Thanksgiving in South California

A holiday tradition for me and hubby is to get away from the SF Bay Area everytime we get a chance in Thanksgiving holiday since our families live way too far away from the US. Making a road trip to San Diego and visiting some old friends on the way in Newport Beach seemed to be the best deal for us this Thanksgiving. On our last day we woke up at 5:30am, checked out at our hotel at Seaport Village and started the trip back home very early in the morning so we could avoid the holiday traffic. We made it home in about 8 hours and not hit any traffic at all. That was one of the best parts of the whole trip :)

What I loved loved loved about our trip to San Diego;

- Our friends' 11 month old boy Bora
- panda and koala at the San Diego Zoo
- taking the trolley to Coronada Island
- Glass art work in Spanish Village in Balboa Park
- trees in Spanish Village decorated with gift box ornaments
- kids in matching clothes posing for family photos
- walking around in Seaport Village
- petting the rabbits there...
- visiting the Old Town, having tequila and Mexican food
- random bridal photos in Balboa Park

Bits of joy from this week

My friends got married this weekend and I was the designated photographer who was given the honor to capture the happiest moments of their lives and even start my own professional portfolio with that experience. :)
Both me and my husband took the day off to attend the wedding cerremony in San Francisco City Hall. Papers were signed, photos taken, wows exchanged, tears of happiness and emotions ran through the cheeks and finally time for " champagne and celebration!" I danced thru the night till my foot started swelling and the shoes did not fit any longer.

A few other things that made me happy over the past week are;
-the cream puffs we had at the game night in my friend's house.
- the hike at the Stanford Dish.
- a well deserved chai tea latte and breakfast bun followed by the hike...
- Specialty's Cafe's pesto and mozeralla sandwich.

Misses mixed with kisses

I very much believe in that quote " You would not know how much you have missed your family, until you have seen them again". Living thousands of miles away from my family, I tend to keep in touch with them pretty often over the phone, emails, skype...and also try to fly over at least once a year.
Today I am looking at some family photos and wishing that I was in these pictures. I can not avoid the fact that I will always miss them but looking at things from the bright side; We will always have something to look forward to in our lives and I am very lucky to have my dear husband in my life who is my family in California :)