We had fun in America. In summary, we spent every waking moment either working or eating with our awesome friends. You might never fully realize how good your friends are until you spend a year or so away and then roll back into town. As childless rovers with no local family we’ve always downplayed our regional attachments, but we’ve learned that our Seattle people are like extended family and they make up most of the value in our workday lives. We were also surprised to discover how hard it is to get to see all our friends in the space of two months while working full time. We got to see most (but not all) of them.

And so it was that we squatted with kp for two months, and got down to some serious brewing.

We kicked off the culinary season with some typically elegant spreads by our favorite culinars in Magnolia, Beacon Hill, Ballard, and Edmonds. There was a full-on Chinese New Year dinner…

and Jordanian night …

Actually, there were so many fantastic meals that we completely lost track of the documentation and descended into irresponsible gluttony.

It was mostly eating, but there was a relaxing overnight at Noah Stables,

and a new research vessel to work on.

Clearly the best way to start a 4-month trip is to overdose on your mother country so we scheduled a couple of days in LA with Z&K, our well-connected Santa Monica connections. Before we could say “fishnets and high-heel boots,” S was in (borrowed) fishnets and high-heel boots and we were booked into a taping of the Late Late Show, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and a concert (Local  Natives) at the incredible Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA.

But K’s favorite part was rolling with the posse on Z’s fat tire, cruising the streets of Santa Monica

and Venice Beach (where the four wheelers roll).

With our hosts exhausted, our waistbands straining, and our heads spinning with American culture, we packed our gear and headed for LAX.