Back in dry Seattle

We returned from our California vacation last night, just before 10 pm, making it a sub (by 10 minutes) 15 hour drive from Palo Alto to Seattle.

It was a great trip. Since it would get too boring to go through the details of the trip, I'll try to just hit the more memorable parts:

• A cold and rainy bike ride on the Oregon Coast
• A less cold but even more rainy bike ride along 17 mile drive and beyond
• Terrific accomodations: a friend's charming house in Pebble Beach, my cousin's stylish apartment in San Francisco, the retro hotel in Palo Alto
• Great food: chowder, dim sum, bouliabase, milkshakes, curry, chips & guacamole, tropical cocktails, fresh pasta...
• Biking over the Golden Gate Bridge and then returning across the bay on the ferry
• Watching a rainy football game
• Amazing scenery: from the Redwood forest to the windswept coastlines to snowy mountains to golden foilage mixed with evergreens; the drive was worth it

While we saw a lot of nice things, the best part of the trip was catching up with old friends (and I'm including my cousin in this category). It was nice having that quality "hang out" time, as we visited with everyone for a couple of days. It's a great reminder that we do have good taste in friends (and good luck with family) as we spend time with people we don't get to see often enough.

The plan is to get some pictures up soon.