I had a such a lovely weekend in California. I got in late Thursday night and met Ben at his motel in Berkeley. The next morning I hopped a train for Pleasanton and spent the morning catching up over coffee with my college roommate, and the afternoon hanging out with her and her kids (burritos and legos!) The back to Berkeley for happy hour drinks with Ben’s coworkers, and a few of us continued on to Little Star for what I maintain is the best pizza in the world. Saturday we had a beautiful run up Strawberry Canyon in the Berkeley hills, then breakfasted on tortillas, salsa and eggs at a cute breakfast place near campus. Then off to San Francisco to hang out with Matt and Carrie and see their new house in Noe Valley. We devoted the afternoon to the pursuit of coffee and poking around a yarn shop, then home to admire the amazing view from their kitchen window, and play scrabble and eat Indian takeout. Sunday morning Chris and Teresa and the kids drove up from Palo Alto and we all walked down* to Tartine Bakery, loaded up on pastries and coffee and took the kids to the playground at Dolores Park. Then Matt whisked us off to the airport to await our [much too soon] flight home.
The unusual weather happening both in California and Chicago makes the comparison between places extra painful right now. Normally it should be 30’s and a little snowy in Chicago, and 50’s and rainy/foggy in California right now. But the drought in Cali means that it’s sunny and 70, while in Chicago the polar vortex means that we have a foot of snow and temps as low as -16 degrees. Subtract a few more degrees for windchill and we’re looking at a temperature spread of 100 degrees. It’s too much. I just hate winter. And it’s only the 3rd week of January! But I love my friends and my theatre community and my husband and the cost of living and my new house, and those things are all in Chicago.
I know that no matter where I live, Chicago or California, I will miss the other one. Until Ben and I figure out how to create our bi-coastal** existence, anyway. I wish we could buy plane tickets in 10-packs!
On the agenda for our next trip to California: Bay to Breakers, Maker Faire, visiting my new nephew***, and hopefully taking my niece to see some children’s theatre for the first time. Between now and then, I just have to tech two shows and we have to renovate an entire house. No bigs.
* Or skipped, depending on individual preference
** That’s west coast and third coast, for those of you who think only in terms of east and west
*** Scheduled to debut in March!