Willie and Teddy's Excellent Adventure: July 2010

7/25/2010

Our trip to CA is over--we'll be driving home Monday and Tuesday. We've decided we'd rather stay overnight in Oregon, even though that means it will take longer to get home. This way we'll get to eat out more fast food than if we didn't stay overnight. Hooray for fast food, but not certain KFC locations. So last night we pulled into a KFC drive thru because Teddy and I were hungry for some real food (yes, chicken and potatoes is real food...) so papa said to the order taker machine we'd like some popcorn chicken and fries and the machine person said they didn't serve popcorn chicken and papa pointed out that it was on the kids' menu but the machine person said no popcorn chicken. Okay said papa, how about some chicken strips and fries--we're out of chicken strips said the order taker machine. Okay said papa, how about two chicken breasts and fries. Nope said the order taker machine, legs and thighs only. Forget it said papa, we're going to Popeye's. So we did, and it was good.

The lack of real food was because we went to a Bar Mitzvah party where we had great ice cream sundaes, and loads of candy from the centerpieces on the kids' tables, and gallons of soda, but the food didn't interest us kids. The other kids were happy with it, but we tend to stick to things we know, hence the ice cream etc.

It's been a fun weekend of meeting cousins and Bar Mitzvah-ing. I (willie) was really impressed that the reform service we went to on shabbat morning only lasted 1 1/2 hours, with no pasukay d'zimrah, minimal shacharit, only 4 aliyot in the torah service, and no musaf. I told papa I want to be reform. He said go ahead--the temple is practically in our back yard. We also went to a mincha maariv service at an orthodox shul on Wednesday night, and they davened so fast it made even my head spin, and the added bonus was there was NO english. So the bottom line is I don't know whether I prefer orthodox or reform, I just know I want it to go faster.

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We took the longest march we've ever taken--we started below the Golden Gate bridge at sea level, then hiked up and over the bridge.

We even let papa come along. He had the milky way bars.

But walking over the bridge was not all. We then went part way up the Marin headlands to Kirby cove.

I can get into this place, I know it.

This is the site of the future Star Fleet headquarters if you can believe that.

Anyway, Kirby Cove is down on the water on the Pacific side of the Golden Gate.

The only problem is, then we have to walk back.

Put us in jail now, cuz we're not budging. Okay, we'll go, but our feet don't want to. All told, it was over 7.5 miles with over a thousand feet of elevation change. Pretty good for nerdy couch potatoes. Afterward we got Slurpees then went to MAL's place and watched Avatar and ate salty snacks. mmmm, chips and cheetos.

The next day we went back to best cement slide we know of in Berkeley. Nobody waxed the slide, but it was still fun.

Ready, set...

GO GO GO GO!

That night we played Life with Sarah. Teddy ended up winning because he didn't send his kids to college and bankrolled the money instead. Is that a good example?

Our last stop was atop Mt. Diablo. It's over 3800 feet high, and we drove all the way to the top. We were feeling kind of ill by the time we got to the top, but we sang funny songs on the way up and the way down. At least we didn't have to walk up this thing.

7/18/2010

Our first week in California has come and gone and it's been pretty non stop. The first day, first thing we parked right by the Cable Car Museum (thank you Tito), then went there, followed by our favorite pet store with the baby puffer fish and then a hike to the top of Telegraph Hill and Coit tower. Then back to the car (to make sure the tires didn't get chalked, then on to lunch at Sam Wo of course. Favorite Mommy gave us more food than we could handle, not a surprise, but it did make it difficult to waddle back up the hill to the car. Next stop was a really good playground at Golden Gate park, then a visit with MAL and another march up to the top of one of the tallest hills in his neighborhood. Last but not least, we talked Papa into taking us to In and Out for dinner, and it was goooood. Big crazy full active first day done.

The next morning we were off to Muir Woods to get in a long (5 miles) hike and see us some redwoods. We decided to enter the loop backwards and we're glad we did--the downhill we did at the end would have been much harder to get up than the route we chose.

Wednesday we went back to the Exploratorium for the first time in two years--it was great, see below for how and why.

Thursday and Friday Papa had to work all day so we contented ourselves with our computers. Wurra wurra, pity us.

This weekend we were off to Club Fernandez near San Jose. We agree that David's chicken and hamburgers are even better than papa's, but we still like papa's okay. We just hope he builds a barrel smoker like David's.

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First stop, the cable car museum. Loud.

Sam Wo--mmmmm, 7-Up.

This is definitely what you want to do right after filling up on food extra at Sam Wo. C'mon papa, join us!

We are men from Mars--we will not hurt you.

So we were kind of grumbly about this hike until we started hitting big redwood groves like this. The coolest thing was the fog was condensing on the trees and it was 'raining' inside the forest. Very refreshing for the trees, and for us.

This tree might have needed some extra fog condensation.

A fine lesson to not take up smoking.

Finally back at the Exploratorium and the new geometry exhibit. It's good to be able to climb on the exhibit.

Willie said "a nerd in his natural habitat."

The Expanded Rhombic Triacontahedron. You don't get it? Read below.

So much to do, so little time, just 4 more days, please, we'll be good. They've got a cafe and bathrooms, so we don't have to go.

And don't forget about moon lander.

Okay, we finally left, and took a hike up Hyde street, down Lombard, up Greenwich and down Filbert, then it was off to the Ghirardelli store for free chocolate--hooray!

7/11/10

Teddy went to camp, and, since we missed a week (because Teddy had the only working camera in the family at camp) came home from camp -- and so did all his luggage -- and was met at the bus with a Tall Cold One. (Coca-cola, silly -- what did you THINK we meant?) He played a lot of sports including gaga (no Lady), soccer, tetherball, kayaking and raids, ate OK, wore shorts, and (can you believe it?) said he wasn't terribly fond of Maccabiah. Willie was so excited to see him, he rigged up only a tame, non-lethal Welcome Home prank -- balloons positioned on the inside of the front door, where they were sure to pop when the door was opened (need we say, by the right person). Alas, Teddy, either by chance or some preternatural instinct, didn't open the door all the way, so Willie had to detonate the balloons manually.

Teddy hasn't told too many stories about camp; maybe if you ask him, he'll tell YOU some of them.

Willie has continued to work on his 3D CAD blueprints for his current boss (aka Papa) and has also been getting in some culinary practice by making his own smoothies and sometimes lunches as well. Is this what they mean by Independence Day?

Oh yeah -- speaking of that -- we watched the fireworks from our usual ringside seats (ha ha) and Willie was telling Mommy what are some of the elements that make the fireworks be different colors, and the relative values of those elements. He also opined that $500K is a lot of money for fireworks and even though they are fun and all, shouldn't that money be used for something more helpful?

Willie had the privilege (?) of going out to dinner in a relatively fancy restaurant, and -- baby's first sticker shock? -- being appalled at the prices. (Not to mention the entree options, until he heard the simpler ones the waitress was kind enough to offer.) A soothing antidote to the affront of the menu -- and the confusing array of forks, plates, and glasses at each place -- was the lovely basket of bread that was sitting RIGHT THERE, for anyone to eat. It was a good, filling meal, and "the front half" (of the table) declined the dessert menu, but "the back half," led by the unstoppable Mommy, got the menu and drilled right down to the basics -- dulce de leche ice cream (we could have ordered it in an espresso float, but it was pretty late) -- one for Willie and one for the three others. Guess which "team" finished theirs?

Now both boys seem to be on a pancake kick -- sometimes, even, with chocolate chips. Mommy says these boys don't know how advanced and privileged they really are; SHE didn't have her first chocolate chip pancakes until high school. (IHOP, after the junior prom, if you want to know.)

Then came Heat Wave 2010 and everyone went into hibernation -- except Papa, who had to help in the shul kitchen in the 90-degree heat. If ever this family were to take up with the Raw Food movement, seems like this would have been the time for it. At least there are now enough fans in the house for all people, and most relevant windows. Certainly they work well enough that Mommy can continue her year-round litany of "it's freezing in here!" and go put on her bathrobe.

Then came preparations for The Great Migration, including the crafty plan by Willie and Teddy that since they would not be home for breakfast on Sunday morning, shouldn't they have waffles on Saturday? (And Teddy made them pretty much by himself.)

The migration itself went without a hitch, except the unexpected overnight stay in Oakland...Oregon. Who knew there even was such a thing? Anyway, Motel 6 really did have a clean comfortable room for a very low price, not including KFC for dinner and Denny's for breakfast, but nonetheless enjoyed by all.

When we finally got to the real Oakland, it was BBQ'd hamburgers for everybody (but not before stops at Costco for a FastTrak thingee and Grocery Outlet for budget food. Nana was quite disturbed to see fully cooked ground beef coming in from the grill. Darn that e-coli--see what we have to do to our meat now?!? And a little later, houseguest Mike came by to say hello. We'll see more of him before too long. Tomorrow is our first scheduled march thru the woods, redwoods that is.

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Off to camp, ho hum, eye roll.

I second that. Facial contortion.

Arrival at camp, eye roll. Maybe my parents are right--I might freeze this way.

Hmm, soccer playing, not bad.

Hmm, tetherball, not bad.

Hmm, gaga playing, not bad.

Hmm, macabiah. Bad.

Home at last. That was certainly the longest 10 days of my life. I had to make it to the end or I wouldn't have gotten the promised bottle of mexican sugar coke when the bus pulled in.