California Vacation & Long Time No Blog!

Sorry it has almost been a while month since my last post! May was consumed by our vacation back to California and I haven't had the motivation to write anything lately.

So here I am playing some catchup!

Why we went back when we weren't really planning on it :

Our original plan was to just change the end date of our return trip tickets to our actual for real return home date in late October. Continental Airlines informed us that the ticket price we bought was only valid for 6 months and that to just change the end date would cost $3000! So, we decided to use our airline miles and fork up an extra $500 and book new tickets and use our old ticket for a trip back home.

SoCal:

We flew into LAX and spent the weekend and mother's day with my parents. We then spent the next few days visiting friends in LA and OC. Had great mexican food in West Hollywood with Leizel, Karen, Brian, and B's Boyfriend. The next day we visited the OC and toured my old jobsite. So much has changed in many ways, yet it other ways, very little has changed. E, M, Rob and I had our share of drinks at Newport Beach Brewing and a crazy mexican pub on the Newport Peninsula. We then headed to Lucille's (which we miss soooo much) and have some great BBQ. I also miss my friends terribly.

NorCal:

We spent a lot of time in Davis with Christina and John just hanging out and having fun. John gave me tour of his favorite fruit stands and grocery stores. Their new place is super nice and very relaxing. We finally got to see Ms. Julie prego! Rob and I had a small conversation about being pregnant with her and it helped calm my nerves a bit. I can't wait to see little Eddie when we get back! In Livermore, we relaxed and took it easy. We ate out at a lot of different places we missed. Los Caporeles, Togo's, this small Vietnamese place, Sansar, LemonGrass . . . etc. We didn't make our way to Donut Wheel but we don't really regret it. We both gained a little weight from being home and eating so much while we could. It was worth it. The night before we left we spent with J&C at the winery BBQ in the back and having a "sleepover".

The plane ride back on KLM wasn't too bad. The food is MUCH better! They even had a snack round of ice cream for everyone! Very refreshing in the middle of a long flight. The unfortunate thing was the seats didn't have a entertainment system. We were surrounded by Dutch tourists who just enjoyed some time in San Francisco. They were so funny sharing peach haribo gummies and passing them around. The dutch have a certain look to them that is hard to put my finger on. The lady who sat next to Rob seemed to have Botox done to here lips. They were very shiny and very full. Rob didn't notice at all, but I couldn't help but stare a little.

What we imported back:

As you may remember, when we took a trip back to NYC for a conference Rob has to go too, we imported a whole suitcase full of stuff that was hard to find/ cheaper in the US. We did the same thing this trip, but bought a whole lot more! It is funny how cheap things felt being back home. We laughed out loud several times and the cheapness of food at restaurants and then we got depressed that we have been paying such high prices here in Switzerland.

* Note * I know a lot of this stuff is available in Switzerland ~ but heck ~ we had the baggage room and it SOOOO much cheaper there.

- Trader Joe's Indian Food (restock) (At 1.99 a box its hard to beat.)
- Spray On Sunscreen
- Shaving Cream
- Refill Razers for Rob
- Computer Speakers for out laptops
- Ton of Asian Groceries including Korean Hot Pepper Paste, Korean Seaweed Snacks, Dried Boba Balls, Milk Tea Packets, Hot Mustard, Soba Noodles
- More Cholula and Tapatio
- Corn Husks to make tamales
- Cornstarch
- Ton of Canned Food including, enchilada sauce, green chilies, jalapenos, lots of Mexican sauces, refried vegetarian beans, cuban style black beans, and TJ's 3 bean salads.
- Maple Syrup
- Peanut Butter
- Vanilla
- Dark Chocolate Covered Raisins and prunes
- Dried Lychees
- Tequila and Triple Sec! MMMM... margaritas!
- Big Bottle of Chili Garlic Saucde
- Big Container of Fried Shallots
- Ranch Dressing Packets
- and of course - Tillamook Extra Sharp Chedder Cheese
- 20 Used DVD's from Hollywood Video
- We also bought some shoes and clothing.

Phew!

I honestly didn't take a lot of pictures but here are a few!

Jack (my in-law's dog) getting a bath.

Jack..... again.

E, Rob, and MC

No need for a caption here.

I love home - aka the Pacific Ocean!

Barrels up to the sky

The boys having a grand time.