How can I miss you if I didn't know you were gone?

We’re back! Pardon the blog-interruption but we spent most of December in California and Mexico. Now we’re back home in San Sebastian and “ready” to start another 20 weeks of school. We thought we’d share a few photos and observations from our trip, including a few “Only in CA” moments.

Our first stop was Northern California for our nephews’ b’nai mitzvah. It was terrific spending time with family and friends, especially for a happy occasion. Jeremy & Ethan did an amazing job and Karyn & Jim showed they know how to throw a party. Also, a special shout-out for cousin Neil's amazing selfie-taking skills:

One thing we definitely noticed upon returning to the US is how everyone is in such a hurry. When we arrived in Walnut Creek by BART everyone other than us practically ran off the train – at 2:30 p.m. on a Monday. We were left to wonder where the fire was. This told us that we now are accustomed to the more moderate pace of life in Spain.

Jeff had the opportunity to drive both in Nor Cal and So Cal, which further confirmed our pace of life observations. He also confirmed that he doesn’t miss driving much, even though we didn’t encounter that much traffic due to the holidays. While driving in the San Jose area we encountered this guy and his dog in our first “only in CA” moment:

After a week in Nor Cal, we relaxed in Cabo San Lucas enjoying the sunshine and watching the pelicans dive bomb into the Sea of Cortez. We thought we’d practice our Spanish there more than we did – it is such a touristy area that most everyone speaks English. We did notice, however, that the Mexicans speak much slower and more clearly than the Spaniards. Perhaps being “raised on” Mexican Spanish helped a little as well. Our visit did confirm how much we love and miss Mexican food. We probably ate our weight in tortillas and chips.

Finally, we spent a week in LA seeing as many friends as we could. We enjoyed reminiscing as we visited so many familiar faces and places. It was great to eat some Bigg Chill, see a few movies, and catch up on life in LA. We took in the new Star Wars movie and in our second "only in CA" moment saw Obi-Shawn in his X-Wing something:

Truly, only in LA!

It was good to be back in Spain for New Year’s Eve where we ate the traditional 12 grapes at midnight with friends in San Sebastian’s Constitution Plaza.

Wishing you all a healthy and joyous 2018, and looking forward to sharing many adventures with you in the new year,

Shana & Jeff