Update from California...
Jun. 12th, 2006 09:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sublimatedangelYesyes, finally home. Well, okay, home as of Saturday night, but you should all know I'm bad with the updating by now.
So - left off mid-Wednesday. Visiting![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
moon_heart was an absolute joy! He and Joyce were both super friendly marvellous hosts, and Alex warmed up to them really quickly. Jeff took us on a walk through the neighborhood (lovely) where we admired the architecture and gardens and gossiped about the neighbors. We got to see the lovely little pier out on the water; nodded to the few other folk out there that evening and scruffled a beautiful dog and marveled at the fact that you really can just fish for crab and stuff right out of Chesapeake bay (unlike our San Francisco bay, which is... highly dubious) and then walked back just as dinner was finishing up. Much yumminess! Not that I expected anything less, but it was just fantastic. And Alex was thoroughly determined to find mischief, but that was okay :) After dinner, there was chocolate cheesecake and kitty love (yay!) and koosh ball juggling and children gossip and something strange on TV that involved a punk kind of magician. We stayed entirely too late, but it was soooo hard to leave! I'm sure I'm leaving many details out, but basically: fantastic evening with fantastic food and fantastic friends. Doesn't get much better.
Thursday: Off to DC! We got a late start somehow (huge mystery, n'est-ce pas?) and dealt with crazy DC streets (not as crazy as SF) but we made it and had a pretty good time. Distances were a bit farther than we'd pictured and the morning had slipped away from us, so we didn't do everything we'd hoped to, but it was still nice-ish. We did the Museum of Natural History, where there were many many taxidermist creations and skeletons, and dinosaurs (yay!) and a huge gem area that we breezed right through, because gigantic crystals and displays of priceless jewelry just don't keep a toddlers attention, and a really fun insect section -- sponsored by Orkin, which is, you know... very strange, very strange. But yay for living creatures (although I do have a strange fascination with taxidermy) to ooh and ahh over! And... I think some other stuff. And then we went and looked at monuments and such, and took pictures, and Alex and I rode on the carousel, and he got upset that he wasn't allowed to play in monument fountain/pond areas because he loves to play in water and is usually allowed. Afterwards, we were tired but happy, and called some online friends Nate met through Puzzle Pirates and we met up with them for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.
First - OMG such a naughty trip food wise. Cheesecake three times! But really, I have *no* willpower lately. And uh... it's vacation? So anyhow... there's a Cheesecake Factory around here someplace, but I'd never been inside. Verreh swank, people, I have to say. And the menus is, uh, kinda huge. But the food was so yummm (I had a thai-ish chicken and shrimp curry thing and the white chocolate caramel latte cheesecake OMG so naughty) and Olivia and Mike were complete sweethearts; it was really nice to meet them after hearing so much about them. Alex was... a little more challenging than he usually is, but did alright I think. Mmm, and the waiter was actually really really wonderful. I generally appreciate waitstaff anyhow, but occasionally you get a server who is just above and beyond your expectations, and he was such a one. So a highly favorable experience! Hopefully our (semi?)local one will be just as nice when/if we eventually visit it.
Friday! We had hoped to spend some more time with Becky and the kids (we didn't get to see them nearly enough this trip!) but they had a busy afternoon/evening and it didn't work out. Oh, and it was stormy during the day! Lots of lovely lightning & thunder and snatches of rain. While I admit I don't like constant rainy weather locales, the occasional thunderstorm is really great as long as you have the option of a safe warm home. At night, we all went to meet up with Heath (a new Heath) whom Trudi and Nate also knew from Puzzle Pirates (my bunny is crazy with the social networking) and his girlfriend at TGI Fridays. It was kinda late and so Alex was a bit needy (and I think just ready to be done with all the new people and places) and we needed to get him home to bed, or we might have stayed later. Still, it was nice to meet them, and they seemed really friendly and interesting.
Saturday we did manage to get Becky to shuffle around her church plans enough to have brunch with them before we left... at... Country Store type place? I forget the name. It was good to see them, but also kind of nice to know we were leaving... we'd never presume to criticize their choices in parenting, but they definitely use a different approach than we do, and well... they're just very conservative, Christian people now, and let's face it... I'm *so* not. But I played nice and settled for disapproving glances at their narrow view of the world instead of starting a fight that wouldn't solve anything anyway. And even though we disagree on many issues, Nate and I do love them quite a bit and were really glad they made time to see us again.
Then it was off to Philadelphia... we eventually managed to find the Liberty Bell (you'd think that'd be marked on the maps, but nooo... just the other stuff around it) and did a bit more of the sightseeing thing. Driving and trying to find it had been a bit frustrating but I'm glad that we did. Alas, the camera was out of battery power, so no pictures (eventually I should get some up of the DC sightseeing and maybe some random other shots). Then dropped off the rental car (super easy and fast!) and off we went to the airport. The airport staff was somewhat less than accomodating and friendly, and Alex was kind of having a hard time, so... more frustration. He surprised us quite a bit by crying on the plane. :::feels terrible about that::: There were several other toddlers his age on the flight, so I think most of them were more understanding than the average person (the family right behind us were absolute angels and deserve a gift basket for their understanding and patience and help and adorable little girl) but I still cringe and feel much sympathy for the regular non-parents flying with us. :::wants to apologize to each one individually and swear it's never happened before, and we're not the parents that let our child scream in movie theaters and restaurants and such, PROMISE:::
We got back and it was late (and felt even later, damn timezones) and Jay was there waiting for us ::hugs Jay for taking us to and picking us up from the airport:: and the luggage took *forever* to arrive, but finally it did, and my mom offered to take the baby for the night (which offer was thoroughly and gratefully pounced upon) and we finally got home and went to bed and slept in for the first time since we'd left home. Even attention starved kitties couldn't ruin our rest. I think I'll skim over the rest (even the hilarious and embarassing Nate-story) and just say that we're slowly getting unpacked and back into the swing of normal life. The front flowerboxes died but everything else seems to have survived... it's kooky to see how high the little cornstalks are now, and there are little peapods on the vine already! And blahblah, you don't care about my garden/yard. Tomorrow I'm supposed to swing by and get my houseplants from my mom, and then Wednesday I think we're doing something with my stepdad, who is apparently not dead and is back from Iraq for a bit and wants to see us while he's in the area before his bizarre houseboat vacation (white trash-er than thou post probably coming soon re: that)... have to talk to Jay and figure out the details of when/where we're getting together.
::yawn:: and that's it for now kittens. Try not to gnaw each other's eyebrow whiskers off... I'm off to bed.
So - left off mid-Wednesday. Visiting
moon_heart was an absolute joy! He and Joyce were both super friendly marvellous hosts, and Alex warmed up to them really quickly. Jeff took us on a walk through the neighborhood (lovely) where we admired the architecture and gardens and gossiped about the neighbors. We got to see the lovely little pier out on the water; nodded to the few other folk out there that evening and scruffled a beautiful dog and marveled at the fact that you really can just fish for crab and stuff right out of Chesapeake bay (unlike our San Francisco bay, which is... highly dubious) and then walked back just as dinner was finishing up. Much yumminess! Not that I expected anything less, but it was just fantastic. And Alex was thoroughly determined to find mischief, but that was okay :) After dinner, there was chocolate cheesecake and kitty love (yay!) and koosh ball juggling and children gossip and something strange on TV that involved a punk kind of magician. We stayed entirely too late, but it was soooo hard to leave! I'm sure I'm leaving many details out, but basically: fantastic evening with fantastic food and fantastic friends. Doesn't get much better.Thursday: Off to DC! We got a late start somehow (huge mystery, n'est-ce pas?) and dealt with crazy DC streets (not as crazy as SF) but we made it and had a pretty good time. Distances were a bit farther than we'd pictured and the morning had slipped away from us, so we didn't do everything we'd hoped to, but it was still nice-ish. We did the Museum of Natural History, where there were many many taxidermist creations and skeletons, and dinosaurs (yay!) and a huge gem area that we breezed right through, because gigantic crystals and displays of priceless jewelry just don't keep a toddlers attention, and a really fun insect section -- sponsored by Orkin, which is, you know... very strange, very strange. But yay for living creatures (although I do have a strange fascination with taxidermy) to ooh and ahh over! And... I think some other stuff. And then we went and looked at monuments and such, and took pictures, and Alex and I rode on the carousel, and he got upset that he wasn't allowed to play in monument fountain/pond areas because he loves to play in water and is usually allowed. Afterwards, we were tired but happy, and called some online friends Nate met through Puzzle Pirates and we met up with them for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.
First - OMG such a naughty trip food wise. Cheesecake three times! But really, I have *no* willpower lately. And uh... it's vacation? So anyhow... there's a Cheesecake Factory around here someplace, but I'd never been inside. Verreh swank, people, I have to say. And the menus is, uh, kinda huge. But the food was so yummm (I had a thai-ish chicken and shrimp curry thing and the white chocolate caramel latte cheesecake OMG so naughty) and Olivia and Mike were complete sweethearts; it was really nice to meet them after hearing so much about them. Alex was... a little more challenging than he usually is, but did alright I think. Mmm, and the waiter was actually really really wonderful. I generally appreciate waitstaff anyhow, but occasionally you get a server who is just above and beyond your expectations, and he was such a one. So a highly favorable experience! Hopefully our (semi?)local one will be just as nice when/if we eventually visit it.
Friday! We had hoped to spend some more time with Becky and the kids (we didn't get to see them nearly enough this trip!) but they had a busy afternoon/evening and it didn't work out. Oh, and it was stormy during the day! Lots of lovely lightning & thunder and snatches of rain. While I admit I don't like constant rainy weather locales, the occasional thunderstorm is really great as long as you have the option of a safe warm home. At night, we all went to meet up with Heath (a new Heath) whom Trudi and Nate also knew from Puzzle Pirates (my bunny is crazy with the social networking) and his girlfriend at TGI Fridays. It was kinda late and so Alex was a bit needy (and I think just ready to be done with all the new people and places) and we needed to get him home to bed, or we might have stayed later. Still, it was nice to meet them, and they seemed really friendly and interesting.
Saturday we did manage to get Becky to shuffle around her church plans enough to have brunch with them before we left... at... Country Store type place? I forget the name. It was good to see them, but also kind of nice to know we were leaving... we'd never presume to criticize their choices in parenting, but they definitely use a different approach than we do, and well... they're just very conservative, Christian people now, and let's face it... I'm *so* not. But I played nice and settled for disapproving glances at their narrow view of the world instead of starting a fight that wouldn't solve anything anyway. And even though we disagree on many issues, Nate and I do love them quite a bit and were really glad they made time to see us again.
Then it was off to Philadelphia... we eventually managed to find the Liberty Bell (you'd think that'd be marked on the maps, but nooo... just the other stuff around it) and did a bit more of the sightseeing thing. Driving and trying to find it had been a bit frustrating but I'm glad that we did. Alas, the camera was out of battery power, so no pictures (eventually I should get some up of the DC sightseeing and maybe some random other shots). Then dropped off the rental car (super easy and fast!) and off we went to the airport. The airport staff was somewhat less than accomodating and friendly, and Alex was kind of having a hard time, so... more frustration. He surprised us quite a bit by crying on the plane. :::feels terrible about that::: There were several other toddlers his age on the flight, so I think most of them were more understanding than the average person (the family right behind us were absolute angels and deserve a gift basket for their understanding and patience and help and adorable little girl) but I still cringe and feel much sympathy for the regular non-parents flying with us. :::wants to apologize to each one individually and swear it's never happened before, and we're not the parents that let our child scream in movie theaters and restaurants and such, PROMISE:::
We got back and it was late (and felt even later, damn timezones) and Jay was there waiting for us ::hugs Jay for taking us to and picking us up from the airport:: and the luggage took *forever* to arrive, but finally it did, and my mom offered to take the baby for the night (which offer was thoroughly and gratefully pounced upon) and we finally got home and went to bed and slept in for the first time since we'd left home. Even attention starved kitties couldn't ruin our rest. I think I'll skim over the rest (even the hilarious and embarassing Nate-story) and just say that we're slowly getting unpacked and back into the swing of normal life. The front flowerboxes died but everything else seems to have survived... it's kooky to see how high the little cornstalks are now, and there are little peapods on the vine already! And blahblah, you don't care about my garden/yard. Tomorrow I'm supposed to swing by and get my houseplants from my mom, and then Wednesday I think we're doing something with my stepdad, who is apparently not dead and is back from Iraq for a bit and wants to see us while he's in the area before his bizarre houseboat vacation (white trash-er than thou post probably coming soon re: that)... have to talk to Jay and figure out the details of when/where we're getting together.
::yawn:: and that's it for now kittens. Try not to gnaw each other's eyebrow whiskers off... I'm off to bed.
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no subject
Date: 2006-06-13 09:07 pm (UTC)Oh, but you MUST come clean with hilarious and embarassing Nate story sometime...or perhaps I'll just pry it out of him sometime :)
no subject
Date: 2006-06-14 07:58 pm (UTC)