On the Grid Again: A City Vacation

Well. I just returned from a 12-day long vacation on the Mainland...and where does someone who lives a simple island life go on vacation? The city. With skyscrapers and shopping malls and bridges spanning large bodies of water, back to civilization...and it was fun and amazing, maybe the best vacation ever.

First stop, Portland. My son graduated with his MBA from Willamette University's Atkinson School of Business...on Mother's Day. What a gift, a year since I had seen my children last. It was a day full of joy and pride and happiness. Four nights spent in Portland, kids, shopping, the beginning of a 12-day fine dining journey, a Bikram yoga class in a new studio in Portland, and did I mention great meals and no sales tax??

On to San Francisco, the familiar, the place I called home for nearly all my life. It was so much fun to be there...I ate food in restaurants that I had been craving for months, I ate in new restaurants I had always wanted to go to, I saw some of my best friends and colleagues, I was a tourist in my own city, took pictures of the Bay Bridge and Union Square, and had a smile on my face the entire time...it was honestly the funnest few days I have had in a long while.

And lastly to the South Bay, San Jose, to stay with my brother and family...I spent time with them, my father, got to see my niece in her school talent show, got to go to my nephew's little league game, and have a family dinner with my aunt and uncle and cousins as well.

Such a well-rounded vacation, a perfect balance of family, friends, home and city. I enjoyed every minute of my time off the island...and yet, I am so happy and tranquil being back home, on my island, my new home.