I had a phenomenal visit to California. The wedding was most definitely the highlight, but everything else I did was so rich and meaningful, and every visit was so intentional and fulfilling. Perhaps it's because this is likely my last visit to San Diego for a while. My last visit to California from Guam. Crazy...
My mom couldn't pass up the opportunity to sneak in one last visit to San Diego, either! So she flew out and joined me. We went to the Flower Fields in Carlsbad, which are simply breathtaking.
I stayed with my dear friend Liz in Coronado. We spent the weekend hanging out, working out, meeting friends for coffee, staying up way too late, and mostly just catching up.
The last time I was in San Diego in January and saw Ann, she was in labor! She had her baby Asher later that night, so three months later, this was my first chance to meet him! Ann and her family will be moving to our next duty station two months before we will. Hooray for West Coast friends moving east!
And it was awesome to see Tracy! She and I were youth leaders together and were in the same Bible study. I went to our church with her Sunday morning and was tickled to go down into the old youth den and see our benediction verse still written in Laura's handwriting on the chalkboard wall we put up. I was also very envious of the amazing space that church built to house their teenagers. We had it so good!
I also took the opportunity to say hi to some Guam friends who just moved back to the States! It was really interesting to hear how their transition has been. The most surprising thing to me was what they said about how the people in San Diego have not been very nice or welcoming to them. They both very much miss island life, which I was somewhat surprised to hear from one of them who couldn't wait to leave. There are definitely some simple pleasures on Guam that can't be replicated.
One of the highlights of any San Diego stopover is getting to see these faces!
Nick's little twin cousins Jack and Drew are now one year old, and they have got to be the most joyful babies ever!
They look right into your eyes... or the camera... and give you their biggest smile. Beyond cute!
And it's always great to hang out with their big sister Madison. We all had a wonderful dinner together and spent the evening catching up. Still, the visit was way too short, as it always tends to be. I will just have to come back. Soon, I hope.
After some awesome visits in San Diego, my mom and I met up with April, who picked us up and drove us to LA so we could take care of some very important business. April is going to join the Guam Club! She is coming all the way out to see me next month, and we are going on an adventure together... to China! We took advantage of the proximity to the Chinese Consulate office in LA and got our visas taken care of.
We used the rest of the day to see LA, since my mom had never been to any of the sights before. If you look closely, you can see the Hollywood sign in the background from our lunch stop at Hollywood & Highland. Then we moved on to ...
We did some serious window shopping.
And saw some fancy cars. It cracked me up to see all the guys drooling and taking pictures!
You really do see the strangest things in LA
Luckily some awesome people live there... SO great to see Jen! Yes, this is Jen from Guam... and Thailand and Korea. Jen hasn't been getting much sleep lately...
Because Jen got a puppy! Nice to meet you, Norma Jean!
All in all, a busy and fun stopover in LA, one of my least favorite cities in the entire world :)
and landed at the River's End... where the Russian River collides with the Pacific Ocean 
We enjoyed all the amenities the Russian River has to offer. 
Amazing seafood
A time to tear down
