Barbara…I always said I would make the time to stop at Hearst Castle on the drive as it’s sort of on the way. Since I never did when I was in college, I decided I should now as I had the time. I’m really glad as it was am impressive castle with a lot of history. What started off as 40,000 acres of land to go camping with the Hearst family….later grew to 250,000 acres and a castle was built way up on a hill as it was warmer up there away from the coastal breeze. I took a tour of the main parts of the castle and was blown away by the scale of the grounds, the rooms, the decor and the pools. Both the outdoor and indoor pools were really amazing and were places that many famous people used to come stay with the Hearst family. Some of the famous guests were Charlie Chapman, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo and many others.
Monterey and Carmel
– While I was in Santa Barbara, my uncle David and aunt Pat came down from Calgary to visit…and I was able to join them for a day trip to Monterrey and Carmel and it was another beautiful California day. We were able to have lunch on the water in Monterrey, cruise Cannery Row and then enjoy walking around Carmel and strolling on the beach. i even found a dog or two to play with. On the way home, I knew we were near the artichoke capital…and we had to stop at a stand to buy giant artichokes for next to nothing. I love all the fresh produce that grows locally and is so cheap!
Livermore Wine Tasting
– On the way to the winery, we stopped for a quick bite and In and Out Burger was the choice. I hadn’t actually ordered a burger yet…and decided I would have to try one of the burgers as everyone I know love them. I will say…it was ok – nothing I will run out to get, but then again, I’m just getting back into beef…so baby steps. I ordered and ate my first burger.
– As my uncle David makes wine at his home in Calgary, my dad thought it would be fun to do a wine tour in Livermore and made arrangements for a special harvest wine tour. So more wine tasting and learning on the tour. We went to Wente, which is one of the largest winery’s in Livermore and found many wines we liked…more of the whites, but they were all quite good.
Suzanne and Jason’s Wedding
– The final stop on my tour was in Orange County for Suzanne and Jason’s wedding. I even fly down the night before to help Suzanne with last minute things and to help with some of the wedding day items at the reception hall. It was fun to help, and all the vendors kept coming up to me to ask my opinion or figure out what to do when things were they way they were supposed to. It brought me back to the days when I was working for a wedding planner in San Francisco and in the end, the wedding was a huge success. We all had a blast, danced a lot and loved celebrating the big day with Suzanne and Jason.
Final Visit
– I wanted at least one day to visit Missy and Bill in Orange and Sunday worked out. I will say I was moving very slowly as we all drank a lot the night before but after lunch time…I was back to my normal self and Missy and I got to catch up and even cook a fun new dinner.
– So after these five weeks…I’m so tired, but thankful I had the time to go out and see everyone. It was worth every mile I drove to spend quality time with friends and family .
– Now it’s time to return to New York on Monday, October 5th. I thought that was my final flight on my trip…but I was wrong.
My adventure is still continuing…