Vicarious Vacation conclusion.

[gfrancie]

Sunday morning we got ourselves organized and walked a few blocks to rent a car for the day. It was one of the most casual car rental agencies I have come across. The gentleman manning the desk had a rather unusual head. It looked a bit like the back of his head had been squared off. Instead of rounding the way heads do it seemed like someone had put it in a box at one point. Incredibly distracting. Eventually after this that and the other (as in waiting in line and some German dudes having problems with their Sat-Nav... this one German dude had long blonde hair and a funny goat beard and a child-like face. I wanted to ask him what shampoo he used. Great looking blonde hair. I bet he uses Prell.) we got our car. The biggest pain in the ass was installing the car-seats for the kids. Something about the car-seats that car rental agencies pick out... they require you to nearly kill yourself to get the damn things in right. There you are going, "fuckitfuckfuck!!! That's it the kids are riding on the roof. This is stupid."

We got everyone buckled in, took a deep breath and drove over the bay to visit my sister in Oakland at her college. OMG she goes to Mills y'all. It is an all girl school that is very pretty. The favorite way to tease her is to ask her if she is a lesbian yet. She is not. I suspect growing up in a town/family where there were gay people as far as the eye could see that she has a pretty good/clear handle on who she likes. But hey the practicing lesbians at her school hold out hope. She is very pretty and smart. Definitely the kind of person anyone would want to bring home to meet Mom.

We being bright folk sorta got lost TWICE on the way to her school but we got there in the end. She lives in a lovely dorm. Has her own room. The dorm has a grand piano and lots of classic wood work and obviously girls live here. The place doesn't smell of feet and cheetos. We decided to take the lady to lunch after Senor Onion went through all of her pens and changed the time on her clock. (this is how he makes himself at home.)
At the suggestion of a friend who used to live in Berkeley we went to Rick and Ann's. It was a slightly dangerous thing to do as it was Sunday, gorgeous out and well people like Brunch in California. Seriously. California what is up with you and brunch? The wait was an hour long. We put our names down and went for a walk. We admired the homes of the well to do. (a fancy-pants looking Country/tennis club is next door) and THEN because of my new gay/playground-dar I found us a playground so that Senor Onion could work out some of his energy on some slides. I know most readers are going, "fuck...lady...enough with the playgrounds."
Yeah. I know.
*sighs*
The thing is, the playground has saved us. This kid must have some secret speed habit or something because it is like living with the roadrunner. He is constantly on the go. You have to wear him out otherwise he makes this high-pitched manical laugh (a laugh that makes me nervous because I know he is about try something) and wants to run or get into something. I am thinking I might invest in a treadmill and just put him on it for three hours a day. I will put a picture of cake in front of him and see if that takes care some of the energy.

Anyhow... he met and played with a little girl named Izzy. She was blonde and had a runny-nose. His favorite kind of girl. They had a wonderful time playing. She kept chasing after him. I kept thinking, "oh you are setting yourself up for a world of hurt." Then it was time to go to brunch/lunch/whatever. We still had to wait. Finally we were seated. The wait allowed us to look over the menu and go, "WANTNOW" I know they were slammed but I wasn't exactly impressed with the service. They did apologize so they were allowed to live. I was ready to bite someone's hand off for a meal. I am like that. I had the "Doc's Delight" Buttermilk waffle, two eggs and some sausage. This being Berkeley and the birth-place of loca-hoor eating, it was all sustainable/local/precious and it was pretty delicious. The fruit bowl was pretty good too. Mr. Jenner had the "Manhattan Plate" (two eggs scrambled with lox and green onions. Served with homefries and a choice of bagel with cream cheese, cucumbers, red onion, tomato and capers) I believe it satisfied him. My sister had the "Greens, Bacon & Cheese Omelette" which was also served with homefries and a muffin. A good time on the good-ship carb-barge. The place was free and liberal (like Berkeley) with the coffee refills so my sister was buzzing nicely by the time they left. The muffins were good. I will say that. Senor Onion had applesauce and two muffins. He approved. He also ate half of my fruit bowl which was fine by me. After a few days of fries and ice cream he needed something else.

We stopped at the bakery a few doors down for cookies and bread. The pumpkin chocolate chip cookie was rather good. Moist and filling.

We went back to my sister's dorm and then went on a trip to Trader Joe's. Bought her treats and I also bought some things to cook dinner. Yes. Cook. Dinner. We took my sister back to her school. Said our good-byes and then headed back to San Francisco.

Now a slight personal moment. My Father grew up in Oakland. My siblings (and Mother) didn't know this until I was about twelve. That whole completely lying about his identity/past thing (as many know) and it was kind of a strange moment earlier in the day when we briefly got lost and I essentially saw where he likely grew up. (the greater area) I don't have a grand interest in talking to my Father (for sane reasons) but it was interesting and funny to finally come to this place we came to know about in an odd way. My sister has mentioned feeling the same thing. The trip in general has been tinged by these moments I had forgotten about. My Father's family lived in San Francisco/Oakland for a long time. His Grandfather and family survived the 1906 Earthquake and were part of that vast Italian immigrant community. So there is a lot we still don't know.
Funny enough on the other side of this is my Mother's Father who grew up in San Francisco as well. So again a slight home-coming. There is still stuff swirling about in my head that I will get to another time.

We came back to the hotel. Our pretty kick-ass room also came with a full kitchen. So I decided to cook up some dinner. I lacked the energy to go out and I wanted to watch the Oscars. I have my peculiar priorities. I also have a thing about loving to cook on holiday. How many cities or countries can I cook in? Last night I braised broccolini, and cooked up some ravioli and ratatouille. We needed some vegetables. I was craving it. We put children to bed and took it easy.

This morning we woke up, packed and had a hilarious experience. We lifted the suitcase off the floor and we FOUND Senor Onion's OTHER SHOE.
Yes.
THE SHOE.
Fudgecicles.
All we could do was crack up. We are easy.

What a time.

So we took the BART back to the airport and had a quick flight home. As we landed it seemed foggy and then we looked closely. It was snowing!?!?!?! It wasn't sticking but oh sweet mary... SNOW! Just what we needed. *snorts*

I thoroughly enjoyed our holiday. We are getting better at traveling with small people. I definitely want to go back. There is still a ton I did not see but that is okay. Gives me an excuse to visit and all that good stuff. And this concludes our vicarious vacation. in August we are going to the ocean. so that ought to provide a few giggles.

Comments

[cutebutpsycho99.livejournal.com]

The maniacal giggle that you talked about is totally BD. I hate it when people say, "Oh how funny! She's not tired, she's having a good time." And then WIND HER UP MORE.

It's what I also call the Joker laugh. You just don't know what will happen next. They might be nice, they might be sweet or they might cut you with a shiv.

Glad to hear you had a great trip. I'm still considering whether or not to road-trip to Rochester to see my sister. Twelve hours in a car with my mom. Lord help us all.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Yes. The laugh of potential insanity.

Yeah twelve hours is a bit much.

[aimgrrrl.livejournal.com]

1. Squared-off heads creep me out. It makes me think the squarehead's parents left him in a carseat for extended periods, making him a likely serial killer due to lack of bondage between mother and child. (a la G.W. Bush)

2. Luis went to Mills back in the days when he was a she. He was a street kid in L.A. and managed to finagle himself a full scholarship. I find this to be one of his more impressive bits of trivia, and he thinks it's no big thang.

3. How much do you love O-Town? Did you get a Muslim Bean Pie? Because that plus REAL Mexican food are two of the best things about that city. I could move there without too much convincing, and that's saying a lot since I really do love Seattle.

Snow. And four eagles outside my office window. Quite the day.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

1. I was thinking about that. "were you left in a crib a bit too much?"

2. No way. How cool is that.

3. We didn't see that much of it. Just driving through. Maybe next time I will check out more.

Yeah. Snow. But eagles? awesome.

[artemis-moon.livejournal.com]

sounds like a very good vacation. I like that it was successful so you know how it is to travel with two kidlings and what their needs are. Apparently you will always need many playgrounds at hand.