I realize I haven’t filled you in on much of the running around we did, oh, say, last month. Here’s the run-down:
We went to Tulsa, where Alden met her new best friend, Emily.
The mutual adoration was sickening.
Everyone got sick, but Emily, it turns out, is quite handy with the medical equipment. She diagnosed us all with “snot.” Quite accurate, I would say.
Matthew did not neglect an opportunity to jump.
Duke lost (no photos, just tragedy not suitable for publication). Basketball was over. Kato and I headed out to the West Coast.
Kato had his first taste of the Pacific (or the sand semi-adjacent to the Pacific, anyway).
We went to Napa to meet up with our dearest and hitherto unknown commenter Clare (hi Clare!). She and her husband Doug are vintners (among other things) and shared some of their wine and wisdom with us on a fascinating tour of the winery cooperative.
Kato hung with Clare.
It was all fun and pleasant and good until Clare insulted Kato by calling him a baby.
Forgiveness was slow in coming. Doug had to step in and mend fences by distracting Kato with water sports.
He reluctantly agreed to pose for the group photo, but only if Clare would agree to keep her mouth shut.
After Napa, we did the Bob Behr Torture Tour of San Francisco. First stop, the Cable Car Museum, via the Powell Street Cable Car. It’s free, and it’s actually really interesting. You can see the gigantic pulleys that keep the cables moving under the city 24/7.
Next stop, Sam Wo’s, a divey chinese “restaurant” in Chinatown, famous for crazily cheap food and badgery waitresses. Bob speaks fondly of both pretty much any time San Francisco, chinese food or badgers come up.
As you can see, these people don’t screw around.
We then headed to Ghirardelli Square for an ice cream.
Kato quickly became the poster boy for all things Ghirardelli by running around like a maniac with chocolate ice cream all over his face.
Then there was the long walk down the piers to the Embarcadero, with a stop at the Musée Mécanique at Fisherman’s Wharf. This place is unbelievably cool. They have all kinds of arcade games, dating back to the 19th century. All still in working condition, all playable for 50 cents or less. There were some amazing amazing pieces.
Of course, I couldn’t resist having my fortune told by “Grandmother.”
The news could not have been better:
She had me up until that part about me being fastidious. Have you seen my desk lately? Anyway, I’ll take what I can get. If anyone has plans for a world tour for me, do tell.
Even though we were on the West Coast, we couldn’t resist the old Baltimore favorite “snowballs” from the awesomely turquoise Skylite snowball cart.
It was a grand, grand trip. A grand couple of trips. As much fun as it was to see friends, meet friends, hang with family, eat good food, eat more good food, and be generally on vacation, it’s also nice to settle back into life in the barn. Now that spring has sprung, the windows are open, and we are kicking into high creative gear. There’s nothing like a good trip to re-ignite the idiot fires.
Oh, and did I mention the drag show?
Yeah, I guess I forgot. Which is strange, considering how memorable the ladies were.
You know which ladies I’m talking about.
It was a lovely afternoon. Although it doesn’t look like it, Kato and I truly bonded while everyone else wandered around the barrels.
We crept up on birds playing in the fountain (and then took great delight in scaring them away), rocked the itty bitty boy when he fussed, and lazed in the first sunshine we Napans had seen up to that point. It was a veritable communion of souls. As we all know, so much fun often results in a meltdown.
Hopefully Matthew and Alden won’t miss the next trip. If the valley isn’t a draw, then D and I will join you in town, but only if Bob promises the same tour. We have not met the “ladies”, after all.
I love how my child is cowering as Matthew jumps, while Alden is gleefully confident that she’s not about to get kicked in the face. Give the little ones a hug and kiss from the Tulsa crew. :)
What fun to read about your trip, Robbi, and to see Clare’s picture! Now I can picture you when I read your comments.
Jenifer,
If Robbi had visited a couple of days earlier, you would now be picturing me with a long ponytail. As it is, she took the very first photos of me with my new short hair!
(I realize the above is utterly useless information, but considering the ongoing chronicle of Robbi’s haircuts, thought I’d throw it in.)
I must admit, Clare and Kato’s special bond suffered much from my reporting. The reason I don’t have any pictures of them having fun together was because I ditched Kato for an hour while the rest of us toured the winery. Kato, being a keen judge of character, never missed a beat. His breakdown might very well have been due to the fact that it was time to part ways.
Clare – I’ve always pictured you with short sassy hair, btw. So thanks for not disappointing by showing up in the long ponytail.
Robbi,
You intuited that I am a short hair kind of gal before I did. Not sure why I waited so long.
As for Kato, he is one mega charming little dude.
And baby meltdowns can be so funny. My mom has a favorite story about my son. She says that he once flattened himself on the kitchen floor (just like Kato above), but stopped mid-wail, took stock that the carpet was only a foot away from the cold hard tile, quickly moved himself over to the more comfy spot, and resumed his wailing. ;-)