California, the Golden aka burnt brown state!

I have made it! I arrived to Palo Alto, CA yesterday afternoon after a 13 hour drive from Seattle to California. Before I start talking about Cali, thought I might share a few stories about Seattle. The very first day in Seattle was essentially planned for weeks. My intention was to surprise Laura by picking her up from work which went absolutely perfectly. Although it was tough keeping the surprise hidden from her when she kept asking where Ryan and I were while we were traveling across the northern part of the country. Anyways, Mrs. Chapman mentioned to me that I should take their family car to go pick up Laura. This allowed me to drive all the way up to her gallery in perfect disguise. As I drove up to her at 6pm, she looked absolutely stunned! She wouldn't even get of the car! She signaled for me to get out of the car, which I did, and then she gave me a huge hug! The surprise was totally worth it :)

After a few days of going down to the Pike Pl market and hanging out, my old William and Mary professor (Carey) happened to be in Seattle. Carey, Laura and I had lunch and tea at the market. After lunch, Laura headed back to work and then Carey and I headed to the Stonington Gallery where native american carvings were displayed. The work was incredible! This all took place on my last day in Seattle. Next Stop was Palo Alto, CA!

The 13 hour drive was brutal. Thankfully I had my audiobook playing for nearly the whole time but a few rest stops were necessary. I have only been here for one day but I am already wicked excited to be here for the next four years. The weather is incredible and Casey (my friend whom I am staying with) told me that a few days ago it rained for the first time this summer! For those of you who I call often, you know that I enjoy giving the weather report. Southern, VA has incredible weather but this place takes it all. As soon as I arrived the Corman's grilled out and had a great dinner. As expected, I passed out fairly early in the evening.

Today, we headed into downtown San Francisco! We walked along the water, saw lombard street (see picture) and then headed to At&T park to catch the afternoon Giants Vs. Dodgers baseball game. The baseball park is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful stadiums in America. We sat in the upper deck facing the bay. The sun beat down on us for the entire game but it was well worth it. Once back in the suburbs, we threw the baseball around and then headed to dinner in the downtown palo alto area. Casey's sister pointed out to me all of the great Stanford night life spots. I thought Williamsburg had a great restaurant scene but there are even more in Palo Alto. For dessert we went to Fraiche which is a natural frozen yogurt place. You can put anything you want on your frozen yogurt and its absolutely delicious!

I will keep the blog going up to moving into my apartment on campus. After that, its time to start medical school! Stethoscope and white coats will be coming soon!