My city by the bay

Recently, my husband surprised me with a wonderful gift--a plane ticket visit my sister in Berkeley!  He thought perhaps I could use a little vacation from this crazy mountain we live on.  At first, I wasn't sure what he meant by "vacation".  When he clarified that he purchased 1 plane ticket and not 3, I immediately packed my bags to hop on the next plane to SFO. 


At first I thought I would not what to do with myself for 5 days without kids.  But alas, that was a crazy thought!  I knew exactly what I wanted to do with myself:  uninterrupted conversation with Angie & Ryan, walk for hours in San Fran and Berkeley, go to little quaint shops where children are frowned upon...ditto for restaurants, spend hours in thrift and fabric shops...I am sure you get the idea.

Some of our highlights were: Herbivore Restaurant, Cafe Colucci and Cafe Gratitude for great food and Stone Mountain Fabric for one of the best fabric stores I have ever visited.
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There are no Ethipoian restaurants in Asheville, so this was a treat!

Angie and I got to catch up in person instead of on the phone. I got a glimpse of her daily life, which is so quiet and peaceful compared to my own.  We also got to act silly and have many crazy capers as we did in the past.

The time flew quickly and my visit seemed to end with a blink of an eye. As I flew over the Easy Bay, I reflected on the new person I became since living on the West Coast over a decade ago.  There are some things I really miss because let's face it, there is nowhere in the world like the coast of California.  But as I boarded my connector to Asheville in Charlotte,  my wistful nostalgia was replaced by excitement to see Dave and the gals, and returning to my favorite place on earth--my house in a town I love.


I have changed a lot since I lived in California and I am happy to say that I've grown and learned a lot, and I still have much more to experience.
However, what really made my homecoming fantastic was the fact that all the laundry and dishes were done!  Dave also mentioned that it is tough staying home with the gals with all the business in our every day lives....it is nice to be appreciated :)