Most recently, I saw cousin Quinn and Uncle Bish in Park City, Utah. Last time I saw Quinn he was 12 years old and at least 12 inches shorter.
Uncle Bish is a super cool dude, lives to ski, and makes a mean spinach fettuccine and caprese. His house is full of good music and books, a cat named Tom Tom, and photos of Quinn.
Sometimes I get to see relatives I've never even met met before, like cousin Kai a few years ago in Germany. I had known about Kai for many years because he used to be my sister's pen pal growing up, and we are all Facebook friends. He lives outside Frankfurt with his wife, Jessika, and dalmatian, Gidget.
Kai was a great host and took me around to see many cool things: ancient castles, hillside vineyards, beer halls, a German male volleyball team, and swans swimming down the Main River.
Kai sometimes flies to Japan (I mean literally flies a plane to Japan: he is a pilot for Lufthansa), so hopefully I'll get to show him around Tokyo someday, too.
Going to the West Coast is always nice. Last fall, I was lucky to be in L.A. just when cousin Ashley was visiting cousin Nicole in Hermosa Beach. We spent a Sunday at Nicole's local sports bar, Barnacles, watching football, eating pho, and talking about boys. (Speaking of boys, dude on the right is CUTE)
Laney also lives in L.A., and having just seen her in Tokyo, it was great to continue the fun times. Which of course includes jumping photos, preferably with the Hollywood sign in the background.
Laney has been a friend of the family since she and Ai went to high school together. The three of us spent one summer all taking classes at UW, and I have many fond memories of us eating lunch after class at Saigon Deli, sunbathing and smoking at Golden Gardens, and critiquing each other's fashion. She's coming BACK to Tokyo in a few weeks to attend the wedding of the century.
With Facebook, Skype and email, it's easy to keep up with family and friends even if they live thousands of miles away. That being said, nothing beats seeing them in person.
And that being said, nothing beats going home after a long business trip.
