Such a corny title! Sorry, it just had to be done!Apparently Jon and I can't get enough of California, we went back again for another visit just three months after the last one. Although actually it was a bit like old times for me, that was about the frequency of my trips before he moved over here. Anyway, the main reason for another trip so soon was for me to get my green card entry stamp and take the last step in that process.
Everything went very smoothly, I'm happy to report. They didn't give me a hard time at all at immigration on landing and I got my entry stamp and official alien status without any trouble. The actual green card, social security number and whatever other paperwork they like to give out should be winging its way to me very soon.
And apart from all that official business we of course had a great vacation planned. It turned out to be wonderful timing for me as I was in between jobs too. We flew out the day after my last day at London Business School so I was free as a bird with a holiday and an exciting new job to look forward to. I was grinning quite madly! It was a great trip too, I had a much better time than the last visit, for various reasons.
We spent a week and a bit in OC staying with Jon's parents and hanging out with friends. The Jones' California house is newly on the market and it was a little strange living in what is essentially a show home with minimal furniture and bare walls, and having to keep everything looking immaculate, you can imagine what a job that was for messy ol' me! But the place looks amazing. I wish we could afford to buy it!! Anyway, we didn't really spend enough time there for me to make too much of a mess, thankfully. We saw a lot of Jon's friends again and also managed to get in a dinner with my friend Vanessa who has just moved to San Diego from London. Again showing our support for another transatlantic couple! (Although we only saw one half of the couple!)
After that, we left for San Francisco, heading up the Pacific Coast Highway with Jon's friend
Sabrina for company. We went fairly leisurely, making one stop in San Luis Obispo for lunch and a smoothie. Then went on chasing the ocean and racing the sunset, which when it finally happened around the Big Sur coast was beautiful. We spent the night in Carmel by the Sea and then continued north the next morning. The first day was mostly ocean, the second day we enjoyed the awesome giant redwoods. California is diverse and beautiful, who could argue with that!We made a stop in the South Bay area to visit with my friend Jenny, who I haven't seen since her wedding in Princeton four years ago. It was a flying visit but great to see her and meet her new daughter and even got to say hi to hubby Ben fleetingly. After that it was straight through the city of San Francisco and over the Golden Gate Bridge into the wine country. We were over ambitious about trying to get a vineyard visit in on the same day. We didn't make it up there until after closing time, but we took a little drive around a few places in Napa and Sonoma and ended up having a wonderful dinner in the town of Sonoma. We went to a restaurant called The Girl and the Fig which I would recommend if you ever find yourself in the area, and sat outside in the courtyard and made sure we had plenty of local wine on the table. We arrived in San Francisco later that night, where we spent the rest of our trip.
Sabrina flew back to LA the next day after a send off breakfast at Sears next door to our hotel on Union Square. Jon and I went off exploring after that. First stop was of course the Golden Gate Bridge for a photo opp, where we had a chance meeting with Palle, a friend from London, whilst strolling across the bridge. It was the most bizarre and unexpected thing, completely random!! We saw him again for dinner another night of course, what are the chances we will all be in SF at the same time ever again?!We did all the other touristy stuff over the next few days. We have both been to SF before but not for a few years so it was fun to do it all again. We did Alcatraz, which was really cool, walked up to Coit Tower, and explored the city and its many hills. On our last full day my friend Mark who lives across the bay in Tiburon picked us up and gave us a great guided tour of the city. He drove us through all the various neighbourhoods, the Crookedest Street, Golden Gate Park, and Tiburon. We had a great time and we both found our love for SF rekindled, and I think Jon is keen to try living there at some point. As cities go, it's high on my list, and I love the whole Bay Area. I think we'll definitely be back.
I took about a squillion pictures but click here for some of the highlights of the trip.
