Thursday
Day One of Easter Vacation 2005 was a good one. If it can be used as an indicator of the rest of the trip, we are going to have a great time.

After getting up far too early, we finished getting ready and waited for Vikki, Jess’ stepsister, to show up at the house. She did. We loaded the car. We left. We made it to the airport, through check-in and security and the Cinnabon line without much ado. None, really. Boarded the plane and were on our way… to Reno. After a brief stop, we were on our way to Oakland. The flights were short: an hour from SLC to Reno and forty-five minutes from Reno to Oakland. We collected our things – and Jess’ nephew, whose flight got in a few minutes after ours – just about the time that Jenny and Sandi came in to pick us up. We met the rest of the family unit in the parking lot; in all, there were/are ten of us: Jess, Jenny and Connor, Julie, Brayden and Bryeson (her sons), Vikki, Sandi, Jim and me. Then we were off to San Francisco for an afternoon of tourism.

We went to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. I had lunch, fish and chips, at a place called Chowders. Fresh (hours-old from the water) seafood is the only way to go; seafood that has to be flown somewhere is not “seafood,” it’s “fast food.” Period. We walked around Pier 39 and the shops there. We saw sea lions. We took pictures of Alcatraz. We headed back to Embarcadero and continued wending our way to Ghirardelli Square. Mmm… Ghirardelli chocolate.

On the way, we passed a man who was sitting by a trash can. He was holding branches of a bush in front of himself, as though he was hiding from someone or something. Every once in a while, he would stick a branch out and scare an unsuspecting passer-by. They would jump and the people around them would laugh. Hell, I laughed. It sounds rather childish, but it was something of a spectator sport: People would gather to watch as victim after victim fell prey to the “Bush Man.”

After Ghirardelli Square, we stopped in at the Maritime Museum. Lots of neat stuff there. The boys really liked it. And then it was back to Pier 39 to get dinner… at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Interesting place/concept. And, appropriately, Forrest Gump was silently playing on the TVs as the soundtrack played over the loudspeakers. The food wasn’t bad.

We left the Wharf and headed home to Santa Rosa. I can now say that I have crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. Of equal coolness: Seeing the full moon and night lights of the city, reflected across the water of the San Francisco Bay. I nodded off a few times on the way to the house; it’s been a long day. We got home and sat around, chatted and drank wine for a couple of hours… until we started getting tired and decided to call it a night.

Stray Toaster

  • For those who asked, I’ll be working for Oakley Networks (not Companion, as previously hinted by ). I hadn’t intentionally left out their name before – I just didn’t really think about it when I posted last night.
  • Thanks again, , for looking in on the kids. Also, would you please call me when you go to check on them on Friday?

Tomorrow: We’re heading to the beach (…assuming that the weather permits it.)! If not, I think that the plan is to visit local wineries for wine-tasting. Either way, I need to remember to unpack the kites and put them with my “things to take” pile.

That’s pretty much all for now. It’s time to make up for last night’s lack of sleep.

Namaste.