The last night...

It's our last night in the U.S., and I'm spending it in the lobby of a hotel in South San Francisco, a short drive from San Francisco International Airport. We depart early tomorrow afternoon for Japan, where we'll spend the night (and the Fourth of July) in Narita 成田, before flying out to Shanghai 上海, our final destination, on Friday. I'm five months overdue in China, and excited to finally get started there, but saying goodbye to family and friends for the next two years is never easy. A few photos from our last two days in America:

My daughter gets her feet wet in Puget Sound, in Silverdale, Washington. With her swimsuit already on its way to China, Amber was jealous to see other kids having fun in the water, so I let her look for shells. I wish I could've gone in for a dip as well, but I was also unprepared for the surprisingly warm weather in the Pacific Northwest.

Flying back from Seattle to San Francisco, we rented a car at the airport and drove out to Davis to see some old friends. We took the long route across the Golden Gate Bridge, so the girls could have a chance to see it up close.

After driving over the bridge, we stopped at a lookout point for one final view of San Francisco and the bay before the long drive to Davis.

On the streets of Davis, home of the University of California at Davis, my alma mater. The town has changed quite a lot in the twenty-five years since I've graduated. No longer a sleepy college town, it was surprisingly busy, with more restaurants and bars than I remember from my collegiate days. Some things never change, however, like the summer weather - it was well over a 100° F out there this afternoon!

The real reason for making the trip to Davis today was to see my old friends Joe and Rich. We've remained in steady contact since our high school days, but this was the first time to see them in person in about thirteen years. I hope it won't be so long until the next time we can all get together.

The town has changed a lot, but the campus still looks the same. A lot of memories came flooding back as we walked around the school grounds. I ended up buying an Aggies football jersey to wear on my off days in China.

Amber poses at the vista point rest area in Vallejo along Interstate 80, a road I've driven many times between Sacramento, Davis, Berkeley, San Francisco and several points in between. My visit to California was too brief, but it was still good to be back home again.