Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011

Currently: Back from California and what a blast I had! I stayed at my friend Brittany's in Sacramento for the first night, her husband's aunt's place in San Francisco the second night, and joined in on her family picnic out in the Santa Cruz boardwalk the day after. Needless to say, I really had a great tour guide in Britanny.Haha I love Cali...upon first arriving in Sacramento, (since it is very low key compared to other parts of the state, as I would later find out) it really felt like any other state with palm trees as an added bonus. I enjoyed eating at an authentic Mexican restaurant, but part of me wanted more from this experience...and boy did I get it. When we went to San Francisco the next day, I was in awe of what I saw. It is a beyond beautiful city with a wondrous view. The culture of San Francisco really amazed me too. You have hippies, Asians, Mexicans, and Boho-health nuts, all in one city! The architecture of the buildings also amazed me. I love how the roof to every building slopes downward, and each building is painted in a light, flattering color (including baby blue!). I also enjoyed getting to see the Golden Gate Bridge. Because of this trip, San Francisco has now become my second favorite city...next to NYC, of course. ; ) Going straight from the hustle and bustle of San Francisco to the laid back, beach culture of Santa Cruz made it all the better for me during this trip. The drive over to Santa Cruz was wonderful. I got to get a good look at the Northern California landscape, which is beyond beautiful...and huge! Even the Northern California farmlands put me in awe, and NO farmland has EVER put me in awe before! When we finally arrived at Santa Cruz, I continued to be mesmerized by the beauty of California state. There were palm trees everywhere, and I got an up-close view of the Pacific Ocean. When you're in Santa Cruz, you definitely feel a more laid back and chill sense. It is home to a lot of surfers, as as I saw with the many cars with surfboards on top of them. The boardwalk and small theme park are very well designed. We stayed at the Beach for 2 hours. While there I took some pictures, went in the water a little bit, and just took in the beauty of the entire place. From there, we went over to the downtown area of Santa Cruz, which is very small compared to other downtown areas, but still very beautiful. There were a lot of hippies there as well, but Britanny claimed that those hippies were more laid back than the San Francisco hippies...I do not neccessarily agree with that statement, but I could be wrong. Once we were done in Santa Cruz, we made our way back to Sacramento, wrapped things up, and I was back on a plane the next morning. I bought a lot of souveneirs while there, including snow globes, post cards, clothing items, and magnets. It was an amazing weekend. I am very proud of myself for not letting any fears or paranoia get the best of me, and for forcing myself to do something worthwhile for earning my Master's Degree. And speaking of Master's Degree, I am pleased to inform that I have received my diploma and final transcript! Now I am awaiting an authorization to test letter in the mail...and it should arrive any day now. So I really have nothing to complain about right now.