California, I'm coming home

Vacation.

Vacation is amazing. I highly recommend everyone take one, even if you're only earning a measly $700/month like me. Wow, did I need that. It was so great to get out and see my friends, not to mention going somewhere with reasonable September weather was amazing.

I went out to California last Friday through yesterday (Saturday) to see Jocelyn and Elyse. We spent the first few days in LA so we could see Elyse's brother's race:

Go go car 51!

Racing is actually pretty enjoyable when you know someone who's in the car. Some of Elyse's extended family members were there as well, so her brother had a whole cheering section. Plus he came in third for the season! Pretty awesome.

We drove back to northern California on Monday, taking our time and stopping at Big Sur on the way:

We got an appetizer (goat cheese and garlic on toasted bread, mmm), cider (me, Jocelyn), and hot chocolate (Elyse), then sat around the fire and lamented having to get back in the car.

The rest of the time, we just kind of hung out, went to a few restaurants, and watched TV shows and movies. I know a lot of people will tell me I could have just done that at home and I should have enjoyed my time going out and seeing things, but I was there for the people, not the sights, and I couldn't have had a better time.

We did go to Half Moon Bay one day, which has cute shops. Mostly, though, we went out there because I wanted to see pumpkins. Elyse suggested we check out the pumpkin patches there, so Jocelyn drove us out. Being in the desert, you don't realize that it's fall in the rest of the country--it's still 100 here every day. I'm sad I'm not going to see leaves changing color or get to wear plaid shirts every day, but at least I got a nice experience while in CA:

There was a second pumpkin patch directly across the street, so we went there, too. Why not?

We finished out the visit to Half Moon Bay with a visit to the water, where I was ecstatic because it was foggy and I didn't have to see the sun:

On Friday night, we made fondue for Elyse's family and her brother's friends. I haven't had a big dinner like that in a long time, and it was a lot of fun. Good food, good wine, good people! Afterwards, we watched Singin' in the Rain. Elyse and I stayed up talking for a while after because we had the theory that if we just never went to bed, I'd never have to go back to Arizona. 

Sadly, that didn't hold true, and Saturday morning I had to take off on my plane anyway. I'm now back in Arizona where it's still hot, still dusty, and still home for the next 5 months. Fortunately, October is right around the corner, and hopefully cooler weather is on the way. I have my first half marathon at the end of October, and my parents will be coming out for a visit after that. It's crazy to think that Thanksgiving will be here before I know it! It looks like I'll be having a similar Thanksgiving to the one I had in London, though at least this time I can hopefully make food instead of tracking down Whole Foods and buying pie and stuffing.

And with Christmas just after Thanksgiving, it looks like I"ll be visiting home before I know it...