Category Archives: Travel

Fun & Friends in 2015

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Filed under Friends and family, Just for fun, Travel

Santa Cruz birthday outingTwo of my new year’s resolutions for 2015 were to have more FUN and to connect more with friends throughout the year. So my idea was to plan one special fun, friend focused get-away each month—my “fun with friends weekends”. Usually, my new years resolutions involve things like eating better, going to the gym and losing weight and not too surprisingly, by February (if even that long) I’ve dropped them. This year’s “fun, friend focused” resolution worked out so much better! Sometimes, I made special plans to get away for the weekend. Other times, I tagged the trip onto a work trip. I was traveling a lot for work this year and a happy upside was being able to connect work and fun every now and then. Looking back, it was a fun year and I am glad to have had  a chance to spend time with so many wonderful friends. My friends are my family and you’ve all been a rock for me, through some difficult times in my life. I’m so glad and grateful to have you all in my life.

  • January: girls weekend in Mendocino with Michelle. Skunk train, redwoods and beautiful views.
  • February: Santa Fe weekend with Noelle.  Bandelier cliff dwellings, art and great food.
  • March: Berlin and Trabi-safari with Beth, George and Grace
  • April: London visit and theater with Sarah.
  • May: a big month! Santa Cruz boardwalk and roller coaster with friends for my birthday. Rhode Island for my 25th college reunion.
  • June: vacation with my cousins and their kids at Blue Waters. A week of sun, sand and waterslides!
  • July: Florence with my friend Sophia and her mom. Amazing italian food, gelato and shopping.
  • August: Tassajara weekend with Phil for his birthday. Hiking, hot springs and zen.
  • September: “just for me” weekend in Zurich before a work trip. Walks on the lake, chocolate and more chocolate!
  • October: dinner with Noelle in Chicago while at the Society for Neuroscience meeting. Escaping from the neuroscience madness to see Noelle and her parents.
  • November: Washington DC weekend with Noelle, Aidan and Keira.
  • December: celebrating work anniversaries and end of the year with a decadent and delicious dinner at Espalier with my work friends.

So many happy memories! I didn’t plan it as a “waiting games” strategy, but my year of “fun with friends” ended up giving me something to look forward to and help pass the time in this waiting limbo. I had such fun that I might repeat the new year’s resolution this year!

Bugs, gems and pandas in Washington DC

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Filed under Friends and family, Travel
DC with Noelle, Aidan and Keira

DC with Noelle, Aidan and Keira

I had a great time this weekend meeting up in Washington DC with Noelle and her kids, Aidan and Keira, who came up from Virginia. Aidan is my Godson and I consider Keira my unofficial Goddaughter by extension. We had a great time going to the Natural History Museum, where highlights were the bug exhibit (crazy big tarantulas and glow in the dark scorpians!) and the crystal and gem collection (turns out Keira is gem gal!). The kids tolerated my forced march to see the White House, even though it was dark already and we could only see it from a distance. On Sunday we went to the National Zoo and introduced the newest family member—Pandie the Panda–to Keira’s menagerie. The zoo has a new baby Panda, Bei Bei, but we could only see him on the video-cam because Mama Panda and baby were still not taking guests. In between we had fun hanging out in the hotel, swimming in the hotel pool, timing the super long escalators at the Metro and overdosing on deep dish pizza and ice cream shakes from Shake Shack. Aidan has grown up into a sports nut but he’s nice enough to tolerate Aunt Katja’s dumb sports questions like —“who won the world series” and “how many innings are there in a basketball game.” Since Noelle and her family live so far away, I don’t get to see them so often but luckily work takes me to DC often enough so we can see each other in person every now and then. Aidan is now almost ten and I can’t quite believe that this little peanut that I held in my arms not so long ago is now such a big boy! Its been a gift to be a part of Adain and Keira’s lives and to have a role model for such a great Mom in my friend Noelle!