embarrassed // re.write road trip: Redding & San Francisco, CA

You know what's embarrassing? Neglecting this blog for the umpteenth time. But it seems less forgivable since I disappeared in the middle of our re.write road trip recap. Life obviously gets in the way of updating a blog frequently, but I think this little piece of the world wide web that we can call our own is important for keeping all of our loved ones around the world up to date. So, without further adieu, here's the rebirth of sans borders.

After our family-filled stop in Seattle, WA, Mark and I made a quick jaunt to Redding to spend time with our friend, Zach, who we ended up featuring in the magazine here. Zach holds a very special place in our hearts as he was Mark's first small group leader ever. And Zach was perfect for the job. Without being religious and/or judgmental, he simply listened to Mark work through his doubts, fears, and questions...always with love. So being able to meet up with him and catch up was kinda surreal. After two nights there, we drove to San Francisco for a lovely weekend of reunions. We got to spend time with Mark's oldest brother, Dave, and his family with a couple of amazing holiday dinners (since this was Christmas time, in case we all forgot). We also reunited with special friends from Korea, which was such a treat. We weren't too far removed from Korea by that point, so to be able to see some of them so soon after moving was a nice way of feeling like, "Hey, maybe the world isn't so big."

[Dave Ratto cooking up a delicious meal–as always–of dungeness crab.]

[There were some pretty incredible views on the way to Redding.]

[A sweet time of catching up.]

[Getting our grub on in Berkeley with some friends. It's obviously serious business.]

[Friends from Seoul!]

We also got to spend some quality time with Melody and her sister. Melody is not only a dear friend of ours, but she's also a regular contributor to the magazine. She happened to be visiting her sister in San Francisco on the same weekend, so we spent a couple of hours exploring the hilly hills and beautiful views.

Although we were wrapping up our re.write road trip by this point, a stop in Redding and San Francisco to reconnect with friends and family seemed like the perfect way to wrap things up. Not only did it mentally prepare us for the end of an incredible three weeks on the road, but it got us psyched for the coming year! And I can say, six months later, that it was the perfect precursor to 2014. 

Stay tuned for an update on our lives...which, I promise, won't be delayed until December.