Parting Thoughts from Maine

I returned to California from Maine on Friday, spending some time in Boston that day to visit with my friend Emily. It was a very smooth trip, I'm just a tad jet-lagged now. I was a little sad to leave Maine because it means vacation is almost over and I am not sure whether I will be back there before next Christmas. But no need for drama - I am come from a pragmatic mother and this is life! Email and cell phones make the distance seem less consequential.

Before I resume posts on California, here are two last photos from this Maine trip. The first is of the sunrise on my last day there. This photo doesn't even do the scene justice as the colors were extraordinary with a fog rising from the snow. Oh, Maine, how I love you! The second is a photo my sister engineered in the basement of my parents' house with their two cats and my sister's cat. I had to have food on my lap to make this happen! Noticeably absent is my beloved RJ (twin sister of Emily, the cat on the far left), who died a couple of weeks before I got home. But if there had been four cats, I'm not sure a photo would have happened - it was challenging enough to get these three in one shot!

From L-R: Emily - the matriarch and the only cat not trying to run off, Katydid (Katie), and Sophie (my sister's cat)

White Christmas in Maine

I have now completed the journey from California home to Maine in order to spend Christmas with my family. I arrived in the nick of time yesterday as a large snow storm descended upon us last night. It is still snowing as I write! I shoveled for 1.5 hours this morning and will head out again later today. What a joy it is for me to be home, relaxing, resting, and enjoying Maine's nature and pace of life.

Work

My updates would not be complete without some pictures from work, since that is where I spend the vast majority of my time. The first below is of some co-workers outside one of the BSC-Fremont buildings (I actually work in a building across the street, not the one pictured here). The second picture is the view from my cube (Tiffany's cube).

From L-R: Kevin, Sonny, me, Fran, Pam, Ryan

I went to Stanford...

...well, I didn't graduate from the university, but this weekend I did visit Palo Alto, home of Stanford and a very charming downtown. I must apologize because I did not take any pictures of the area - having camera battery issues of late. Nonethless, take my word for it when I say that Stanford has a gorgeous campus. Memorial Church, the Hoover Tower, the quadrangle...just stunning. (For the benefit of my fellow GCC alums, it is much, much larger than our favorite Pennsyltucky campus.) Palo Alto itself was also fantastic with many cute shops and eateries. I somehow ended up in Menlo Park too. Still not sure how that happened but I get lost all the time out here! Anyhow, Menlo Park's downtown was very cute as well.

The only thing disconcerting about this weekend was that it feels like fall here: the leaves are turning brown and falling, we have a temperature range of high 30s to mid 50s each day, and it is sunny most of the time. A far cry from the East Coast weather of late!

I will soon be in the thick of the snow, however, as I return to New England this week. From what I gather, we'll definitely have a white Christmas in Maine this year! I have a red-eye flight back Tuesday night, arriving in Boston at approximately 5am EST on Wednesday. I will then take a bus to Maine and begin a long (and much-needed) vacation. Yippee!

McKenzie and Levi

For the first time since leaving college, I have a good roommate! McKenzie is a native of San Jose and has been most helpful as I settle in. She has a beagle, Levi, which means I get a dog with no responsibility. =) He looks absolutely adorable here - in his Christmas scarf - but he's much less charming when he goes on a barking tear...

Monterey to Carmel

A couple of weekends ago I went down to Monterey, which is about an hour from Campbell. I have tons of photos still to post of the historic homes and Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey. This post, however, is reserved for some of my favorite ocean shots of the drive from Monterey to Carmel. I am in love with this area! It reminds me of the rocky Maine coast, except here when you drive south, the ocean is on your right. Thanks to my co-worker Fran for showing me around this part of the area. I definitely have to go back!

New Church Home

After many weeks of "church shopping," I have finally found a church that I like: the Congregational Church in San Mateo. CCSM is a UCC church, just like Old South that I belonged to in Boston and the church I grew up in Maine. The new minister of this church is even from New Hampshire so this New England girl is right at home!

The only downside: it is 33 miles away.