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Last friday five of us – Anna, Saara, Matias, Janne and me – took a flight from Helsinki to New York. Our mission: drive across the great U.S. of A. The planned route would take us from New York to San Diego in eleven days. In San Diego we have a familiar rented house waiting for us in Cardiff-by-the-Sea.

The day we departed from Finland was the annual Midsummer fest but also Janne’s 30th birthday. The trip started with few drinks at the Helsinki airport for Janne’s honor. As we were flying against the time, we also managed to drink for his honor the same day in New York.

The girls have planned and taken care of all the running errands such as hotel bookings, car renting, where to go and million other details. Janne and Matias got the navigation and maps all covered. All in all we seems to be running like a well oiled machine.

Went to see the San Diego Birch Aquarium.

That’s it, my vacation has officially started. Technically thou, I’m still sitting at the office, but I’m just finishing couple of side projects and making sure all my work files are accessible for everyone while I’m gone. All I need to do now is to clean up my desk and then, in the words of Reel Big Fish: “Sayonara Senorita!”

Work vice this past year has been pretty unbelievable! There have been some really high highs and some really low lows and few emotions that fall somewhere in between. I’ll probably write more about everything when things can be spoken off but for now, I just want to say thanks for everyone. I’m really fortunate for being able to work on some amazing projects, to work side by side with some really talented people, and having the freedom to fully devote my time to something I really enjoy doing.

You stay classy, San Diego!

Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means a whale’s vagina.

— Ron Burgundy, The Legendary Anchorman

In little less than 12 hours, me, Matias and Saara are boarding a plane to (hopefully) sunny California where we are going to spend the next three weeks with The Extended Family™ (We’ll miss you Ninna!), enjoying the best the west coast has to offer.

After a short 20h flight through Brussels and Chicago and we’ll be greeted by Anna and Janne in Los Angeles. They already got there on tuesday as our reconnaissance unit, scouting the locations and getting things ready for us (I assume). From L.A. we’ll make our way to San Diego where we’ve rented a “Hawaiian styled” beach house for the five of us.

But for now, I need to get go home packing and get some sleep. Summer holiday, you have officially started!