One more trip back to California…that`s what I need before heading out on my world adventure. Trying to be practical, I was able to plan this trip around my friend Andy`s wedding so I could watch him finally tie the knot to Deanna – after 10 years of dating.
Six days in California came and went in the blink of the eye with some highs and lows – sort of.
The Highs:
-Leaving the airport and meeting my friend and old roommate Spring for lunch. Was supposed to be a quick stop for lunch and then out to my dad`s. After a fun lunch, she had to return to work, so I went to meet her husband Ben and his English cousin Graham for drinks at a San Francisco biker bar. It was an amazing sunny day, so one margarita, turned into many beers later. After the first margarita, Ben had to return to work, so Graham and I, both on holiday, were able to enjoy the sun and all the beers and it turned into a great kick off to my trip
-Meeting high school and college friends (Gina, Ben, Teo) for dinner and mojitos in San Francisco`s marina district. Guess we are all getting a little old as we were all exhausted at 11pm so I was back on BART to my dad`s. A fun evening.
-Andy and Deanna`s wedding. Andy was one of my first volleyball coaches when I was 15 years old and then he and I coached for a few years. Great to see him tie the knot. At the reception “Table #10” was the party table – go figure that was my table and we made sure to have fun and get the dance floor going.
-Sunday – morning after the wedding, Napa called 7 college friends together. It`s nice when I come to town as I can beg my friends to get childcare and come out for the day and they did. Another bonus with Debs being pregnant and she was able to drive us all around to the vineyards, Heather was able to get all our tasting for free since she works in the wine business (almost a $70 savings each) and for me on my budget, every bit helps.
-Lastly, took one more trip to San Francisco to say goodbye to my friends at the Bernstein office that I worked out. Great to be in familiar territory again. Plus, got to have one of my favorite lunches at Henry`s Hunan…yummy!
Lows:
-Spending almost 7 hours over two days trying to figure my Round the World Ticket out and being told over and over that “that`s not allowed”, “that`s illegal routing”, “you can`t do that”. I knew I could, and finally found someone to make it happen, so all the hard work paid off.
-Going bowling with my dad and brother`s league and not being able to bowl as all the regular team members were there. Guess I`ll have to find a bowling alley around the world. of course, turn the low to a high by drinking many beers with my dad and one of his bowling teammates – Bob Bowen who is an 82 year old bowler and scored many strikes. Go Bob!
-Getting a phone call from a collection agency telling me they were trying to collect $8,500 from me (from a severe identity fraud period in 2000). Yes, this has followed me for a long time, and after many hours on the phone, I was able to clear my name again (I hope…)
All in all, great time in California and I know I will miss everyone there. But I`ll be back
in January/February 2009 in the middle of my trip before I head down to Antarctica.
I`ve attached a few photos on the site – or you can view on snapfish at:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=186735953/a=13210121/t_=13210121