Goin' back to Cali

We had a one-week vacation and went home to visit family and friends in Northern California. We had a good time, although we were disappointed with the weather. Boston was enjoying great weather when we left, while California experienced colder-than-usual weather and unusual storms while we were there. (We brought primarily spring clothes, and ended up re-wearing the few warm clothes we brought!) Sherry was also ill during the second half of the trip, which dampened the trip somewhat. Still, it was relaxing and fun, and certainly worth it to see the land and the people we love! We flew to California on Saturday, and spent our first two nights and two days having a romantic getaway in Sonoma. We stayed at the Sonoma Mission Inn and enjoyed their immense and beautiful spa. Saturday night we had a great dinner at The Girl and the Fig. Sunday morning we relaxed over an one of the best breakfasts either of us has ever had, at the Inn's Big 3 Diner. We then had a great time
wine-tasting in the area (photo above left is Ledson Winery). At the first winery, we were excited to run into Eric and Ana Moon, our friends from Sherry's law school days, who are currently expecting their first child, a son (see photo right). We finished our day with the spa's relaxing bathing ritual and a delicious, fun dinner at El Dorado Kitchen. We spent most of Monday at the spa, working out, enjoying the bathing ritual, and having a couple's massage and a nice lunch. The crackling fireplaces all over the inn, including the one in our room (which we put to good use) and in the Inn lobby (photo left) kept us warm, cozy and relaxed during our stay. After leaving Sonoma, we headed up to the Sierra foothills, where we stayed with Brian's brother Eric, his wife Kristen, and their two children, Lucas (22 months) and Tanner (4 months), for two nights. We all went tubing in the snow on Tuesday, and Lucas loved it so much he just kept giggling. It was adorable. After leaving Eric and Kristen's, we headed down the hill to spend two nights in Sacramento. Sherry stayed with her mom for two nights, and Brian stayed with his dad for one night and Sherry's mom the other. We went to a local casino, went to the movies, and enjoyed seeing our families and being in our hometown. On Friday, we headed to the Bay Area. Sherry visited with Erin and her beautiful new daughter Mira (3 weeks and so precious!), while Brian hung out with buddies from Stanford Medical School (see photo left of Bryan, Matt, Brian, and Will). Sherry and others joined up with them later in the evening and the old Stanford Med crowd had a great time. On Saturday, we had brunch with Karen at one of our favorite old weekend brunch spots, the Moss Beach Distillery (see photo of Brian and Karen, right). We then headed up to the city to visit with Lori and Christian. Later, had dinner in Berkeley to celebrate Jason Bromley's 30th birthday (his big party is next weekend). We flew out Saturday night, and keeping with our bad weather curse, landed in Boston as it was snowing on Sunday morning! For all the pictures from our trip, click here.