Halftime in our hometown

What a trip! I mean, seriously, it’s a trip of a lifetime to come home without really staying home. It’s just plain bizarre to check in with your life in the middle of the type of experience Andy and I signed up for. So far, it has been surreal, unreal, really freaky, and tons of fun. Just like I would do on the road, I found a café, snagged some WiFi for the price of a coffee and popped open my laptop. Not off to see museums, Andy is still on the run seeing people, doing things and running errands, while I continue to take it slow. We are treating this 6-day adventure in our hometown as just another stop on our trip. Before we know it we will be gone, like a dream.


We made it! 25 hours from Bangkok to SFO. The Taipei airport was quite nice people. If you get a chance, check it out.

The whole ordeal was planned as a surprise over two months ago and thanks to my bro-in-law Josh and some others in the know, it went off without a hitch. It was absolutely priceless to witness each person’s face as we sprung our image out of nowhere into their reality. We had invited our friends over to my sister Stefani’s house under the pretense that we were homesick and we wanted to call there and talk to everyone using cheap Internet rates. They knew they would get to talk to us but had no clue they would be able to hug us and see us.

“Stunned,” said Mark the Shark as he thought back on the flawless surprise party. “It didn’t even sink in that I was talking to you.”


Stef almost peed her pants after we surprised her. She was a little tipsy from the wine bar she was coming from and completely stunned.

We were not supposed to be anywhere near home until June. The possibility of us sitting in a living room or walking with friends to get coffee at Hudson Bay Café in Rockridge was not even on the radar.

Andy and I, granted, were nervous as hell about coming home. We missed everyone so much but we had said our goodbyes in July and we were out on the road in an attempt to experience something different than the East Bay. We had received mounds of advice when we left, some about malaria medicine, some about what shoes to wear on travel days. But one piece of advice stuck with me and stays with me throughout our trips.


Surprise! Matt Green and Heather give us great big tribe hugs when they finally accepted our presence.

“When you get home, people will be doing the same thing they were doing when you left. Very little will change. So don’t rush your trip. Come home when you are ready,” said Mike Murphy, a close friend that I found through my cousin’s yearlong travels in 2002. It’s not that people at home are stagnant in their life. In fact, it is far from that. Babies have been born, houses have been bought, flamboyant cousins are getting older, men have stepped up and popped the big question, jobs have been quit, and jobs have been found. Life is moving for everyone here. And it is so incredible to come home and get updates on our friends’ momentum.


You can always count on Sacco, Jamey, Tara and Gabs to go out dancin till 4 am on a Sunday night. Andy and I love those kids!

And yet, like Mike said, things have stayed the same. The restaurants still serve our favorite dishes, certain streets are still clogged at 5 p.m., Thursdays remain Survivor night, my college friend Mitch still hosts open jazz night at Amnesia in the Mission, certain friends are still down to party late into the night on a moment’s notice. All is right in the East Bay and it’s comforting to know that my life is still here when I return in June.

So we have one more full day here in the East Bay and then it’s off to Las Vegas to see my parents for four days. And then, with a snap, we are off to Buenos Aires and Tierra del Fuego. Before we know it all the comforts of The States will be gone and Andy and I will be back out on our own. Both of us are looking forward to strapping on the backpack and hitting the unknown.


I bipped myself and it made Annie Mac laugh till she cried. And hey, Elon, mind your own board!


Harris' winning roll in the championship round of the Backgammon Tournament in Oakland on Jan. 18, 2007. The tourney was held in honor of Harris' birthday. Double fours to seal the deal. Great action shot Andy!

We are calling this time at home “Halftime.” We are assessing what went well in the first half, applauding those moves that worked and tinkering with those plays that fell flat. We are gameplanning for the second half, trying to throw a few new wrinkles into the mix. We definitely feel like we are winning and we don’t expect a letdown in the second half.