Tiff's Visit 11/3-5/07

Tiffany hails from La Crosse, WI and was a part of that great group of friends that Brandon and I came together in, so we were so thrilled to have another close friend from home come to see us in our corner of the world.

[At one point she had three birds sitting on her. Just like one of those princesses in one of those Disney movies. --Brandon]

It was an action packed weekend as we wanted to show Tiffany a good time in this great big city of ours. Saturday we went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Tiff wowed us with her encyclopedic knowledge of the marine world. We went to the sea lion/seal show, pet sting rays, and were introduced to some of her all time favorite fish.

Ironically, after a long day of fish watching, we decided to go out for sushi at Kabuki's, one of our favorite places out here. Brandon likes to treat our out of town guests to this experience. Tiffany was a great sport. We had an eel roll, california roll, alaska roll, scallop roll, and rainbow roll. We also tried some sake cocktails, which were much tastier than straight sake. Brandon really wishes he liked straight sake either hot or cold. He hopes every time that he tries it that it will become more palatable to him, but it never does. Bless his heart.

[This is Dez saying "Bless his heart..." -- Brandon]

Sunday was the Disneyland extravaganza. One of my friends from school works at Disneyland and blessed us with some free passes to both Disneyland and California Adventure. Tickets are normally about $90 to get into both parks, so this was a real treat.

[I'm the guy in the middle. --Brandon]

Tiffany and Brandon stayed up late the night before mapping out their attack plan to get the most possible out of this trip. It was cute to watch them strategizing and prioritizing (this is serious business!!), but their work payed off as we had a full and fun day--12 hours. I still love California Screaming--who thought I would like rollercoasters? I would also like to announce to the world that I beat Brandon on the Astroblasters (Buzz Lightyear) ride. Of course, he did demand a rematch and beat me soundly. All was right in his world again. Captain Jack Sparrow was entertaining crowds on Tom Sawyer's Island. He was a captivating performer. I think Tiffany has a little crush on him!

[I won't try to explain this picture, other than to say that I won. -- Brandon]

Monday, Tiffany I had some time to catch up. She also came to one of my classes with me. It was fun to show her my life out here. She said she even enjoyed the lecture and meeting my classmates. She was amazed at the level of relational intimacy we enjoy as a cohort in this program--we don't waste time with small talk, we spill our guts with each other.

When Brandon got home that night we went to In & Out for supper. This is a California Institution--an absolute must do. They keep it simple and make it great. You can choose from a hamburger, cheeseburger. or a double cheeseburger and that's it. They also serve fries and tasty shakes. Everything is fresh, even the french fries (they cut the potatoes right there). So good! After supper, Tiffany's friend from Encino came to pick her up. She's a new mom and Tiff was gonna give her a hand and some company for the rest of the week.

As it turns out she returned to Minneapolis on the same flight with the entire LA Galaxy soccer team. If you know what a huge a soccer fan Tiff is, you know this was a big deal! Even David Beckham gave her a little smile. The Galaxy were traveling to play the Minnesota Thunder in an exhibition game the next day, which Tiff attended with her family.

[ This is not a picture of David Beckham. -- Brandon]