At the end of July, I made my way back to the United States. It seems that I am scheduled to go back every 6 months, and in this case, it was to attend the wedding of my very good friend from San Francisco, Melissa. To travel all the way from Sweden to attend a wedding is quite far, yes. But it is amazing what barriers you will overcome once you have promised someone your attendance. At times, it seemed crazy trying to arrange the trip - I could not book ahead because I did not know where in the world I would be living at the time of the wedding. However, it all worked out, and I am grateful I was able to make it.
The wedding was in Santa Barbara, California - a place I had never been to before. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to actually see Santa Barbara. My trip consisted of hotel, the zoo (where the wedding was), hotel, and then back to LA.
Here is the bride, my friend Melissa. I didn't turn into a Filipino-American hipster with super-cool fitted suits since I moved to Sweden, but I like candid photos and I think this one turned out well. That super-cool hipster is my friend Rob.
A first for my wedding experiences (which admittedly are not too many) was a giraffe feeding for the guests. We all got a leaf of lettuce and got to feed them while trying to avoid their 2-foot long tongues.
The other part of my trip consisted mostly of being in the Los Angeles area. After being away from California, or even the US, I forgotten how much of a food mecca LA is. All items on my extensive "not found in Europe" food list was taken care of, and quite happily. Another major focus was shopping. To me, everything in the US is on sale, so I acquired an iPad, home goods, and even took care of my dry cleaning. I even had a chance to catch up with the Pashman's. One of the most pleasant things about the trip, was actually being able to understand everything that was going on around me, and to be able to communicate with people. Ah, the US - you have to leave it in order to love it more.
My entire family happened to be in LA at my brother's home at the time, so we also took a side trip to San Diego. Here are some highlights:
My entire family happened to be in LA at my brother's home at the time, so we also took a side trip to San Diego. Here are some highlights:
My friend from Yale, Keith, who works for Lego, hooked us up with some free tickets to Legoland outside of San Diego. I escaped Denmark only to return to a Danish amusement park in California. While at the wedding, I could have also gone to nearby Solvang, a Danish settlement. This is my brother's family, and you can tell who is the most excited to go to Legoland.
Legoland is mostly full of rides for the 2-8 year old sect, but they also had some cool Lego sculptures. Here, I am joined by my sister and my niece.
This is why I love California. You don't see this in Scandinavia. Nothing close.
This panda bear, at the San Diego Zoo, was naughty and was given a timeout by the zookeeper.
Legoland is mostly full of rides for the 2-8 year old sect, but they also had some cool Lego sculptures. Here, I am joined by my sister and my niece.
This is why I love California. You don't see this in Scandinavia. Nothing close.
This panda bear, at the San Diego Zoo, was naughty and was given a timeout by the zookeeper.
Lastly, on my way back home to Sweden I had a extra-long layover at JFK, and was able to make it into the city to see some friends. No pictures, but I was very grateful to see my friend Eric (who doesn't read this blog) and to finally meet Ryan and Leah's baby, Elle. She is a monster of a baby (size-wise), inheriting good genes from her parents, and I expect her to be the next Lisa Leslie.
Oh, sad panda.
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