California Road Trip

California is our home - our touchstone.  But because we left when our kids were still young (1st and 3rd grade), they don't remember it in the same way we do.  So we decided to take a California road trip and remind them of who they are and where they're from.

We took 101 down from the Bay Area to Los Angeles.  Of course we stopped at the various tourist places along the way.  First - Casa de Fruta for breakfast and some play time.  And then we checked out some California Missions.  4th graders in California learn about the Missions and are often tasked with construction of a mission.  I did Mission San Miguel - so of course we had to visit it.

We also hit another traditional tourist spot - Andersen's Split Pea.

Eventually we arrived at Disneyland - the original.  We met up with our friends and had the good fortune to open the park!

We checked out various rides.

Teacups!

And even took a tour "Walking in Walt's Footsteps".  Pretty cool and we got to see his apartment at the park.  It was amazing how much it reminded me of my grandparents' home - from the same era.

Nursing baby

On the way back to the Bay Area, we took Highway 1 up the coast.  The California coast is so beautiful - constantly changing and always magnificent.


















We got to see elephant seals.  They were breeding, giving birth, and nursing their babies - glorious to see them so close!













When we got to Oakland, we hiked in the Redwoods and got to see ladybugs breeding and having babies as well.  Aah - springtime!

Re-entry

When you return to the U.S. after two years of living overseas, you expect that things will be different and you'll have to make some adjustments.  But for everything you expect and plan for, there is a lot more that just comes as a surprise.

We expected it to be cold in Washington, DC when we arrived in January - especially after two years in Brazil.  We had prepared - we brought our hats, scarves, gloves, warm coats.  What we didn't expect, was how dry it was.  Recife is on the beach and close to the equator - high levels of humidity.  I had gotten used to somewhat curly hair, and skin that never felt dry.  Then we landed in DC and not only was it cold - it was super dry - flat hair, dry skin, and we kept waking up in the middle of the night because it was so dry.  Even in foggy California, it still feels dry to us.

Chocolate choices at the Berkeley Bowl

There's also that heady rush when you visit a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods or Target for the first time.  Aisles and aisles of products that you haven't seen in a long time.  It's hard to avoid the urge to stock up on everything.

And then there's the stuff you just haven't seen in a while.  My son thought a bowl of grated Tillamook cheddar cheese was grated carrots - because he hadn't seen cheddar in so long.  And he also said he had forgotten what lemons looked like - he was used to the limes in Brazil.

The other funny thing is that our kids now pronounce new words with a Brazilian Portuguese accent: Serramonte as "Se-ha-mon-te" because Brazilian double r's sound like h's.  And speak English with a Brazilian accent:  confused as a three syllable word as opposed to a two syllable word.

It's really interesting noticing all the changes and differences - it's what makes travel so rewarding.