After our tour of the Big Apple, we boarded a plane direct from JFK to take us to the place that is perhaps more home to us than any other: Berkeley. Pamela (Sara's mom) and Laura (Sara's sister) greeted us at the airport (with tears), then Matt (Sara's dad), who had been doing church-related things, greeted us at home, then Julia (Sara's other sister) came home from a musical she was at, again with many tears. Much to our delight, Merry, the dog, hadn't forgotten us and didn't seem too angry at us for our extended leave of absence.
I think that nothing tastes like being home like the taste of Zachary's Pizza. Deep dish spin(ach)-mush(room) and a thin-crust pesto, please.
I had the chance to meet up some of the Young Men from the church congregation we attended in Berkeley, with whom I worked very closely for over two years and whom I adore. We met at my favorite Albany (town bordering Berkeley to the north) taqueria, Gordo's...
...then headed into Berkeley proper for delicious gelato at Naia.
Following our reunion with the family (and Laura's boyfriend Jamie), we celebrated the Meldrum-Marostica summer birthday season for the second time with a stack of presents to open.
Among other things, Sara got this fascinating book. You'll have to ask her about it someday.
Late that Friday night, we drove the 3 hours from Berkeley to the north shore of Lake Tahoe, the summer retreat for Marosticas since 1990 or something like that. We were so lucky that our trip to the US coincided so excellently with the timing of the Tahoe trip, especially since we'd moved to Germany just one week too early last summer and had missed our chance.
While there we hiked part of the Rubicon Trail, capturing the three lovely sistees on this rock along the way:
The rock and its surroundings were so picturesque that we all stopped for couples shots.
If you've never been to Lake Tahoe in the summer, you should go. It's absolutely beautiful. The lake is known for the clarity of the water (sometimes clear in excess of 60 feet and, in former days, up to 100 feet), and it's just so blue. The alpine setting is gorgeous, too. This picture is also from the Rubicon Trail.
One of the many Tahoe-week traditions includes brunch at the Old Post Office on the last day. Since we were leaving before the last day, we rearranged our schedule and went on Sunday morning instead. As usual, visiting the Old Post Office usually includes severe pangs of hunger (this time demonstrated by The-Agony-and-the-Ecstasy-Laura)...
...and the near-ritualistic newspaper reading. Julia usually gets the comics first.
Some members of the extended Marostica family attend the Tahoe festivities regularly, including our awesome cousins: the builder
and the superstar.
We saw lots of friends in Berkeley and at Tahoe, too, including the Wests, the Gurilngs, the Parkinsons, Elisa and Krista et al., the Spencers, and the Ritzmans. With that crowd one can't help but have a great time, which we did. (And a big shout out to the Parkinsons for letting us use their house during our pre- and post-Tahoe nights.)
We took one family picture from the "heating hill," our regular spot on the beach that is just perfect for warming oneself prior to a dip in the chilly alpine lake, a rousing game of Kubb, or just taking it all in:
Our trip to the USA to visit family was awesome. We felt so relieved to be with people that we have known and loved for years rather than simply months, the language came so naturally, and the food was so delicious. It was certainly tough to come back to Aachen (especially with the dread of 24 hours of travel), but the trip was totally worth it. I think this picture of Julia and her friend Adri perfectly captures our feelings about coming home: ebullient.
I think that nothing tastes like being home like the taste of Zachary's Pizza. Deep dish spin(ach)-mush(room) and a thin-crust pesto, please.
I had the chance to meet up some of the Young Men from the church congregation we attended in Berkeley, with whom I worked very closely for over two years and whom I adore. We met at my favorite Albany (town bordering Berkeley to the north) taqueria, Gordo's...
...then headed into Berkeley proper for delicious gelato at Naia.
 |
| Left to right: Jayson, Brian, and Albert (fondly known as Al-bear). Awesome to see all of you guys again! |
Among other things, Sara got this fascinating book. You'll have to ask her about it someday.
Late that Friday night, we drove the 3 hours from Berkeley to the north shore of Lake Tahoe, the summer retreat for Marosticas since 1990 or something like that. We were so lucky that our trip to the US coincided so excellently with the timing of the Tahoe trip, especially since we'd moved to Germany just one week too early last summer and had missed our chance.
While there we hiked part of the Rubicon Trail, capturing the three lovely sistees on this rock along the way:
 |
| Julia, Sara, and Laura, all in a row. |
The rock and its surroundings were so picturesque that we all stopped for couples shots.
 |
| Laura and her much-discussed boyfriend, Jamie, on his first Marostica Tahoe week. |
One of the many Tahoe-week traditions includes brunch at the Old Post Office on the last day. Since we were leaving before the last day, we rearranged our schedule and went on Sunday morning instead. As usual, visiting the Old Post Office usually includes severe pangs of hunger (this time demonstrated by The-Agony-and-the-Ecstasy-Laura)...
...and the near-ritualistic newspaper reading. Julia usually gets the comics first.
Some members of the extended Marostica family attend the Tahoe festivities regularly, including our awesome cousins: the builder
and the superstar.
We saw lots of friends in Berkeley and at Tahoe, too, including the Wests, the Gurilngs, the Parkinsons, Elisa and Krista et al., the Spencers, and the Ritzmans. With that crowd one can't help but have a great time, which we did. (And a big shout out to the Parkinsons for letting us use their house during our pre- and post-Tahoe nights.)
We took one family picture from the "heating hill," our regular spot on the beach that is just perfect for warming oneself prior to a dip in the chilly alpine lake, a rousing game of Kubb, or just taking it all in:
Our trip to the USA to visit family was awesome. We felt so relieved to be with people that we have known and loved for years rather than simply months, the language came so naturally, and the food was so delicious. It was certainly tough to come back to Aachen (especially with the dread of 24 hours of travel), but the trip was totally worth it. I think this picture of Julia and her friend Adri perfectly captures our feelings about coming home: ebullient.
Julia is so grown up! And Tahoe looks so beautiful. Aww, so much love!
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