California (or, I can't think of a creative title)

This beautiful full moon over Mt. Diablo was our welcome to California. Ricardo took this photo off the deck of my mom's house just before we sat down to a fabulous scallop dinner. Earlier that afternoon Rico went through one of the essential experiences of getting to know American culture: Costco! We cruised around and bought this huge pack of scallops, some wild salmon, blueberries, strawberries, V-8 (I had a craving) and 3 bottles of local wine. I made a simple sauce for the scallops with white wine, butter, chicken stock and onions, my mom made asparagus and Thai red rice, and we sat down for a gourment, healthy meal. And boy did we need to detox on some healthy food after a week of enchiladas, tacos and sopapillas in New Mexico!

The next day we took BART to the Embarcadero and walked to the Ferry Building. There is a great view of the Bay Bridge and the water, and we braved the chilly weather for a few photos. Here I am with Ricardo, wearing my mom's Maui Jim sunglasses (that I liked so much she ended up getting me a pair as an early birthday gift).

And here I am with my sweet Momma Dog. I missed/miss her so much I start to cry just thinking about it. My mom is an amazing woman. She is beautiful, wise, strong and funny all at once. She gives great pep talks to my friends. She has a jewelry collection that I covet, and wears it all in style. She and I are so much alike, so close, that anytime we reach a small bump in our relationship it feels like the world is about to end. To me, at least.

Coming home is such a wonderful experience, but it can be really hard, too. I had a significant wave of culture shock when I got to the US, and I wasn't always the most mature person in the ways I chose to deal with it. My mom went out of her way to make sure that Ricardo and I had the best vacation possible, that everyone was happy and that things ran smoothly in the short time we had together. I got all hung up on the fact that I was once again in the land of schedules, appointments where you must arrive on time, concrete cities clogged with cars, a house where I am not the decision-maker and things are shared...it was pretty overwhelming at times and instead of just dealing with it, I'm afraid I made my mom feel bad, like I wasn't enjoying my trip.

We hashed it all out in the end, plus a lot of other stuff, but it still makes me feel bad. I hate the feeling that I've spoiled even a second of the precious time we have together. I know my mom feels the same way, and it's heartbreaking to realize that despite our fierce love for each other, we manage to fuck up sometimes. So it goes...

Anyhow...after the Ferry Building we walked down towards Pier 39. It was so bitterly cold, windy and foggy that we decided to take one of those bicycle-driven carriages. Our driver was a loon, but he got us to the sea lions much quicker than if we'd hoofed it. We had some coffee and fudge (yum!) to warm up, then sat and watched all the animals in front of the pier. Ricardo and I decided that the sea lions make noises uncannily simmilar to those made by hippos.

Unfortunately Rico had to leave the next morning to go back to Brasil. It was sad because I wish we'd had more time together, but he was going for a good reason: his mom's birthday on the 11th.

The same day Ricardo left, my friend Erin arrived from Austin. We met a few months after I moved to Austin in 2003 while waitressing at Carrabba's, an italian chain restaurant. Those were some tough months for me, but Erin became a great friend and helped me make it through to a better job and a better spot in my personal life. I had extra frequent flyer miles, so I decided to fly her out to Oakland for the weekend so we could catch up.

We met up with Jamie, another friend from my days in Austin, for some seafood appetizers and cocktails (including a champagne toast - we were really having a decadent evening). We ended up once again at the Ferry Building and took some great photos by the water as the sun went down and the city lights came on.

Here Jamie is dipping me to illustrate what her husband learned how to do in their pre-wedding dance classes. It was pretty impressive, especially considering we were balanced on a little wall and had just had said seafood, champagne and cocktails.

That weekend my aunt and uncle from Denver (the same ones Rico and I went to Botswana with back in June) flew in for a conference in San Francisco. We went to Chinatown for dim sum that Sunday and ate ourselves silly. Here we are (l. to r.): my aunt Michelle, my mom's husband Bob, me, my momma, and Unc (my mom's brother).

Here I am with Erin outside the dim sum restaurant, looking stylish and ready for a day of shopping in Chinatown.

I wish I'd had another 3 weeks to spend in California with my mom, but I have a feeling Rico and I will be back before long...who knows, maybe even to live for a while!