Happy New Year

Me standing in the rain near the top of Telegraph Hill in San Francisco on the morning of New Year'sEve.

Well folks, I'm home from Hawaii and California. The trip was great, to say the least! In both places, I don't think I've ever wanted to stay on vacation more than I did this time around. Hawaii was simply amazing and well, family is family -- this was honestly the first time my sisters and I were able to really hang out with our only cousins. I miss them (and the rest of the clan from Napa valley) a great deal already!

By the way, in case you were wondering, yes, we did arrive in San Francisco the morning of New Year's Eve, right smack dab in the middle of the onslought of rain and flooding that received some national media attention. In my aunt and uncle's hometown of Napa, I believe it was the worst known flooding in the city's history. Fortunately (for my family at least) their house is high enough on a hill to avoid any real trouble. We didn't even see the damage in the area until New Year's Day though, since we spent New Year's Eve celebrating in San Francisco.

And let me tell you, New Year's Eve was quite an experience -- one that really makes me want to go to Times Square in NYC for New Years eventually. First of all, the rain surprisingly cleared up around midday, with partially sunny and clear skies for the rest of the day as we continued to tour the city and do a bit of shopping. After seeing Cirque du Soleil's Corteo (probably my favorite overall show of theirs yet) and eating at the ACME Chophouse (connected to the Giant's SPC Park), we took a trolley up to Fisherman's Warf and walked down to Pier 1 to watch the fireworks celebration at midnight. There were 300,000+ people in San Francisco and that alone was a spectacle, not to mention the good firewoks display! Here are a few pictures from the San Francisco trip (I'll try to post Hawaii pictures in the next week or so):


My youngest sister, myself, and my dad, riding on the side of a trolley down Powell Street on New Year's Eve.


A picture of Lombard Street, the "world's crookedest street."


A shot of the Golden Gate from Vista Point on New Years Day Morning.