California: Day 1 (2 days to Race Day)

Team photo after landing in San Francisco! Nick and I in the bottom right corner, Dede in the
bottom left (she sat next to us on the plane), and my mentor Leslie just to my left.

 WHAT. A. DAY.

Ginger mimosas!

I am completely exhausted. After a 6-hour flight we hung in San Francisco for a few hours to grab lunch and check out some of the local sights. We had lunch at the vegan restaurant Herbivore in Mission District, which is perhaps my new favorite place in the world. I got the "chicken" shawarma wrap, which was amazing!(Editor's note: after returning to MA I found out that VegNews Magazine, which we also saw in our travels, rated it one of the top 10 vegan dishes in Mission District!)

Vegan "chicken" shawarma from Herbivore - yum!

Then we shopped around for a bit before heading back to the rental car (getting the rental was a whole ordeal in and of itself, please don't get me started on that...).

VegNews Magazine HQ

Yes, their tails wag from solar power.

The drive to Davis was long but picturesque. We are both really bummed that we didn't get a chance to see the Golden Gate Bridge today, but I'm hoping to work it into our schedule another day this weekend before we head home. Instead, my GPS took us east over the Bay Bridge and up the I80. The further and further we got from San Francisco (which was chilly, by the way), the hotter it got. However, to our pleasant surprise, it remained dry  and comfortable.

Sacramento Valley

When we arrived at Duane's house in Davis, the birthday party was already under way. We had the opportunity to meet some of Duane's friends and colleagues from UC Davis, and unwind a bit after the long day of traveling. However, with the 3-hour time difference we both practically passed out at 10:30pm Pacific Time, which was like 1:30am on east coast time.

But I have to say that it was amazing to be able to see Duane, Julie, and Alex again! I haven't seen them for almost 2 years since they moved to the west coast. They're doing well, and we have some great activities planned for bonding time this weekend - I can't wait!

Getting some rest,
ashley