Visit to Grandpa's

 We went to my Grandpa's house in CA this past weekend.  It was a fun, crazy, sad trip.  We left our place dark and early Saturday morning. Our flight left at 6am and we got there at 5:30. We had to run for our plane. I left Doug in security and ran to try to hold the plane so he could get on. I have the diaper bag and Emily running as fast as I can with my shoes half on. Emily's laughing because she thinks running is funny.  We flew from Richmond to JFK to Oakland. Emily was so good on the flights. She didn't cry. She was asleep or playing on both flights. On the flight to Oakland we were in the back by the bathroom ( which was nice because we were close to the changing table in there) so of course the line was right next to our seat. Emily "talked" to everyone in line.  We got to Oakland just fine and Mama ( she went out the week before) met us at the airport. We got on a shuttle bus to train station and Grandpa picked us up on that end. 

   It was so good to see him. He hadn't met Emily Grace yet and he was so excited. He nicknamed her Princess Bright Eyes.  I love being at my Grandpa's house. We just relaxed at his house on Saturday. 

  Sunday we went to my Uncle Randy's.  Growing up I was told Uncle Randy doesn't like kids. It not true. He doesn't know what to say to them. He does like babies before they can talk and once your a young adult. He loved Emily and she seemed to have importain things to say to him. 

  Monday Doug, Mama, Emily and I went to San Francisco. We walked up and down the huge hills. We were going to ride the trolley till we saw the line that wrapped around several blocks. So we hiked it to chinatown. We had so much fun! I found this beautiful tablecloth for half off.   Doug bought Emily a big fan with cherry blossoms on it. And for Doug's coin collection we got him a new coin with his zodic on it ( the rooster ) and one for Emily with the rat. Emily fell asleep during lunch. We had dim sum which was amazing!! One of Doug's friends told us we needed to try dim sum while we were out there and we weren't sure what dim sum was.  You sit down and they put a piece of paper with the menu on it. Then they go around with trays of food and ask what you'd like off the tray. They put what you pick on the table and mark your little menu with a stamp. The food was so good! It was such a great way to try new foods! And all the prices for everything is on the table so you can keep track of how much your spending. The only thing we tried that I wasn't crazy about was the sweet rice wrapped with lotus leaf.  

   We drove out to Golden Gate. On our way there it was sunny and bright. About 5 minutes before we got there the fog rolled in.  Goodness that was some fog! It came in fast and thick.    Traffic was bad so we changed our minds about driving over it.  We went to this viewing spot right next to the bridge. We hiked up to the top of this huge hill. It was freezing. Doug was smart to bring our jackets. Emily was all bundled up. She was not impressed at all with the fog or the cold. We tried to take pictures of when the wind blew the fog enough for us to see the bridge. There was this cool old fort on the hill. We walked back down through it to stay out of the wind.  Doug had fun hiding with Emily in the barracks. 

   This was the first time I had been out to Grandpa's since his stroke. This was the sad part of the trip.  My Grandpa had a stroke 2 years ago this summer. It happened right towards the end of my first term.  It was part of the reason I came home so suddenly. He recovered so much better then what everyone thought he would. It's hard seeing him struggle. He's 83 years old but he's never seemed old.  I'm so glad we went to see him. And that crazy cat of his.

    I can't end this without explaining this cat. My grandparents adopted this cat about 10 years ago.  She came from an abused home and was very shy. Well she quickly got over her shyness and went to undivided loyalty to my grandparents. Tabby is a great hunter. She got rid of my grandparents gopher problem for them. My Grandpa spoils this cat.  She gets a can of fancy feast every morning and night.  The problem? She doesn't like it. She take a lick to humor my Grandpa and then goes to her dry food dish. It's been going on 10 years now. He pulls out 3 different cans, asks her what she wants put it on a china dish, she licks it, looks annoyed and goes over to her dry food.  It's far and in between that she eats it. I think she does every blue moon to make him happy. All I can say is this, if Tabby out lives him the fancy feast will end.