Those of you in SoCal know that it has been icky and gray lately...so flying directly into Chico and the 98 degree weather was so nice! I swear I had the hugest grin on my face as the plane was landing. Judi was there to pick me up and we went straight to the hotel...good ole Oxford Suites :-) Our original plan was to hit the town immediately, but I needed new shoes so we went over to the Chico Mall...wow...I had forgotten how 'not with the times' that mall was...their 'BIG' store was Gotchalks, which is now closing. Luckily I managed to find shoes at JC Pennys...who knew?!?! It was literally like the ONLY place there to go! How the heck did I have clothes when I lived there...oh yeah...not by shopping at the Chico Mall!!!
Next stop...HULA'S!!! I really think Hula's needs to franchise beyond Chico!!! Sure...there are other Mongolian BBQ places...but NO place compares to Hula's!! We gorged a bit on our yummy food and then hit up our hotel's free happy hour. If any of you happen to stay at an Oxford Suites I highly recommend the happy hour! The were super nice and let us drink beyond our two free drink tickets...could be that they were entertained by the fact that we brought our own dice and cards :-)
Unfortunatly Darren (my date) got stuck in traffic and ended up picking Frank (Judi's hubby) up a bit late from the airport so they didn't get in to meet us until later than planned...but that didn't stop us! Judi's friend Taryn picked us up and off we went to Tres Hombres for a pitcher of margaritas! Then...to the Bear! Our good friend Duble (okay...not good enough to warrent me knowing how to spell his darn name!!) was bartending...it's great to go back to your college town and still get half price drinks! Finally Darren and Frank (and some of Darren's other friends) met up with us. We did the Bear thing for a bit then make the trek to Joes!! Oh....how I miss Joes! Of course it was a bit different not knowing everybody there...but we did get 'our' table and had a great time! And a night in Chico just wouldn't be complete without a pitstop at Taco's De at the end of the night! What a great start to the weekend!!
Saturday was the wedding, but not until 3:00 so we had some time to hang out beforehand. We of course had to head to BurgerHut and then to Bidwell Park for a short walk. I was so excited about going to Sara's wedding and meeting her 'to be' husband...and seeing her house! Sara's house burnt down last summer in the Paradise fires. Rather than let it get to her she had a great attitude and looked at it as an opportunity. In the last year she ended up moving in with her boyfriend (at the time), went to Europe with me, started rebuilding her house, got engaged, and planned her whole wedding and reception to be at her newly rebuilt house! Talk about stress! But...talking with her you'd NEVER know that she was dealing with a lot of stressful things! Her new house is amazing!! So beautiful!
The wedding was beautiful; elegant and casual at the same time. Sara looked stunning. Now...this was the first time some of us had ever met her husband, Cliff. He is perfect! Some couples take a little while to get used to, to adjust in your head that they belong together...but not Sara and Cliff. From the first moment you see them together you KNOW that they are right for eachother! It was truly wonderful! I'm so happy that I was able to be there to see how beautiful they are together. I can't wait to see them again in a few weeks at another wedding.
I didn't fly out of Chico until Sunday afternoon so I was able to catch up with an old sorority sister that day! I love that social networking sites (Facebook) have put me back in touch with so many people from my past. My friend Kelley just had a baby, Kyler, so I was able to see both of them while enjoying a coffee and a bit of shopping.
As much as I've missed Chico, I have to say I was ready to leave and get back home. I loved the warmth, the venues, and the memories, but I missed seeing the ocean! I'll post a few pics now but will have more when I get them from Judi.
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