Home Again

I am back from vacation and had a great time. We saw so many new things and had fun doing it. I'm not sure how much people want to hear about it so here is a brief summary.

San Francisco on the 4th of July was busy but fun. It was foggy (usual thing for San Francisco) and the fireworks that went up really high couldn't even be seen. But it was neat to see them go off of a barge in the bay. We had dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., on of my favorites. The entire pier was covered with people. Talk about a traffic jam.

In Portland, well Hillsboro, we made it on time for Alden to join Brian for the second half of his bachelor party, the barbecue after they played air soft. Sunday we just hung out with Brian and his fiance Jennie. Monday we went to the international rose garden, Pittock mansion and Multnomah Falls. I could have spent all day at the rose garden. It smelled and looked wonderful. Tuesday we drove to Mt. St. Helen's and Seattle. We went up in the Space Needle and had ice cream. That is quite a view. Wednesday we went to the Japanese Garden and had dinner with Brian since Jennie was having her girly day/bachelorette party. Thursday we went to the Chinese Garden and Alden went out with Brian for another bachelor party that night. Friday we did some shopping and it was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Brian's family invited us to the dinner even though we weren't part of the bridal party. We had the most amazing Italian food I have had in a long time. Saturday was the wedding. It turned out so good. They got married in a park that is under the St. John's bridge and all the bridge supports are cathedral shaped. The reception was under a tent at the park. It was much hotter than expected but the shade really helped. Luckily they didn't have a traditional cake so they didn't have to worry about it melting. The bride and groom left the reception by boat on the river while the DJ played the theme song for 007. Sunday we drove to Merced, CA and stayed the night. Monday we drove through Yosemite National Park. I thought it would be kind of boring but it was much more interesting. We saw some beautiful water falls, a black bear, and the giant Sequoia trees. I would love to go back and do some hiking. We made it home at about 9:00pm. We were lucky and it didn't rain once while we were there. It was fun to finally meet Brian after all these years listening to Alden's stories about him.

I survived the first day back to work yesterday with no drama. Today on the other hand has been a little more crazy. Ted is in a meeting all day so I have an extra meeting to attend. Then this morning the power was out for about 45 minutes after a car hit a power pole somewhere near the hospital. A man was trapped in the elevator the whole time. It turned out to be the hospitals chief of staff. Crazy! Now I have to get everything unpacked and put back together. I hate that part of vacation.

Until next time...