Switzerland ➡️ Maui (with a quick stop in between)
Coming back from a place where it has been 30 degrees with only moments of sunlight peeking in, I am happy to show that this is where I was sitting as I started to write this blog. :)
...I'm never leaving.
Just this past week, while standing on rose petals sprinkled over freshly cut grass with the beaches of Maui in the background, my sister became Mrs. Lauryn Anderson. That's right, we were lucky enough to spend 10 beautiful days in Maui, Hawaii to witness and celebrate the marriage of Lolo and her Superman, Fletcher.
Since I had a couple days between arriving from Switzerland and leaving for Maui, my family and I took full advantage of the small window.
The theme of my homecoming: Visit every inch of the old stomping grounds in under 48 hours.
Challenge, accepted.
The Homecoming
After a week of practice, I left early Friday morning at 5:00am for the Zurich airport. I had a small 3 hour flight to London, then a whopping 11 hour flight all the way to San Francisco. It took me three movies, one tv show, 40 pages read in my book, one hour of sleep and four advil to get through that flight #193. I landed Friday afternoon into San Francisco, but the 9 hour difference put my body into Saturday morning mood. Time travel's weird man. ;) I was surprisingly awake though; it probably was the excitement of coming back home to the family again. We decided to go out to dinner at a local restaurant to celebrate. Food of choice: Mexican: The one type of food to be extinct in the world of the Swiss. Oh how I've missed you fajitas.
Saturday morning came way too quick where my internal clock woke me up earlier than anyone should ever wake up on a Saturday. I tallied in a grand total of 10 hours of sleep over the past two nights, but a full day was ahead and I was ready to get it started.
We had a quick stop to the dress shop to get my bridesmaids dress altered. Even with the Maui trip only a day away, this was actually the first time I had ever tried on the dress, but we were lucky to find that only a few changes were needed. So check that off the list! ✔️
Next on the agenda was to stop at the mall to buy some sandals for the wedding. You're crazy if you think you're going to find sandals in Switzerland at this time.
But apparently in California, they boycott selling sandals in December as well, so no luck there, but we'll still check this one off the list. ✔️ Next stop, Davis! It was the UC Davis Women's Volleyball Senior Night that night, and I was lucky enough to make it home and see it. Now I reallllly needed to get my hair cut before I went to Maui, so I say our plan of action is that once we arrive to Davis, we B-line it straight to my favorite hairdresser, Anna Maria (role the "r") to get a quick cut. Gotta add that to the checklist.
Everyone in the house had efficiently taken care of their morning errands, making us right on schedule to leave for Davis! Right on schedule until we hit Pleasanton...aka the hot spot of traffic. We were in bumper to bumper traffic long enough to add an hour to the trip. Luckily we arrived in Davis just in time to get my hair cut, and even squeezed my mom in to get hers done as well. Two for one special! Thanks AnnaMaria! You the bomb.
Watching the girls play was pretty surreal. All of a sudden Quinny, Megs, Vic, Val and Holland were graduating!? Since when, and who let this happen!? (Kidding, so proud of you all, but I just can't believe how quickly it has all passed by!) There were differences for sure though: Some different players, different coaches, different -but awesome- jerseys, and a different perspective sitting in the bleachers. It was definitely a treat being able to watch our girls play again; they unfortunately lost, but it was one heck of a fight. And it sure did feel like home being back in the Pavilion.
...yeah, that's why
Since I was one of ten alumni who attended the game, it became a mini reunion for all of us old timers. They had a small reception for the alumni players down in the media room before the game. And when I say small reception, I mean open bar. We had the times of our lives, reminiscing on old practices, telling timeless stories, talking to former coaches and taking all the pictures in the world. There's nothing quite like getting back together with some of your best friends who have endured so many laughs, tears and memories with you. That, and wine.
One of the best reunions with some of my closest friends✔️
You probably think that Davis was the last city we'd hit, nope! Last up, Sacramento! I met up with all of my friends and people I used to work with over at Sac Republic at our favorite place, Low Brau. It was either here or Firestone that used to be the compound for us employees after working our home games. Only this time we switched out the polos for some sweet winter scarves and beanies. The night ended with a quick trip to a local pizza place where I polished off the most beautiful slice of olive and cheese pizza. Big shout out to my girl Erica for buying me that slice of pizza...apparently they don't take Swiss Francs in America. Don't get me wrong, Europe has the most authentic pizza around, but sometimes there's nothing more savory than a nice slice of American pizza :) Though the 6:00am alarm came quick the next morning, I was wide awake and ready to make it back down to San Jose and get our last minute packing in for Maui.
A day filled of good times with good people✔️
So to recap, I have gone from Fribourg to Zurich to London to San Francisco to San Jose to Davis to Sacramento and back to San Jose all in a matter of hours. How cool is that.
...Next up, Maui :)🌴🌺
