Guess who?

I took this picture of Roger when he was doing his jumps and I thought it was hilarious so had to post. We had such a great time up there- thanks Rog for showing us around! Love you

San Francisco with my brothers

We just got back from a trip to San Francisco (me and Ron) and although it was a very long drive (just a few days after I made the drive to Milpitas), it was worth it to be able to hang out with my brothers. At least we weren't held up in the long line of cars going the other way backed up 17 miles because of a truck that caught on fire! We stayed at Jacqui's and Suzanne's place (thanks again guys!) on Church Street and covered a lot of ground in a few days in San Fran.

We visited Roger's place on Scott Street and met a couple of his room mates- soon to be ex since he is moving out in a month or so. We also went up to Twin Peaks and saw the amazing view from the top-- I am going to try and stitch my photos together and post it later... we also got some great shots of us at the top but they are on Roger's camera. We went all around Valencia street and Mission and went to some cool shops on Haye's street and ate at Kate's Kitchen, Fritz, a cool Thai place by Jacqui's and got some great baked goods at a place called Tartine's. It was good times, not to mention the weather was absolutely perfect- bright sunny days and cool nights... oh yeah, and the ride on Rog's cool vespa.

I can't wait to make another trip up to San Francisco... and I am sure I will be making a lot since I live so much closer now! Im back in LA now just trying to get settled in- well, as much as I can before I leave for the Galapagos Islands and Peru.. then when I get back I will REALLY have to get settled.

Milpitas, CA: Visiting my cousins

Shay and I drove to Milpitas yesterday (45 min from San Fran) and I am actually flying back to LA tomorrow at noon and then driving back here on Friday with Ron and hopefully meeting my brother Roger here- but we will see how that goes. It's been nice here- the area is so pretty. We shopped a little today and Shay and I went to 24 hour fitness and got ourselves a work out. It's been nice being here in my own bed and eating good home cooked food! I'll miss it when I leave but I am only a 5 hour drive from here from LA-- which isn't too bad- plus I'll be on my way back this weekend!

Taking a break from the 10: Los Angeles

Shay and I made it to LA! We got here last night and the temperature dropped about 30 degrees from the desert.. it was so nice to get out of your car and not feel like you were in an oven! As a matter of fact, an hour later when the sun was going down we actually needed a light jacket. Ron and Emma's place was totally easy to get to from the 10 and traffic wasn't too bad on Friday at 4. But Emma told me that it was because everyone was going out of town, not in town, so we were lucky to miss that traffic that looked bumper to bumper.

Here is a shot I took last night when we got in before I crashed hard for about an hour. We all just hung out and watched the movie "Made" before going to San-Sui (awesome sushi place-best banana tempura, green tea ice-cream dessert) for dinner. Their place is so cute- definitely 70's style love shack meets ski lodge. I will take more pics soon and post on flickr so you guys can see. They scored on this place- lots of room, 2 AND a half baths in this place, double car garage, etc... But the best is being able to walk everywhere- to dinner, movies, bank, etc... I love this area!

Shay and I are getting on the road on Sunday. Today will be the day to laundry and re-pack for a little bit of colder weather as we head up to San Francisco! Yea-- we will be off the 10. Haven't decided whether we are taking the 5 or the 1, but we will keep you posted.

Phoenix: The Bisson's

I had the pleasure of hanging out with JP, Emily and their adorable 9-month baby girl, Charly Rose. It took a little time for Charly to warm up to us, but I think it was Bob that was scaring her (jk)! It was a treat to see them again and see how much Charly has grown! The house was awesome (I love the pool!) and looking forward to coming back and visiting again- or maybe this time JP, Emily and Charly can come this way! I enjoyed Phoenix but I don't know if I can stand the heat during the summer- Emily told me it got to 120 degrees last summer. I ended up buying some sunscreen to wear because I felt like I was getting burned just getting gas. All in all, the city was great and would love to spend more time hanging out and seeing the sights next time around.

Visiting Bob in Phoenix

My time (although short) was time well spent with Bob. He is doing great and opening an optometry center, Family Focus Eyecare, in Phoenix, which I got to tour and it is coming along nicely set to open in a little over a month, I also got to see his awesome house which he did a really good job decorating! The best are some pics he had of us way back when-- classic shots! I posted just one of them ... good times.

Here are some pics from my short trip there and will upload the rest soon. We got to catch up on old times and hopefully, once I get settled in Cali, he will come visit me here. Bob, hope you are reading this and I miss you!

And Still- On the 10: Phoenix

We made it to Pheonix last night with no problems. The drive yesterday was pretty easy, except for some crazy wind pockets where your car would feel out of control for about 2 seconds and a tumble weed almost hit Shay's car! Other than that, no one got pulled over so that was good! We bought these little lunchables box-thingys and we ate lunch at the romantic, sunny gas station! There's not much around the 10 between El Paso and Pheonix so it worked out fine for us. We are going to be here for the night tonight and head back on the 10 tomorrow AM to Los Angeles! So far, so good.

Still on the 10- El Paso

Shay and I are now here in El Paso- bigger city than I thought it was going to be and we are now checked in at the hotel and then getting something to eat. The trip has been pretty uneventful (lots of nothing but driving straight) although Shay did get pulled over today! I tried to warn her on the walkie-talkie, but the cop just snuck up on us and before i knew it, he had by-passed me and got Shay. But of course, as always, she talked herself out of it and he ended up giving her a warning and getting a nice 10-minute conversation out of it, asking her about her life story. We plan on getting up just in time for the continental breakfast in the AM and then hitting the road tomorrow for Pheonix! So far, so good- no car troubles or accidents so cross your fingers that it stays this way until our final, final destination (after LA)-- San Jose!

On the 10- San Antonio

Ok- we are actually on the road (the interstate-not Magazine Street!). Shay and I made it to San Antonio at 8pm- just in time for Grey's Anatomy season finale- with 15 minutes to spare! We drove from New Orleans straight through on the 10 (literally) and made it all the way to San Antonio stopping just twice the entire time. It was smooth sailing and we are going to get up tomorrow and make our way to El Paso. So for now, we are hanging at the Best Western and will be going to bed early and stretching out before we have to get up tomorrow and have to sit in a car for 12 hours!

Cali Bound!

Shay and I are about to leave to head on our journey west. Today, we plan on driving until we can't drive anymore and just find a random place to crash. Ok- I take that back-- we are going to drive until 7:30ish-- before the 2-hour Grey's Anatomy finale begins. I know, sort of lame but we have to do it- its the last show! Rose was really sweet and gave us a bag full of essentials- red bull, water, snacks, candy and toiletries! Thanks Rose for doing that for us and making us breakfast. You don't know how much we appreciate it and how much we will miss you. But we aren't saying good-bye because we know we will see you in 1 month -- and then we will be on an amazing trip to Galapagos and Peru.

We'll stop tonight and log on to update you guys on our progress. Hopefully we will at least have made it to Texas ... ha- but we'll let you know. Expect lots of phone calls on the way. We love you guys!

Update 5.14.06

It's been a while since I've posted... but I just got some good news over the weekend- I SOLD MY HOUSE! I got the offer the night before I was supposed to be on the road to California-- and it set our trip back a couple of days.. but that's ok! Its not exactly what I wanted, but for owning the house for only 8 months, living in it for 3 weeks and never having to pay one mortgage note since I rented it right away after the storm- I did pretty well. Initially, they tried to low ball my price and demand that I give them all the furniture inside, plus all the plants to be included in the low ball price. We straightened that out pretty quickly.

Everytime I go to the house, it does make me sad that I am selling it. I would love to keep it but with not knowing what is going to happen with next hurricane season, I can't risk the chance of another storm coming and then having to deal with insurance and everything. I will be all the way out west and I just can't be here to take care of it. So, I decided to sell and thinking it would take about 6 more months (a.k.a.-after hurricane season), I thought that once my renter's lease was up at the end of June, I would have to re-list it now on Craig's list, etc... to have it rented. So now I am scrambling to make sure that the furniture is all sold or given away.

Shay and I are supposed to be on the road driving West on Monday AM. Right now, I am in Pensacola one last night visiting my mom for Mother's Day. After this, we will head back to New Orleans, pack the car tonight (all my stuff is together in the living room) and then start driving early in the AM- or 10. You know, whatever works. I'll keep you posted.

Jazz Fest 2006: First Weekend

Jazz Fest 2006
Originally uploaded by rizanola.

On my way out to Jazz Fest for the 2nd weekend but thought I would blog this picture from last weekend. Its a picture of Helen, me, Rose, Camilla and Cecilia-- it was a ton of fun and looking forward to it this weekend! I'll post more pictures on my flick account soon.