August 2005

 

Wednesday, August 31, 2005           

Grandma Cat comes to visit        

This week, my mom (Grandma Cat) is taking care of Cam and Drew. This is a huge help, as it has allowed Brenda and me to go back to work full-time. Otherwise, I would have had to take off 2-1/2 months at work.

The boys have been good so far, but Drew is doing his usual 15 minute naps. To make it extra fun for Grandma, Drew has picked up his second cold--and it's been pretty bad. Now he doesn't sleep at all.

When I come home, I recognize the exhaustion on my mom's face. I'm sure I had the same look when Brenda came home during my paternity leave. But Grandma Cat is a pro, having raised three kids, and takes it all in stride. I also think this will help Drew with his transition to daycare next week.

 

Monday, August 22, 2005           

Back in Seattle (again)

Well, I'm back in Seattle and once again working (that is, not watching Drew). As I told everyone, "I'm back at work on vacation." Keeping an eye on two kids is one hell of a job. My hat's off to all the stay-at-home mothers and fathers out there.

 The re-entry into work hasn't been too bad so far... but I know it's going to be busy.

 

Saturday, August 21, 2005

San Diego Day 6: Mission Beach and the Wedding

We got up and went to Mission Beach today. As Brenda said, "We need to experience the California beach experience once."

Mission Beach is everything you would expect: white sands, tan bodies, crowded beaches, games, rides, rollerbladers, bicyclists, and lots of surfers.

We ate at Cane's for breakfast (our first full breakfast in San Diego). At night, Cane's becomes a night club. I saw that a Pearl Jam tribute band was playing tonight.

After eating, we hit the beach. We were accosted by the Red Cross a few times, looking for blood donors. I didn't have the heart to tell the lady that I hate needles, and Brenda is on vacation.

Cam and I settled on the white sand with the thousands of other people. Pretty soon, an entire group of people set up their beach towels within two feet of mine. It wasn't that crowded.

After Cam splashed around in the ocean waves, we tried to check out the land waves. They put in a wave machine on the boardwalk where surfers ride simulated monster waves. But they wanted $5 just to go look. I was still going to do it, but then Cam decided to act like a brat and we called it an afternoon.

We drove to Dan and Kim's wedding in La Jolla at 5:30―and were almost late (Cam didn't want to get dressed). The wedding site Top of the Cove was really nice. You can't find a better view at a restaurant in La Jolla or the west coast for that matter.

Despite all the drama about whether to get married there or not, I thought the

location was good, as well as the food. Dan and Kim sparkled, and fireworks literally shot off over their heads (in the distance). I filmed the entire event for Dan, although his camera people got in my way a lot of the time. I think I got some good shots.

I noticed the wait staff was incredibly attentive. Everyone who was drinking had a beer or two at all times. When O.T.'s cousin next to me finished his steak dinner, a waiter came up and said, "Another steak, sir?"

O.T.'s cousin looked up and said, "Why not?" And he ate another steak.

 

Friday, August 19, 2005           

San Diego Day 5: Coronado Island

We finally made it to the beach today―the white sands of Coronado Island. Cameron splashed around for an hour in the surf as the sun arced toward the horizon.

Afterward, we walked around the Hotel del Coronado, one of those places they tell you you need to visit before you die. I can see why now. Especially around sunset, with the orange light painting the white hotel turret. Magnificent.

We called Dan and asked what they were doing, but they were just leaving Coronado, too. He told us about a "bring your own meat" BBQ they were having, but we realized after we hung up that we were too hungry. We set off through Coronado.

We were just on Coronado about a year ago. And we ate at the Asian Bistro. I really wanted to eat somewhere different. But as we checked all the restaurants, all of them were over an hour wait—except the Bistro d'Asia. Sometimes you just end up in the same spot whether you like it or not.

 

Thursday, August 18, 2005           

 San Diego Day 4: Legoland          

 Today we went to Legoland. We spent the entire day there, from about 10:15 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. It was an amazing place.

Cameron went on his first roller coaster (then went on two more). We saw Miniland USA, an amazing display of Lego engineering. Legoland is one of the most interactive theme parks I've ever been to. Cam and I spent an hour in the Bioncle building Area and another hour in the race car area.

 We finished up having all you can eat at the Knights Table. They make it into this medieval feast, with people walking to and fro with mammoth turkey legs. A few jesters and ladies wandered around entertaining all the people who were stuffing their face with food.

 On the way back on I-5, I watched California rush hour in action (after 7:00 p.m.): Five or six full lanes of cars snaking north on I-5. A procession of headlights.

 

Wednesday, August 17, 2005           

 San Diego Day 3: Sea World           

Got up and went to Sea World. Spent five hours there in the blistering heat. I wilted by 3:00 p.m. and told Brenda it was time to go.

 We ran into Dan and company right at the front entrance, which was statistically impossible―not only because all the other thousands of people, but that they were going to get there when the park opened at 8:30 a.m.

Our pod of people moved extremely slow, but we made it to two of the main shows: Dolphins and Shamu. I was ready for lunch after that, as were all the other people in the park. Nothing like a crappy $40 lunch for three people. We ate with "Bicki" the wife of O.T.'s cousin. We practiced Spanish with her (she's from Acapulco) and had an interesting talk.

 When I told Bicki that her children were nice and well-behaved, she told me she was a Jehovah's Witness and that she taught them the Bible. She talked about how her religion helped her find self-esteem in the white world of the U.S. and all the discrimination that comes with it. 

After we got back, Brenda made her work calls and caught up. (She'd been stressing quite a bit.)

Then we went to dinner at a marvelous seafood restaurant called "Hudson Bay Seafood Company." Their chowder was some of the best I'd ever tasted. The tuna sandwich was hearty, and Brenda's fish were superb. The restaurant is right in the heart of the marina where sport fisherman set out for the sea. We were there when they were bringing in that day's catch. It was fun to watch.

Spent the rest of the night at Dan's and sat on the sidelines of drama. Dawn stayed home from Sea World and the beach to plan Dan and Kim's wedding (she volunteered). By 7:00 p.m. Dan and Kim realized it was going to be harder to have their wedding on roof of the Armada Villa house.

New plan: Have the wedding at the Top of the Cove again.  

Tuesday, August 16, 2005           

San Diego Day 2: Midway Magic        

Brenda woke up on Tuesday feeling like she couldn't breath very well. The air quality in our room at the Vagabond was poor. Brenda said, "I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I think we need to move hotels. This place is a dive."

I agreed wholeheartedly with her and said she wouldn't hurt my feelings.

It was then I started singing the Spinal Tap song "Hell Hole" as Brenda called other hotels to check out our options. We were trying to live with the bad motel, but it was just too awful. I started taking pictures of all the problems in our room. It was cathartic.

Jesus at the front desk didn't argue with Brenda when she said we needed to move hotels. We did let him show us some other rooms, but they were all stuffy and just as bad. We were nice about it.

We packed up our 500 bags and set off for other hotels.

Holiday Inn - Full.

Sheraton - Full.

Quality Inn - Not full.

And the guy gave Brenda a room key to check it out. It met our expectations (didn't exceed). I moved our 500 bags in with a cart and then Cam and I went swimming. Drew was a grumpy boy.

After that we went to downtown San Diego and had lunch at a great grill. I had a BLT pizza―very interesting. We had a spectacular view of San Diego Bay. Drew slept during lunch.

Afterward, Cameron and I went to the U.S.S. Midway museum. We were just going to spend 1-1/2 hours, but it was so amazing we ended up spending 3 hours there! I'd never been on an aircraft carrier, and there was so much to see.

Went to Dan's "Villa Armada" house and spent the evening with everyone there. Dan and Kim found out the place they were going to have their wedding in La Jolla (Top of the Cove) wasn't up to their standards, so the night ended up being spent on re-planning the wedding, with different people giving their opinions about what to do. I stayed on the sidelines.

The final decision: Get married on the roof (terrace) of Villa Armada and have dinner at the La Jolla place.
 

Monday, August 15, 2005           

San Diego Day 1: Leaving on a jet plane

Today was one of those whirlwind travel days. We arrived in San Diego for Dan and Kim's wedding next Saturday.

 

I got up at 6:00 a.m. (after going to bed at 1:00 a.m.). Left the house at 7:00. Arrived at the shuttle parking lot by 7:30 and the airport by 8:00. Alaska Airlines was as busy as we expected, but we got through it all. Security is a real bitch with two kids and 50 bags.

We barely made it back to the gate before we boarded (just enough to use the bathroom).

The flight was on time, and smooth down to San Diego.

Unfortunately, it took 1.5 hours to get our rental car from Thrifty. I found out my license has expired, so they wouldn't let me rent the car. Fortunately I had Brenda (who has a valid license) with me, so she did all the paperwork. One good thing: We got a free upgrade to a Jeep Laredo, but I'll never rent from Thrifty again.

 

The Vagabond Inn is a definite step down in terms of Hotels ― or should I say "motels." It'll do the job, but we're really spoiled after staying at Sun Mountain, Campbell's, and The Davenport.

Right after we got in, we had lunch/dinner at Miguel's Cantina. Fish tacos and the sampler plate (taquitos, calamari, tostadas) chips, and the most wonderful cheese dip and salsa. Of course, I ordered another fish taco and my stomach practically exploded after that. There's nothing like overeating on your first day of vacation. (Cameron drank an entire cup of milk, and then he downed a cup of water. Later, he said he was "drunk.")

Brenda slept from 5:00-6:30 in the stuffy hotel, and I took the boys out shopping at Von's, which is San Diego's version of Safeway.
 

Saturday, August 13, 2005           

   Back in Seattle                

The trip to Spokane was quick. I didn't try to do as much as I usually do with the kids. While Brenda was in her meetings, we went out and did a few things. We spent a lot of time in our luxurious room at the Davenport Hotel. In the evenings, Cameron and I went swimming in the basement pool.

I think the best thing about the room at the Davenport is the bathroom. It's got a huge shower that you walk into, separate from the bathtub. The bathroom is so big, your voice echoes inside it.

The boys and I did make a trip to Riverfront Park, and found there was construction nearly everywhere. We rode the carousal once. We didn't make it out the pavilion, where I went with my family during the 1974 World's Fair. On the way back to the Davenport, we walked through Riverfront Mall.

In the evening, we went with Brenda's committee to Luna. The steak I had there was excellent. The food reminded me a lot of Palisade in Seattle.

On the flight back to Seattle this afternoon, Cameron and I kept trying to guess the towns, lakes, rivers, and other landmarks below. The perspective from 15,000 or so feet is really disorienting. It was nice to have both flights on time for this trip.

On our way through the Seattle terminal to pick up our car, we took a look at some of the new sections of Sea-Tac airport. There's a lot of fuss about how much the Port of Seattle has spent (and what that means in terms of taxes for the airlines), but the 60-foot glass curtain wall in the food court area really make the airport unique.

Thursday, August 11, 2005           

   Trip to Spokane              

We flew to Spokane today for a conference for Brenda. Brenda and I had never flown with both kids, so it was a good warm-up trip for San Diego (coming up on Monday). This was Drew's first airplane ride.

The flight from Seattle to Spokane was only 45 minutes! To drive there, it would take 5-6 hours. We realized after our trip to Sun Mountain in Whistler that we just couldn't do a 5-6 hour trip (one way) with Drew. We cut down our total travel time each way (door-to-door) to three hours.

We're staying in the Davenport Hotel, which was built in 1914. It's a pretty spectacular place, actually―on par with The Four Seasons in Seattle. The hotel has been restored to its original luster―which was no small feat. It cost $38 million dollars of the new owner's money to bring it back from the dead.

Tuesday, August 10, 2005           

 Babysitting for 5                   

Today I went over to some friends who live in Redmond and watched their three kids, as well as Cam and Drew. I was giving Michelle a break so she could go out and shop without three kids. Everyone was really well behaved, so it was easy. Fortunately Drew slept for three hours, even though the oldest girl kept asking, "When can we wake up Drew?"

Sunday, August 7, 2005           

Blue Angel weekend                  

This weekend, I went to see the Blue Angels. Twice, actually.

On Saturday, Cam and I went with some friends to walk out on the west side of the I-90 bridge. About 15 minutes before the appearance of the

Blue Angels, they close the bridge and let pedestrians camp out. I’d never watched the Blues from this viewpoint, and it was amazing. Because you’re on the high rise of the bridge, about 200 feet over the water, you really get a spectacular view of the planes. Sometimes they flew 200 feet over our heads.

On Sunday, our family hiked down the Arboretum waterfront trail and had a little picnic. We watched all the boats driving out to watch the Blue Angels. Cameron waved at a lot of the captains.

After our little hike, we drove to the Flight Museum at Boeing Field. Brenda and Drew went inside the museum while Cam and I went out to watch the Blue Angels at close range. There was an advertisement in the paper about how Boeing Field was as “close as you could get to the Blue Angels without joining the Navy.” In a lot of ways, that’s true. When the Angels warm up and take off, you almost need earplugs (I actually made Cameron wear them). And you can feel it in your bones when they roar down the runway.

Of all the things the Blue Angels do, the landing is probably the most spectacular. As they approach, each aircraft pulls away from the group and begins a tight turn back from where they came. Feeling that much power flying by at a hundred feet is pretty overwhelming.

 

Thursday, August 4, 2005           

 Drew eats solid food

For a while now Drew has really been interested in solid food. I told Brenda last night that I wanted to start him on rice cereal, and she said she'd already bought it. (You know what they say about great minds.)

So, we put down a towel on the chair, sat him in his Bumbo chair, and put on a bib. Brenda, Cam, and I all took turns feeding him. Most of the rice cereal went on his face, but he sure seemed ready for it.

Afterward I moved him and his Bumbo into the bathtub (both needed a wash). When I wasn't looking, Drew dunked his head under the running water. When he came up for air, he just looked startled. But he didn't cry.

Wednesday, August 3, 2005      

 Baby lunch at Kona Kitchen

My friend Christi, her one-month old daughter Tara, Drew, and I went to Kona Kitchen for lunch today. Kona is the actor Yuji Okimoto's restaurant. Christi is just starting to get out with her baby, so I knew Kona would be the perfect spot. I didn't know how perfect, though

After we walked in the door, we met Yuji's wife Angie and her new baby at the front of the restaurant. Soon, the three of us started talking about the challenges of raising babies. When Christi and I sat down we asked Angie to join us.

I was thinking that not even ten or twenty years ago, the conversation that I was participating in with Christi and Angie was mostly between mothers. But with more fathers staying home and taking paternity leave, I think it's becoming more common. Where else can you talk about your child's feeding habits, what to do about baby acne, whether you use formula or not, or those special challenges that come with two children? I always learn a lot from other parents. This is why they have PEPS groups for mothers and fathers.

As corny as it sounds, it really does take a village to raise a child. Our villages may be neighborhood or groups of friends now, but the spirit of this dictum is still live. Not only does the child benefit from being around different people, but the parents learn different things (and may even get a break).

Case in point: Throughout my paternity leave, my next-door neighbor Janice has watched Drew for 1-3 hours a day to help me out. I think she's a saint for doing this, as it's allowed me to get things done that would have ordinarily gone undone. But Drew is learning that other people can provide for him besides his parents. This will be even more important as he goes off to daycare in the next month.

Anyway, back to lunch: Drew slept the entire time, which allowed me to eat my excellent Banzai Pipeline dish―teriyaki beef, rice, macaroni salad, and spring rolls. I'll be going back to Kona soon.

Tuesday, August 2, 2005           

The Blue Angels arrive in Seattle

My neighbor Pat, Drew, and I went to the Museum of Flight today. Pat had never been to the Personal Courage Wing, and he thought it was pretty cool. The collection in this wing (internationally known as the Champlin Fighter Collection) contains 28 restored World War I and II aircraft and countless artifacts.

When we were upstairs in the World War I collection, we heard a tremendous roar outside that shook the building. I knew it could only mean one thing... the Blue Angels had arrived at Boeing Field. I didn't think they were flying in until Wednesday, so it was a little strange.

We went downstairs and watched them taxi on the runway. Here's a picture of the number 5 and 6 aircraft that I took with my camera phone:

Monday, August 1, 2005         

   Cool in Seattle

Over the weekend, I installed an air conditioner in my bedroom. My two neighbors, Pat and John, helped. It was a three-hour project, and Pat and John sometimes argued about the best way to do something (hey, I just felt lucky to have some expert help).

Now, the common knowledge in Seattle is it's stupid to get air conditioning since it's hot only a month or two a year―and the real heat (85-plus degrees) is only around for a few weeks. But then I found out air conditioners only cost $190. They used to cost a lot more, I guess. I have air conditioning in my car, why not my bedroom?

The result? Last night, I felt like I slept in a refrigerator. Guess I have to figure out what temperature works best.

I bought the air conditioner at Home Depot, which is probably the worst place in the world to shop. I couldn't find anyone to ask where they kept the air conditioners, so I walked around for 20 minutes, looking down the canyon-like aisles.

Drew has reached another milestone―the "grab-anything-and-put-it-in-your-mouth" milestone. Yesterday I caught him with a small bag in his mouth. I was even standing right there, unaware that he had moved over to the bag and grabbed it. (It was the bag with screws for the air conditioner that was sitting on the end of the bed.) Fortunately, I caught him in time. He was very upset when took the bag away from him.

In general, he's getting very busy now. He's interested in anything we eat, and really wants to sit up. He hardly sleeps at all, which is driving Brenda and me crazy. He doesn't like the pacifier anymore; he just wants something to sink his gums into.