Graduation Season

Congratulations to my brother Frank for graduating from high school and my sister Marissa for graduating from college! Wahoo!

Two of my siblings graduated last weekend...yes, on the same day. Frank's graduation was in Sacramento and Marissa's was in Moraga, and both of the ceremonies were in the morning. Unfortunately, because it's a one and a half hour drive between the two locations, I wasn't able to attend both. I ended up going to Marissa's graduation with my mom, Lauren, several aunts and uncles, and cousins.

The graduation ceremony was okay. I mean, it's a three hour presentation...how good can it be? I didn't even like my graduation ceremony. I will admit, the weather was really nice, so I can't complain that much.

Following the ceremony, we all went out to lunch at Lark Creek in Walnut Creek. Lauren and I looked at the menu beforehand, and reading that they would be "happy to accommodate your specific dietary requests", believed that we would have several entrees to choose from, or at least alter to make vegan. However, our waiter wasn't very happy to accommodate us when we mentioned we were vegan. They had a vegetarian burger on the menu that sounded really good, but the veggie patty contained cream. I was going to order some pasta and marinara with sauteed veggies, but the pasta is made with eggs. We were informed that most of the salads can be made vegan, but I had high hopes for this restaurant and I didn't want to settle for a salad. Our waiter admitted that the only other vegan option was the vegetable platter. How descriptive, I know. So Lauren and I both ordered that, but we didn't hesitate to add that we didn't like mushrooms or eggplant. I was pleasantly surprised to see my entree when it arrived. They whipped us up roasted potatoes with sauteed asparagus, green beans, and peas covered in a garlic-y olive oil sauce. Despite the initial frustration, it was seriously delicious.

After lunch, we all went to The Olde San Francisco Creamery next door. They had several sorbet flavors, but I settled on the orange-passion fruit. I got half way through my dessert when I realized that the waiter brought me mango-peach instead, but I was okay with that mistake. My mom ordered orange-passion fruit sorbet as well. I tasted hers and it was so tart. I was so happy that the waiter got my order wrong.

Lauren came up with an amazing idea for Marissa's graduation gift. We bought Dr. Seuss' "Oh, the Place You'll Go", and had all my family members and some friends write a message on random pages throughout the book. She also received a Punky Jane necklace to go along with the theme. Marissa said this was the best present she's ever got. Mission accomplished :)