Welcome to Sunny Sacramento

In case you were wondering, the hippies over in Berkeley actually DO know how to run a BBQ joint. Between Pablo and Patrick's company and the pulled-pork plate, we had a fabulous Thursday night. I think we might have even convinced Pablo to join us in Vegas. Now if he can just convince the good doctor to come along, we'll be all set to have a rip-roaring good time in Las Vegas next weekend!

After dinner Paige decided to shake her money maker in the kitchen with our temporary roommates until I finally had to say good night and pass out fully clothed on the couch. She was moving a bit slow on Friday morning due to her late night dance-athon so we got a bit of a late start. Nevertheless, we managed to sneak in a quick tour of the Berkeley campus and grab coffee and a bun at Crixia Cakes (highly recommended) before we headed east to stay with our friends Meredith and Alex in Sacramento.

Woo Hoo Sacramento!!! We've had a blast since we got to Sacramento. The cute little city aside, it has been a blast to spend time with friends we haven't seen in ages without feeling rushed like we do at the holidays or long weekends. Since we were SOA (starving on arrival) Mer and Alex took us out to eat at Meredith's favorite restaurant, Sandra Dee's for some tasty southern food. From there we retreated to the house to open a bottle of wine and battle it out with a rousing game of Settlers, a new board game for Paige and me. Even after Paige, Meredith and I teamed up against Alex, he still managed to snag the victory. From what I understand he is all powerful and can not been beaten. Naturally, given my competitive nature, I'm not leaving his house until I have beaten him. It might be a while. Mom, Dad, I hope I can make it home by Christmas.

This afternoon while I strategized for victory in Settlers, we trading in the Thule box that fell off of our car for a nice new one from REI. Nothing beats the REI return policy (we actually got $25 back). Later Meredith and Alex took us on a 20 mile bike ride along the American River to warm us up for the marathon relay we are doing with them tomorrow. The marathon relay should be a lot of fun, but Paige and I didn't run so much during our last few weeks in Portland and are a tad out of shape. To say that we are both under-trained for this event would be the understatement of the year. We'll let you know how it goes. I hope they have beer at the finish line.