Well, sure you knew I was going to California for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, but nope, I didn’t exactly tell you I’d be gone over a week, did I? That always seems like a less than fabulous idea: Hey, I’ll be leaving July 1 for eleven days. Break into my house.
I kinda like my house and my stuff – hence, no advance notice of my vacation.
What I didn’t intend is that I would completely neglect this space all together for the entire time I was gone – crappy, unreliable internet connection made it pretty necessary, though – and pecking out a blog post on my phone really wasn’t that appealing to me (though I imagine the auto-correct disasters could have been amusing).
So, back to California after 17 years away and it was definitely a big time, and busy week and a half (ish). We stayed with my dad and his wife – nothing kicks you back into childhood patterns quite like spending SO. MUCH. TIME. with your parents. I am grateful that they housed us, fed us, and hauled us all around. Those moments of “I’m old and grown, please don’t try to parent me” were a bit tough to swallow, and when it was time to head to the city to stay in a hotel for the Avon Walk, well… I was kind of glad.
But. Enough about that.
It was a big week – with day trips to the Exploratorium (amazing, love), San Francisco Zoo, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (in Vallejo), Golden Gate Park, and of course, all the sites I took in while I was meandering forty miles around San Francisco and across the Bay in Marin, Sausalito and Corte Madera. I may have done it up tourist style (which I don’t entirely mind – I’ve seen a lot of it before, but it’s a gorgeous city), but I saw and did almost everything I wanted (exception: I really wanted to try In n’ Out Burger. I don’t know why. It just seemed like something I should do).
The Walk was amazing (more about that in the next few days). I was excited to be in California, and I was ready to come home yesterday (mostly because Pumpkin developed an allergy of some sorts to the state, that my mom tells me today that I had when our family first moved to California back when I was a wee teeny tiny little fat baby).
The flight to California were… something. Tremendous turbulence on the way there had me so wound up that I would have been fine with renting a car for the return trip home rather than fly again. Fortunately, most of yesterday’s journey was smooth (except flying over the plains states. Stupid stupid turbulent states).
I got to spend time seeing beautiful things with people I love. I got to visit with friends, old and new. I ate some really delicious food (also, I finally tried almond milk – the verdict is still out on that one. I think I like it? Maybe?). I didn’t get enough sleep. I took a lot of pictures. I didn’t drive for 11 days (but was able to remember what I was doing enough this morning when I dropped The Princess off at gymnastics to not cause any major wreck).
In short, it was good to be gone and it’s good to be home.
Except… I think I like their weather better. Michigan weather sucks.
About sarah
Speak Your Mind