On the road again!

Hello, everyone!

This is my first blog--ever. I've been thinking I should do this for a long, long time. My mom is ALWAYS telling me to write things down and keep a journal. So...this is for you, Mom! (This doesn't have the charm of a handwritten diary, but at least I won't get writer's cramp!)

As of right now, I am at a Day's Inn in Hayward, California. My brother Matthew was wondering if he would get sued if he were to have a motel named "Daze Inn". Then I got to saying that they should have a motel chain called "Days In, Nights Out", special for those who are out all night and sleep during the day...it would be popular with rockstars!

Anyways, it's nice here, and I'm surrounded by loved ones! My brother Matthew, sister-in-law Cristen and adorable nephews Max and Elijah are here visiting from Japan. They and my mom, D'Anne, my sister Esther and her husband Aaron, my brother Gideon, and my sisters Sharon-Rose and Tabitha and I are all on a mini-trip up to the San Francisco Bay Area.

We left home yesterday afternoon, and started out listening to that great classic, "On the Road Again." We drove to Cannery Row in Monterey to pick up Matt, Cristen, and the lil' boys, who had previously driven up there with Cristen's folks. It was deliciously foggy and chilly there! We all finally rolled in to bed at the Days Inn around 2am...which has unfortunately been my bedtime lately. Fortunately, Matt was heading out the door to go to Starbucks right as I was waking up this morning--I managed to put in my order for a Grande Latte. Yum!

This afternoon we took a tour at the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield--highly recommended for all of you who will visit California (and for those of you who live here!). I even saw a factory worker who looked JUST like the Oompa Loompas in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (the Johnny Depp one, of course!). Little Elijah loooves robots, so he was excited to see the robots at the factory. We all spent a lot of money on candy!

After that, we headed over to Berkeley to go to our favorite Middle Eastern/Mediterranean restaurant. We knew it as Eat-A-Pita, but when we got there, we discovered that it is under new ownership and is now called D'Yar. For the most part, it was even better than Eat-A-Pita was! Hours later, I'm still tasting some of the wonderful flavors of the tabbouli and falafel! Also, Max teaching Eli how to say "baklava" was a priceless moment, but unfortunately, the tape in the camcorder was used up. :-(

It was really interesting to see how much Berkeley has been spruced up since we've been there last. The atmosphere was different, too...not nearly as oppressive as it used to be. Hopefully it's a sign that God is working there! I know Matt and Cristen are certainly different people than when they lived there, praise God! Also, for those who may care, U.C. Berkeley is apparently the ONLY school in California that has Finnish classes. What's up with that??? And being Raiders country up here, Aaron got some strange looks for wearing his Trojans sweatshirt. Gosh, people, it's just a team!

After our delicious dinner, we walked around and ended up doing a little shopping at Urban Outfitters. I'd never been there before, but always wanted to go. I REALLY like the stuff there! I ended up getting some shoes...it's my weakness, LOL. But these shoes were EXACTLY some that I had been on a quest for, so I'm happy. :-)

Next, we went to Cafe Milano, where Cristen worked back in the day, to get some coffee to go with our baklava. I started my day with a latte, and ended it with a latte. I hope I'll be able to sleep! Being such a coffee connoisseur, I love to note the difference in taste from coffee house to coffee house. The latte at Cafe Milano was excellent! It had a slightly bittersweet taste that was very pleasant.

Right now, we're all at the motel, chillin' and hanging out together. We've got the Olympics on...it's all Michael Phelps right now. I wonder how many gold medals he's won by now? It's great that they have this new-fangled wi-fi stuff so that I can blog from the comfort of my bed! (And I noticed on the signs of the Flying J truckstops on the way up here that they are now wi-fi hotspots.)

Tomorrow will bring more fun, as we go to San Francisco (I just need to get some flowers to wear in my hair!). Aaron has never been on the Golden Gate Bridge, so that will be exciting for him!

I will say good night for now. And taking cues from Tony and Elias of Sonata Arctica, I say, "Be good!" and "Behave!" Kauniita unia (sweet dreams!)

~S


P.S. One of these days I'll figure out how to post pics on here.