Home! After a winding detour.

I made it back to my parents'. The original plan had been to work through the end of August, but as the paperwork flowed in, the to-do lists grew exponentially, and the days fled by, I realized it was going to take at least an extra week to get everything set in order. So my last day of work was August 22nd, rather than the 29th as previously expected.

I had three days to train my replacement, which is three days more than I had when I started last July. I hope it was helpful for her and that the job is rewarding. On my last day, my boss and a group from the office got together and took me out to lunch. It was a wonderful gesture and certainly wasn't expecting it. I'm grateful to have met each of them this past year.

My mother, in her infinite wisdom, decided that I needed a break before I started packing my life up back home. The last thing I want is to go into the first day of A-100 burned out from my old job and the stress of moving across the country. So after we packed my stuff out my apartment in Los Angeles, cleaned the place up, and literally shut the door on that chapter of my life, Mom and I took a leisurely 5 days to drive home.

We spent the first night in Morro Bay. It's a cute little town. Mom had excellent grilled fish for dinner.

Monday morning we headed to Hearst Castle, something we had talked about doing since I first headed to LA 5 years ago. It's amazing to see what a person with a dream can accomplish. Truly amazing. The sun and the heat aside, August is a good time to visit Hearst Castle. The gardens are in full bloom. Most exciting for me, though, were the flags decorating the dining hall. Sienese contrada flags! Boy, did those bring back memories. Sadly, my beloved Istrice (the porcupine--symbol of my own contrada, or district, in Siena) was not represented.

From there it was on to Monterey, a favorite though we haven't been in years. Driving along 1, right on the coast for a good part of it, is definitely worth doing. If you can stomach it, that is. It's been many, many years, but my mother was quick to point out the precise spot along the tortuous road where we pulled over when my brother was carsick once as a kid. Ah, the memories.

We loved the view of the bay from our hotel window in Monterey. Down by the pier Monday night, we saw an otter trying to crack open a shellfish of some sort. So cute. Tuesday, during a stroll along the waterfront, we sat for a good while watching seals lounge and play on the rocks during the low tide. And pelicans! There were lots of pelicans on the rocks. I couldn't tell you why I'm so fascinated by pelicans, but I am. I adore many things about Monterey: the plethora of little cafés, the long, wide pedestrian and biking path along the ocean, the significance in California history and American literature, the fact that the sealife thrives in a natural environment. Unlike the sea lions in San Francisco, which live on floating platforms next to Pier 39 for tourists to gawk at, the marine life in Monterey congregate in open areas.

Next we hit San Francisco for the rest of the week. We parked and ditched the car as soon as we got in the city. There's a nice timeshare we stay at near Union Square when we're in the city. Dropped off our stuff and took off walking. We got our Thai noodles, browsed shops, wandered down to the water, ate lots of dim sum (there's a lovely little tea house that does vegetarian dishes), and just enjoyed being in the city. The nighttime cable car ride from Ghiradelli Square to the end of the line on Powell Street, the bridges and city lights clear and beautiful as the cable car reached the top of the line, was most definitely a highlight. The joy of my first cable car ride as a child, standing up and holding to the outer railing, wasn't diminished in the slightest. San Francisco is near and dear to both my mother's and my hearts, and I feel I have developed an appreciation for the city over the years that goes beyond the thrill of racing down the hills, clinging tightly to a metal bar, and eating lots of yummy Asian food.

On the way home today, we stopped by the Vacaville outlets, where I finally bought dress shirts for work. That was a relief. I may just be presentable for my first day of training.

And now I'm home. I got a lackluster greeting from the dog. She knows I'll just be leaving again in a few days. That's how it's been since I left for college, and her greeting becomes more tentative each time I return.

All in all, the detour fulfilled its purpose. I had unstructured downtime before I start cleaning out my old room, figuring out what I'm taking to DC (on my person or by air shipment), what will meet me at my first post (and sit in storage in Maryland until then), and what I'm finally going to let go of. There's plenty of stuff I'm not particularly attached to that I should just get rid of, but I have this deep aversion to getting rid of anything until it's dead, completely eroded into dust, and the wind carries it away from between my clenched fingers as I strain, for naught, to hold on just a moment longer. How foolish. How annoying. It is a very good thing that I'm not an impulse shopper.

The movers will be here and gone next Friday. That's one week from today. Let's hope I can get everything in order by then. I wouldn't necessarily hold my breath, though. I really, really hate packing. Of course I would go and find a career in which I am assured to move at least once every other year. How typical of me.

I'm also hoping I'll have a chance to meet up with old friends one more time before taking off for who knows how long. That would certainly be a nice way to finish out my stay in California this time around.