March 28 +, 2009

Written April 12

Dear Diary,

The best part about a trip to the States is visiting with friends and families. When I looked back on the half-dozen diaries I'd already done, I noticed I missed some parts. (And, Marianne has another set of visits and pictures on HER camera. We may have to expand this edition after she gets back.)

	Elemer and Mamo. Our Fresno friends.
	Marianne and her mom at Casa da Fruita, a traditional stop on the Fresno-to-San-Jose route. I remember when California highways had stops like this everywhere, but Interstate freeways put most of them out of business. Too bad, they make good memories.
We managed to squeeze in one evening with "the girls". This is Marianne's crew of friends of almost forty years. The friendships are forty years old, the girls just a bit more (but I'd never say). We started at Rita and Peter's house in Santa Cruz, overlooking the harbor yachts.
	Gatherings are, mostly, talking. We managed to move the chat-fest up to a restaurant where we had a group photo. Everyone seems to be happy.

A couple days later, I was on my way back to Germany. Marianne would hang around for another month, with more time with family and friends.

John and Marianne