Catching Up

Wow, lots has happened since finals ended 2 weeks ago. It's like we've been let out of jail. Hehe!

First on the agenda, Chieu Yin and Kelly's graduation. The speeches were a tad too long, but it was great to be there to celebrate our dear friends' achievement. We capped it off with a big lunch at Zafran, an Indian/ Pakistani restaurant in Santa Clara. We could barely roll ourselves out of there, and had only a few hours to recuperate before the hot pot dinner that CY so graciously prepared for us at his house. It was delicious and a great way to introduce Fabio and our new friend Giorgio to hot pot. Thanks to CY for preparing the food!

The next day, another early wake up for our hiking trip at Pinnacles National Monument. It was a good workout for our first hike of the season. The best part was when we suddenly found ourselves in the pitch black darkness of the caves. It took us a while to even find the trail that was hidden behind some rocks. It was fun climbing around in the dark there. Most of us were pretty beat after the 8.5 miles, but some of us (2 guys and 1 girl) still had enough energy to do some serious shopping at the Gilroy factory outlets!

Fast forward to the next weekend. Saturday morning, we got together to hike up Mission Peak. It was a 5.6 mile hike, with 2200 feet in elevation gain. A real butt-kicker! We'll be ready for Half Dome for sure! And of course no hike can be complete without a big yummy lunch to erase the pain of the workout from our minds. ;-) Tacqueria Las Vegas.

On Sunday, a few brave souls went out to Point Reyes to check out the coastal views. It was incredibly cold and foggy when we arrived at the lighthouse. But by noon the fog had burned off, revealing another beautiful California summer day. We stopped at the Oyster Farm and thanks to Quddus we were soon enjoying a gourmet picnic lunch complete with fresh oysters! Then we hiked Pierce Point and got to see a few herds of elk peacefully grazing in the meadow. And if all that was not enough, we stopped at Marnee Thai as we passed through San Francisco on our way back. The food was excellent. I will definitely be back.

Yes, two busy weekends and more coming up. Summer has definitely arrived!