Shhhh! Don't tell anybody... I went to S.F. for the weekend!

What was I supposed to do... it was Lauren's birthday, Jaime's birthday (mind you these are the lovely ladies that flew all the way to Vienna for a visit) and I found a $98.00 ticket... how often does that happen!? It was a killer chance to go kick it up in the city, so I did.

So yeah, I went to San Francisco and had a fabulous time. It was of course a short trip (mostly because of my limited funds, lord knows I've got lots of time!), but jam packed with good times! I spent a scoonch of time in the East Bay with my family (yes, Jaime and Paul, that includes you!), but was mostly rolling city style. I didn't call that many people because it was a Laurnish weekend to the fullest, and I wanted to have a relaxed "quality time" kind of weekend. However, the beauty of being in the Bay is that you're bound to run into people along the way making a visit even better (like my dear, stressed out Rachel... hang in there girl!).

As I sat in Dolores Park on Sunday afternoon drinking champagne, er, sparkling grape juice, all I could think of was, "this is heaven". I've been trying to put my finger on what that is, and why I will be forever drawn to the Bay Area, or I should say specifically San Francisco and I've been having a difficult time. Really, it's not just one thing. It's a mix of the people I know up there, the people I don't know but who are crazy and entertaining, the abundance of natural and urban beauty, the proximity of everything, access to all cultures and their cuisines (!), excessive amounts of culture, art and performances (D. Voigt was performing that weekend, which sadly I had to miss... but none the less it was cool to know she was in town), the occasional gorgeous weather (which makes you really appreciate it) and all kinds of other things I can't verbalize. To sum it up, I was lucky to have done my undergrad in such an amazing place and will probably spend the rest of my life trying to figure out a way to get my ass back there!

Here are some pics of my (our) adventures. Some of the faces are familiar, others maybe not so much... like Cousin Dan from Chicago who's living in Monterrey, CA and randomly called for some advice on seeing the city (not realizing that I was in town and that I don't live there anymore and just how small the chances are that we would both be there the same weekend), baby Soren the newest reason for me to come up and visit as often as possible, and my sister Xanona (making her debut on Nishilandia) who graciuosly picked me up from the airport and hosted me my first night (the rest of the weekend I spent spooning with Lolo over at Chez Lauren and Zane).

Here are some pic's of my weekend... I promise, nothing too incriminating!

On the Bay Bridge in morning traffic with my sister... hella early.

The cutest 'little dude' you ever saw in your whole life, Soren, son to the amazing Nikki and Rasmus.

Jamie, Paul and Xanona, Saturday morning, my brief yet awesome excursion to the East Bay to retrieve the Nishi Sweater I had left there the day before, and spend some quality time with the fam-bam.

EMPTY!

Cousin Dan and Lolo, at the Bar. Pretty sure Cousin Dan and his friend (sadly no picture) had a good time, although I suspect Cousin Dan was hating life the next morning.

Scottie and Jaime after a lovely birthday dinner for Jaime at Sauce (no people, not the same one as in Tucson. trust.)

Jaime, Nishi and Schaffer's hand. Oh yeah, and the juke box in the background.

Lolo, Ruben and Nishi chillaxin' at Dolores Park on Sunday. Oh yeah, I forgot to say that Ruben is new to Nishilandia and very cool.

Lolo and the temple of either Ruben's people or Lauren's mom or of the Boob, depending on who you're talking to and how much sparkling grape juice they've had that morning.

Happy Birthday Lolo! It was an incredible weekend!