Day 192: Goodbye Miss Laurita Bufi

We get a late start on our last day in Vegas.  It is cloudy.  I didn’t know Vegas had clouds.  We take our time packing up and say goodbye to our friends Tina, Allie and Edilsa before Meg, Laura, Alison and I head to Rehab at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Breakfast at the Wynn

When we arrive at the Hard Rock, I help Laura check her bags at the front desk since she will be heading to the airport from here.  She protests and I explain that she can’t bring them to the pool.  She is anxious.  We walk toward the entrance to the pool and she stops for cigarettes.  “No,” I tell her.  She is trying to quit and I have been very stern with her.  I don’t accept her excuses.  “We will not wait for you to buy that crap,” I tell her and continue to walk.  She has grown accustomed to my tough love and this is not the first time I’ve spoken to her like this, but this time she has had enough. 

“It’s Vegas, I am having my cigarette!” She exclaims. 

I continue to walk with the girls and she eventually runs and catches up with us at the entrance where we are greeted by a line of security men and women in bright orange shirts.  They dig through our bags.  Laura has small plastic mirror that they will not allow her to bring to the pool.  “No glass,” the large security woman tells us.

“Throw it away and let’s go,” I tell Laura. 

“No,” she protests.  “I need my mirror.”

“You can buy a new one for $5 at the airport. We have two hours here together before you leave and then I won’t see you for who knows how long,” I plea.

She begins to cry.  Of course, this isn’t about the mirror. 

Every day, for the past fifty-five days, with the exception of one weekend in Boston, Laura has been by my side.  She wasn’t a tourist here.  She built a life and made friends in New York. 

Natalie, Laura, me, Jay, Chris and Kate at the Hotel Giraffe rooftopAt shake shack

She loved her life in New York.  Every morning we would sit outside on my patio, listen to music and eat breakfast.  I’d read the paper, she would post and upload pictures on her Facebook machine and Lyla would sit at our feet.

Bryant Park

At the farmer’s market in Union Square

We went to Nashville, Bonnaroo, Washington DC, my home in Princeton, Day and Night Brunch, Governors Ball, my grandparent’s home on Long Island, a Yankees game, the Hamptons, Central Park, dozens of restaurants, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Napa, Big Sur, Los Angeles and finally Vegas. 

Day and Night brunch at MPD

At our camp in Bonnaroo

Laura teaches us how to Salsa on Billy’s roofJuly 4th weekend in the HamptonsStephen’s Talkhouse in AmagansettAt the Jane hotel for Laura’s last night in New York. “My babies,” she calls us.

Santa Monica, CA

This is her last day by my side on this trip.  I hug her.  I wipe her tears, wrap my hands around her face and I look her in the eyes.  “This isn’t the end my Bufita.” 

Lyla’s treat that I gave Laura in Buenos Aires to explain to her that she is my treat. She is my cookie. She saved it.

Day 187: Driving down the California Coast

Santa Cruz

After visiting Stanford in Palo Alto and meeting Zach’s co-workers at Practice Fusion, Bufi and I hit the road once again.  We spent the night in Santa Cruz and today we are taking the scenic route along the ocean to Los Angeles. 

We take a detour to check out the redwoods on the way

As we drive, I imagine how differently this would feel if I had I stuck with my original plan to drive across the country.  I imagine not returning to New York.  I am relieved by my decision to stay.

Break for lunch at Ventana at Big Sur

We stop in Santa Barbara for dinner before finishing the nine hour drive to Manhattan Beach, where we are staying with our dear friend Alison.

Santa BarbaraFlowers for Alison.

See more pictures.

Day 185: Family in San Francisco

Laura and I spend the morning walking around San Francisco.  We walk along the Embarcadero until we hit Fisherman’s Wharf, where we hop on ferry that takes us to the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz.

We make our way to North Beach (aka Little Italy) and Union Square before we head back to the hotel to pack up the car and drive to the Mission to visit my stepbrother Zach, his wife Alison and their baby boy, Solomon.

Solomon

Solomon is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen.  Always giggling, smiling and curious. Salvatore, their Italian Mastiff, tries to lick the baby’s face.  His tongue is the size of Solomon’s head.

Sal and LauraAlison with SolomonZach moved to San Francisco a few years ago after he grew tired of the grind in New York.  His first job here was at Yahoo!, where he sold ad space.  Then he moved to coupons.com before he recently joined his new company, Practice Fusion, a start-up that helps doctor’s offices get their patients’ medical records online. 

At Zach’s house

Zach and his wife Alison have a new life since the last time I visited San Francisco for their wedding in 2007.  He opens a bottle of champagne and we toast to their new baby boy, their new home and Zach’s new job.

Me and Zach

Zach is really excited about the new gig.  He knows I am interested in working for a start-up so he set up some meetings for me with his CFO and head of business development at his office tomorrow.  I am surprised by his gesture and incredibly grateful.  Although we’ve never lived in the same home, he has always treated me as his sister.  It warms my heart to see him so happy.

See more pictures.

Day 184: Tubing in Napa

At the ferry terminalLaura and I head to the farmers market at the ferry terminal where we join Tina, Edilsa and Mac.    

Tina picks up some fruit at the farmer’s marketWe buy some breads, cheeses, berries and falafel. 

Laura hit the sites yesterday before I arrived, so today we are going to Napa.  But we’re not going for a typical day of wine tasting at the vineyards.  Instead, we’re going tubing.  

Tina’s friends Meg and Greg help us load up the car and follow us as we head north to Napa. 

Greg, Meg, Tina and Mac loading up the car

Laura, Tina and EdilsaMac directs me to the Golden Gate Bridge, which doesn’t provide great views of anything other than the Bay mist, but we have the top down nonetheless. 

Laura is not missing this moment to take pictures.  She is standing up, rain in her face, wind blowing her hair into knots, and she is grinning ear to ear.  She looks up and kisses the sky.

Her excitement and zest for life sometimes takes me by surprise.  She inspires me to appreciate these little moments, which become wonderful memories that we’ll have for the rest of our lives.

We head to sports authority where we pick up our rafts, join a caravan of Tina’s friends and head to the river.

Stocking up on supplies 

Ready for the riverSee more pictures.

Day 183: A Fresh Perspective

I am traveling again so it’s about time I start writing again too.  Everyday our relationships evolve and we grow through our experiences, but when we travel and we are taken away from our routine, we are forced to see things in a new light.  We meet people and experience things that shape our perspective without searching.  

Today I am flying to San Francisco, where I am joining Laura who landed yesterday.   On the flight I am browsing the travel section on nytimes.com, reading about the Amalfi Coast.  I am planning a trip there in August with Ryan.  An article in the bottom right corner of the page about a music site grabs my attention.  After reading the article, I notice that the guy next to me is using the site.   I ask him about it.  “It’s my company,” he informs me. 

Over the course of the flight, we talk about the company and share some of our life stories.  The man, who I will refer to as S, tells me that he has started ten companies.  He calls his serial entrepreneurship a sickness.  “I never wanted to work for someone else, so I started companies and I can’t stop,” he confesses.  But at the moment he has a new lease on life.  He illustrates how volatile his world is.  At the peak, he was a hero.  Everyone was making money, loved him, praised him and he could do no wrong.  Just as quickly as he got up there, he fell back down as the company’s success dwindled and he received daily calls from investors complaining that they had overpaid.

He took some time off for himself and his most recent success came about by accident.  At first, he and his partner didn’t plan to turn it into a business, but the idea has taken off.  He wasn’t looking for the next big thing but it came to him.

One of the things that I continue to struggle with is my direction.  Silverlake has been a great experience for me.  I’ve been learning a lot and building a new skill set, but it is not a full time commitment.  I need something else.  I thought I would have found my calling by now.  As Laura’s time with me comes to an end, I am growing anxious about what I am going to do when I return to New York

His story and advice give me hope that I will figure it out.  My eyes are open but I can’t force it.  I need to have faith that it will find me.  It will just click and I’ll know what to do.   For now, at least I have to hope so…