Back Home in Berkeley

** WARNING: There is a lot of gushing in this post. I can't help it, I love Berkeley that much.***



On June 17th we left San Diego and drove up to Berkeley. This was our first time back "home" since we'd left the previous August. It was so good to be back.

Our excellent excuse for traveling west was the Marostica wedding. Sara was my first Marostica love (her sisters and parents soon followed). She was the lone student in my seminary class the first year I taught and we have been good friends ever since. We were very honored to be invited back for her wedding. I've never seen such a beautiful, unbelievably happy bride. Her dress was incredible. She sang to Tyler at the reception and had many of us in tears. Sara, Tyler, and her parents did a great job with the wedding - it was gorgeous, completely color coordinated, and delicious.

One of the best things about the wedding was all the great people it drew. Several of our old friends from Berkeley made the trek across the country. The night before the wedding we had a bachelorette party, sans bachelorette. All the "girls" got together for Cheeseboard, Khana Peena, and delicious Meghan Busse chocolate cake. We ate on the deck (unusually warm Bay Area weather) and stayed up late talking.

After the wedding, the party kept going with swimming in Lake Anza, getting together at the Marosticas', Muir Woods, Point Bonita Lighthouse, and a bbq in the park the following Monday. As our friend Adam put it, "If heaven isn't like this vacation I'm going to be sorely disappointed."

Because of the generosity and hospitality of our friends the Ritzmans and the Marosticas we were able to stay in Berkeley for over 2 weeks. The Ritzmans let us stay at their place while they were off discovering Alaska. It was really nice to have our own space for a few days. Siena's reunion with their son Nathan (they are four months apart) was very sweet. She was trying to spit out a parent prodded "thank you" for using his bed and before she could finish he gave her a big bear hug. It was like they had never been apart.

Our "rent" at the Marosticas (we stayed in their cottage for 10 days) was to play Settlers of Catan for every night we were there. We gladly paid up. Julia was very sweet with Siena and played gypsy/spy/princess with her for hours on end. Talia took to calling Pamela "mommy" and would go to her over me. She loved yelling to "Mahht" wherever he was around the house and playing with their dog Merry. Laura was as beautiful as ever and was so nice to give up her room for us.

Berkeley was all we wanted it to be. We hit all our favorite spots - both food (a lot of food) and play (Oakland Zoo, Little Farm, Bay Area Discovery Museum, playground at Yerba Buena Gardens, Lawrence Hall of Science, and on and on).

Our favorite part was spending time with people that know us well and love us anyway. I know its cheesey but I can completely understand why Tony Bennet left his heart in San Francisco.