December 6, 2005

First Trip Back to California

This past weekend I took my first trip back to CA to visit my friend Julie in San Diego. I’ve always loved San Diego with its beautiful water views, rolling hills, Balboa Park attractions and wonderful eateries. It is worlds different from San Francisco but there were subtle similarities I noticed now that I’m in Texas.

For instance, cars (nearly) always stop for pedestrians crossing the street. In Texas you have to wear a rear view mirror on your head as a pedestrian. In San Diego people of all ages could be seen wearing funky clothes and bargain shopping. In Texas it seems that bargain shopping is not cool and funky is only for people in the arts.

We hooked up with our mutual friend Craddock. All three of us have previously held the same job as Director of Programs for affiliates of the Arts & Business Council, Inc. Catching up on lives and jobs is something I’m missing here in Texas where I am still at the point of nurturing budding friendships. Our pig out at Extraordinary Desserts, a trendy eatery, was the icing on the cake of a great weekend. (Check out this Blog entry I found about the restaurant.)

As Sunday progressed I found myself getting quite melancholy. Maybe it was the water views, grassy hills, seeing good friends, I’m not sure. Or just that feeling you get on vacation – unreality for a few days. Although I am loving Houston it may be that the impact of moving so far away from my California life is sneaking up on me.

Roasted Coconut Cream Torte from Extraordinary Desserts website. They put
flowers on every plate! I'm salivating, no joke.