san fran, take 2!

so a few weeks ago, nathan and i got the chance to go back to san fran for a salesforce training. we went a couple days early and enjoyed seeing the city. let me just say- san fran is incredible. i mean,  great vacation spot. there was so much to do and see, so much to eat, and the weather and atmosphere was just spectacular. we got there early saturday morning, picked up our rental car, and headed into town. traffic was crazy, so we parked and started to walk and then, among the masses of people, realized it was fleet week, which is this awesome expo of the navy, marines, and coast guard. there were men (and women) in uniform everywhere, and the harbor was full of all sorts of ships. plus, there were constant airshows going on, including the blue angels. it was pretty cool. so we took that in a while, ate some in-n-out, and enjoyed the city. we added it up and walk at least 9 miles that day, and it was great!

sunday, we did more of the same- although we did drive across the golden gate bridge to explore muir woods, where the red woods are. they were HUGE, and quite beautiful.  they were ancient (many of them older than our country!) and quite tall. it was such a refreshing morning, soaking in God's incredible creation. 

the rest of our trip was just as fun- we ate at some incredible places, tasted many yummy cupcakes, plus i learned quite a bit at my salesforce training. nathan had to go home on tuesday so mom flew out at the same time and she spent the rest of the week with me. we did more of the same- good food, cupcakes, and sight seeing.  it was such a great trip- time with two of my favorite people doing some of my favorite things!

mom and i went to see the sea lions, we shopped, saw the "painted ladies" and the place where full house was set, shopped, ate more cupcakes, and probably my fav, took tea at this awesome tea house. it was fantastic- just all of it. i love my mom and this trip was quite special.

if you're heading to san fran, let me know- i'll tag along :)

100 posts!

so its hard to believe but this is my 100th post! 

i must say, i am really enjoying this blogging thing. 

here's a few pics from our trip so far.

and ps, here's some places you've GOT to check out if you come to san fran....

kokkari estiatorio

dottie's

gharidelli's

yes my friends, we have arrived...at the in-n-out on the wharf 

yes please! a little double double, some fries, and a strawberry shake...yum@

hanging out in muir woods with the 400+ year old trees (redwoods)

at the wharf...pretty cool, we got there and it turned out to be fleet week, so we got to see the blue angels and a lot of other pretty cool air shows!

yes, that is a REAL background :)

25:29!

this past weekend, while up at berry for mountain day, nathan and i, along with our whole crew of buddies, ran in a 5k. it was a blast running berry's campus like i did as a student, plus it was fun to get active with my friends! (most of our hangouts involve lots of food and most of it on the not so healthy side:) ). to top it all off, i had an awesome time that i was quite proud of- 25:29! 

far up in the hills of georgia stands old berry tried and true...

so this weekend, we loaded up the edge and headed up to sweet sweet berry. i loved by days at berry. they were full of learning, friends, outside, memories, coffee, and growth. 

each october, we return for mountain day- an age old tradition to pay homage to miss martha berry, the found of the college. its hard to believe that my first mountain day was 6 years ago....

christina, erin, and i our freshman year.

so how mountain day works  is that it is really a whole weekend. on friday, the dorms compete in an annual olympics. each dorm has a secret theme with tshirts and its just a blast. friendship (my dorm) always went way beyond just tshirts and did whole themes. freshman year, as can be seen above, we were girl scouts, complete with cookies that we gave out.

sophomore year, we were a baseball team, complete with jerseys and bags of popcorn.

me & erin

erin & lyd

our class :)

junior year, we were a naval fleet, aka the "friend ship" kind of lame, but we had fun.

and finally, senior year, we had some green recycling theme going on. kind of crazy.

 then, on saturday, everyone goes up to the mountain for a picnic and the grand march. a strange old tradition, we basically line up and march down a hill, giving our age in pennies to the president in a basket as a gift. we march down, then come down in pairs, then come down in fours, then eights, and finally 16 across. its a big deal to be a senior, because typically, there are only enough boys to hold hands with the senior girls, and everyone else ends up holding hands with girls. its a fun tradition, and once we get down to the bottom in 16, we sing the alma mater and the class president gives the president the pennies. and that's the grand march! its a lot of fun, as crazy as it sounds. oh, and one other thing you will see below, there's a dress code. well, more of a color code. underclassman women wear pink, underclassmen guys wear blue, senior girls wear blue, and senior guys wear white. here's some pics throughout the years:

sophomore year

me, christina, and our friend amory

one of our first pics together :)

me and christina- marching!

me and erin

junior year!

getting ready to march- me, lyd, christina, and erin

trying to keep up!

finally seniors!

check it out...boys!

the beginnings of the march

not sure if you can tell but i'm giving my pennies

we got to hold hands with  boy!

lydia never would march- but she took lots of pics!

lydia capturing the commotion

needless to say, it was always a good time. this year, we met up again to watch the march and enjoy remembering the glory days.

this year, me, christina, eli, nathan, and graham

christina, lydia, erin, and me

nathan and his friend adam

and here's our alma mater:

far up in the hills of georgia stands old berry tried and true
the shrine of many a memory of the silver and the blue
our loyalty and love we pledge
God keep thee without fail
behold the light
that shines for right
alma mater hail all hail!