I recently drove up to San Francisco for the weekend! Here is what I got up to:

Saturday:

I left for SF in the morning and made the 5 hour drive pass quickly by listening to a great book The Killing Floor by Lee Child.

This is the first book in the Jack Reacher series and, so far, I highly recommend it. This was my second trip to Northern California since I have moved back home (you can read about the first one here) and nothing makes the drive more enjoyable then a good book.

I arrived in San Jose, where I would be staying with my friend Matt. Matt and I went to high school together and he was my prom date my senior year! We have known each other for 7 years and he is a very close friend. When I was invited to a baby shower in SF, I knew I wanted to spend time with him. Lucky for me, Matt let me crash at his place for the weekend!

Once I was settled, he and I took off in search of food. We went to the cute nearby city Mountain View to pick a restaurant. We chose Agave Mexican Bistro and the food was delicious! I got a smouthered shrimp burrito and Matt got tacos. 

After dinner, we decided that we would try something a little festive-y and bake molasses cookies (we both like these better than gingerbread, but the spiciness of them gives the same christmas feel). We decided to use this recipe. After some quick grocery shopping, we were ready to make our cookies!

It ended up being a little more work and a longer process than Matt and I were expecting, but it just made the cookies that much more rewarding at the end. We also got in a good arm workout as we didn’t have an electric mixer! While the dough was setting in the fridge for a few hours, we watch Big Hero 6 (one of Matt’s favorites) which I feel asleep in about half way through (sorry, Matt!). Driving really can wipe you out!

As the cookie dough was still chilling in the fridge, we ventured into the night in search of boba, a drink that Matt and I have loved for years! We found a great place called Tea Era. Matt and I went and got boba every night I was there! I recommend Peach Milk Tea with boba. 

Sunday:

Today was the day of the baby shower, the whole reason I drove up to San Francisco. The baby shower was celebrating great friends of mine, Lenora and Aaron and their bun-in-the-oven Griffin. Unfortunately our host cut her finger while prepping for the party and had to go to the emergency room for a few hours. As my dad later asked, “Did they serve finger food?”

After some baby-themed crafts, great food (sans fingers), and gift opening, I left San Francisco to make it to Matt’s ice hockey game. The game is amateur level, but was a ton of fun to watch. Matt’s team also won! 

At the game I struck up a conversation with a woman sitting next to me, Sierra. She was reading a book, and as I love to read, I asked her what her book was about. We ended up talking nonstop for the entirety of the game.

Sierra, and her sister, are professional four time Pro-Circuit finalists and Fort Worth Pro Classic Champions in tennis and they have also produced a show for the Tennis Channel called Tennis Runway and have a clothing line coming out for athletes. Sierra and her sister actually have a website if you would like to learn more about them: The Ellison Sisters

It is truly amazing how fascinating the person right next to you can be if you only take the time to say “hello” and engage in conversation! Whether on an airplane, in a classroom, or at an ice hockey game, astonishing people with amazing stories are everywhere you turn.

Later, Matt and I grabbed some quick dinner and more boba!

We headed back to Matt’s place where I curled up with another book, Bliss.

This book was a super light-hearted read that I knocked out in a few days. It is co-written by Shay Mitchell, who you might know from the show Pretty Little Liars. If you are looking for a book that is entertaining, but doesn’t take a lot of brain power to read, this is a good choice.

Monday:

I headed out for the 5 hour drive back down to LA! Overall it was a great weekend and I am so glad I didn’t let the inconvenience of 12 hours of driving stop me from supporting my friend and attending her baby shower. Like I said here, I will no longer miss out on the big things. This weekend also served a valuable lesson of how important it is to let new people into your life. I have been finding that 9 times out of 10, when I let new people into my life, they having nothing but great things to add to mine. Thank you, Sierra, for confirming this!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my weekend!

-TM

Here is a challenge: strike up a conversation with a random stranger this weekend and see where it leads. Keep us posted in the comments below.