California............We arrive!!!

Hello Family & Friends,



Here is our blog #3 of our fabulous trip to California!



We had lots planned and to do and people to see during our 2 ½ weeks in Cali! A BBQ and then night out in Campbell with some friends was a great way to start the trip! Next, we drove up to Bass Lake with my parents to a lovely log cabinwe rented for the week on the lake. There was a heat wave this week, so the weather was about 100 every day (the same temperatures we have in Dubai just without the 95% humidity)! We relaxed, swam, layed out, drank some ice cold beers and Maragritas, rented a house boat for a day, jet skied, BBQ’d and also made it to Mariposa Grove and Yosemite. Mariposa grove (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariposa_Grove) is a beautiful area located within Yosemite national park with Giant Sequoia trees and lots of hiking trails. We hiked for 5 or 6 miles up to a museum, which ended up being closed by the time we made it up. But it was absolutely beautiful. We drove to Yosemite another day and went into the valley. This was the first time Mark had been and he was in awe! We did some hiking, mark & dad did some bike riding……



Here are some pics of bass lake & yosemite:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2277650&id=6402232&l=34cebafc2f



After a fabulous time up at bass lake for the week, we drove to San Francisco to stay at Amber’s flat. She was able to take some time off work and show us around her stomping ground. We saw all her favorite bars, restaurants, parks, and were really happy to see her place. We also were very touristy and did a Bay Quackers Tour around the city (http://www.bayquackers.com/). It is a car and boat refurbished from WWII, which is an Amphibious landing craft. That evening we met lots of friends at MoMo’s bar next to the giants stadium (http://www.mlb.com/sf/ballpark/index.jsp) for some drinks and then proceeded into the Game to watch Lincicum pitch an amazing game for a Giants win against the Pirates. While in SF we also made it to the newly re-done Californa Academy of Sciences Museum in Golden Gate park (http://www.calacademy.org/) which was really nice. There was an albino alligator, a rainforest with all sorts of creatures, a beautiful aquarium, an Exploratorium star show and lots more. In San Fran, we also had a Saturday night out on the town, a fabulous authentic German meal, and did some shopping.



Here are the pics from our time in SF:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2277651&id=6402232&l=43b8dac11d



After 4 nights in SF, we drove back to Morgan Hill to finish the party planning and spend some more time with the Durica’s! We had a lovely welcome home & Anniversary BBQ party in Morgan Hill. Quite a few family and friends were able to make it and it was so great to see and catch up with everyone.



For our actual anniversary on 2 August, we drove over to seacliff, where my grandparents were staying beach front in their motorhome. We spent the day with them and camped out in the motor home that night. It was defo a memorable first anniversary.



The 2 ½ amazing weeks in California flew by and we were so sad to leave everyone and were not looking forward to coming back to the heat and to reality. We were lucky enough to get a FREE upgrade to business class on the flight back, due to us complaining about the horrible flight on the way to SFO. Business class is the way to go! 16 hours of luxury on a plane!! It was the first time both of us had flown business class, and it was spectacular! Lobster, unlimited champagne, gourmet meals, a lay down chair/bed, a huge tv, etc – we felt like royalty :)



Link of our pictures from anniv party, seacliff & the flight home:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2277654&id=6402232&l=e073f2fcec



Upon arriving back in Dubai, our apartment was all in one piece, the A/C and cars were still running, and we are adjusting back to the heat. Both of us struggled a bit with jet lag and found it hard to get back into the work mode after 3 full weeks off work.



For all of those we saw in Cali it was so fab! And for all of those we missed, we are sorry we couldn’t see you & our door is always open for visitors :)



Hope this finds you all well.



All our Love

Mark & Erin

xxxxx