The AAPA national conference this year was held in San Diego. So, for memorial day weekend, Kara and I hopped on a plane with Shelly (another classmate) to attend a weekend of lectures and sunshine on the ocean. I had never been west of the Mississippi and I was itching to get out of Knoxville so this was perfect timing. It was perfect timing to remind us what our ultimate goal is and why we're doing it, and to relax and have some fun. We spent Friday exploring the city and going to a Padres game at Petco. We went to a place called "Extraordinary Desserts" - truly extraordinary. On Saturday we slept in because we didn't go to bed on Thursday night then went to the conference in the afternoon. Kara's sister met us on Saturday night at an Italian restaurant owned by the chef that was her instructer for her study abroad in Italy. Truly amazing. Sunday we went to the San Diego Zoo. I thought we'd spend a few hours because it would be like any other zoo, not at all. We spent 5 hours there and it was pretty amazing. Sunday night we met up with another classmate, Josh, and went out to a piano bar for a night out on the town. We went to the conference and laid by the pool with mojitos for a wonderful Monday and unfortunately had to fly home on Tuesday morning. One of our friends was able to get us an amazing discount at the Marriott on the bay and stayed on the 21st floor overlooking the ocean. It was amazing. Perfect script for some stressed out PA students.
The conference was incredibly rewarding. It reminded me of my purpose for spending countless hours with my nose in a book or my eyes glued to my computer screen. Kara and I have vowed to use the conference as a reason to get together each year, an excuse to have at least one reunion (though hopefully there will be more throughout the year).
