Sorry for being away from Xanga for almost two weeks. We just returned last night from a trip to the United States and I discovered that the Xanga mobile app isn’t very convenient for uploading entries. In fact, after two entries disappeared into the ether, I gave up and decided to wait until we were back in Bangkok to try again.
Our flights over and back were smooth enough. I’ll share more about them, including our trip on THAI Airaways’ Bangkok-Seoul-Los Angeles flight, in the next few days.
The primary purpose of our trip was to attend a family reunion for our grandparents’ 70th wedding anniversary. They had expected that Tawn and I could not make the trip but when I learned that we would be the only grandchildren not attending, I booked our flight. Needless to say, they were pleasantly surprised when we showed up at their front door the day before the anniversary.
While on the trip, we had the opportunity to see several friends including a few Xangans. Left, Andy and Sugi drove down from Omaha to see us in Kansas City. Right, Jason met me for lunch at San Francisco’s food truck parking lot. Also, Dr. Zakiah was so kind as to mail her book of poems to my sister’s house, where it was waiting for me. Must make it to Quincy for a future visit!
The trip also had its share of good food, about which I will write more in the next few days. Highlights include a porchetta and baby arugula sandwich (left) from the San Francisco food truck parking lot and fried chicken and waffles (right) from Little Skillet restaurant in San Francisco’s South of Market district. Stay Tuned!
christao408 
Aww you visited Andy! I’ve missed him. He’s been away from Xanga since after his wedding.Wow, 70th? Happy 70th Wedding Anniversary to your grandparents! :)!
That really is a milestone. Congratulations to them!
I’m glad that you were able to come visit your family here in the states. I’m sure they were thrilled to see you. I’m glad also that your flights were fine and you were able to make it home without any negative incidents.
Aww… Looks like a fun trip. Your grandparents look exceptionally wonderful after 70 years of happiness and love.
Congrats to them! Fun trip to celebrate a great milestone.
congratulations to them! and that’s really sweet of you two for making it out there. it looks like y’all had fun so I’m glad!
Wow 70 years of marriage! How wonderful! Pics are great! Maybe it wasnt the app persay as Xanga has been soooooo slow here the past week or so it’s been unreal!
Oh nice to see Andy after can’t remember the last time. Haha
70 years together! Gotta love ’em.
I’m happy to learn it was a lovely trip =D San Fransico! I knew there was a state I loved even when I never been to! And, welcome back!
I love San Francisco. Sounds like a great, albeit long trip. Love the photos!
Sounds like a lovely trip! 70th anniversary! That is a testament to a loving relationship…
that is so wonderful that ya’all made the trip to see your grandparents!
@I_love_Burma – @oxyGENE_08 – Yes, Andy has been really busy finishing his MBA. Hope to read more from him soon.@n_e_i_l – @armnatmom – @Fatcat723 – @amygwen – @murisopsis – Seventy years is a pretty long time to be married. I’ve asked them before what the secret to a long, happy marriage is and they always respond with platitudes like “Well, you just have to make it work.” Not sure whether it really is that simple (or difficult, depending on your perspective) or a matter of just being from a generation that doesn’t over-think things.@nightlikeariver – @nov_way – Growing up in the Bay Area, SF still holds a special place in my heart. That said, I don’t know if I would live there again. It is nicer to visit than to live there.@Texasjillcarmel – @l0311879l – @Crystalinne – Yes, I’m glad we made it, too. It doesn’t seem likely that fifty years from now, I will look back and say, “Gosh, I wish I hadn’t spent so much time at family events.” Instead, I’ll be glad that I made the effort and will have many happy memories of the event.
My iPhone Xanga app doesn’t seem to work for posting either.
What a blessed and great milestone in your grandparents’ lives. Congratulations to them. I am so glad you were able to make it there Chris. YES, next time you have to come here. We are probably going to be in the Bay Area in Mid June Wish you were there at that time.Hope you enjoy the book.
@Inciteful – Well, at least I’m not the only one with that problem then…@ZSA_MD – The book will be regularly enjoyed!
The food trucks are coming, the food trucks are coming….yes Los Angeles is doing a lot of different food truck meals. So much so a parking lot can have about four different ones. I would do a blog on them but basically I am trying to conserve money.
What a wonderful adventure with family included. 70th wedding anniversary is amazing and how wonderful that someone has remained married for that long. What a wonderful surprise for them when you and Tawn showed up and wonderful photo of the four of you.Have an excellent rest of the week.
i want that porchetta sandwich. maybe it’s time for me to be in SF again :p
70th anniversary is very special, i bet your grand parents were totally happily surprised when you and Tawn showed up. Xanga friends are the best, glad you met up with them.
@christao408 – Well, one of the things about profound truths is that they’re also trivial, depending your POV. You hear that particular one a lot especially from Asian couples of a certain age, where the marriage never was as much, if at all, about personal choice and desire as we’re used to, hence both went into it expecting that it would take work to make it work (rather than the “it was meant to be” thing we all want). Not sure how much that applies to your GPs, but it does sound like what got them through included a healthy dose of realism.
An insider’s tip! Thanks =)
@PPhilip – Indeed they are – seems to have become a trend over the last few years, no?@nov_way – Any time!@Grannys_Place – Yes, the surprise moved my grandfather to tears.@stevew918 – Wish I had been in LA for more than three hours; could have met with you and Gary in that case.@rudyhou – That was a good sandwich. You definitely need to return to SF soon.@n_e_i_l – True enough. Relationships are as much about pragmatism as anything else, I suppose.
so great you got to go to a family reunion. i have been getting a lot of complaints from friends that they cannot access xanga.com when they put it in google or another search engine it comes up with another strange name not even close to the spelling
Thanks for the comment. I enjoyed reading and learning about you. Sunds like you had a good visit and are happily back home.
70 years! Wow – that’s awesome. I remember going to my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. I’m glad you & Tawn were able to make it out there. And it’s always good to see the pictures of Andy/Sugi and Jason. I live my Xanga life through you. p.s. I wish your grandparents could elaborate more on “Well, you just have to make it work.”
so many xangans!! 😀 especially love the pic of you and jason!
WOW 70th wedding anniversary is so awesome!!
It was great to see you.I just got back to Portland. The food truck park pales in comparison to what I saw up there.