To the West Coast.

Traveling is something that we love to do. Whether it is a quick trip out of New York City or one where we have to travel many of hours, we love love love to explore. So much so that we try to do something at least once a month--this is so much more fun than saving up for that big bank-breaker once a year (although, I am not entirely opposed to this). However, for this time in our lives, these small, wallet friendly trips are wonderful.
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In May, we were able to fly back home to California to visit with family and friends. I guess we can call if a late birthday present for myself--which I greatly appreciated! This was our first time going back home for a long stretch since we moved out here. It was so nice to be home in the comfort of familiarity. We were so busy meeting friends for coffee and catching up that we were constantly on the go, but we agreed that it was definitely worth it. On the first day, Pat and I decided to go to the beach and grab a local favorite for a quick day date. We picked up this said treat and walked down to the beach to eat and 30 minutes later, I am a bright red tomato! My poor skin hadn't seen the sun in months (sad, sad NY winters) and was shocked back into reality on our FIRST day. With that said, I was burnt and uncomfortable for the first couple of days, but was still able to go to the beach with friends (sat under an umbrella of course). For the last 3 days of our trip, we drove up with my in-laws to San Francisco. We stayed with my sister-in-law in the city but we were also able to visit Berkeley and Oakland. We visited with friends and of course indulged in some local food favorites. Pat went to college in Berkeley, so this trip back there made him all sorts of happy. We spent lots of time with family, saw great friends, and ate amazing foods that we had missed. We can't wait for our next trip back to the west coast. Until then, California!