Whoosh! How Fast Our Last Two Weeks Have Gone!

Sunday, April 6^th through Saturday, April 19^th

In a nutshell, our last week in San Diego began to speed up on Wednesday, April 9^th. Until then, we did the usual – very little. Skip and Susan came to Santee Lakes to camp during their grandchildren's Spring Break. Each day, Landon (10) and Reagan (now 9) spent the day at the campground. On Wednesday, Duffy and I boarded the Trolley bound for the San Diego Santa Fe train station – the very same station where my grandparents took Skip and me for a train ride to Los Angeles across 100-miles of unpopulated terrain to ride the region's only escalator at Macy's. On this day, we boarded the Surfrider to Anaheim where we picked up Ahna for her first ride on Amtrak, back to San Diego to spend three nights with us and play with her cousins.

Jamin, Maya, and Ahna's Spring Break coincided with Landon and Reagans. Kurt, Heather and the kids drove to S. California for four days at Disneyland, followed by three days in San Diego where Jamin and Maya attended a National High School Journalism Conference. While Ahna was with us, Kurt and Heather were able to spend a few days together, just the two of them.

For Ahna, Thursday brought fun on and in the water. Starting with paddle boats on one of the lakes at Santee Lakes, the three cousins fed the ducks, causing a parade of waterfowl following Susan and the kids like the Pied Piper's mice. After an hour paddling, they transitioned to the Spray Park within Santee Lakes, running through the programmed, intermittent fountain. Fast track to the swimming pool for some more cooling off on this hot spring day. After playing with Landon and Reagan for hours, late in the afternoon Ahna took a nap along with Duffy. She slept for an hour-and-a-half, testimony to a wild week of fun in the sun at Disneyland and Santee Lakes.

On Friday, Skip and Susan, Duffy and I took the three cousins to the San Diego Zoo. The zoo is a lot like Disneyland in being impossible to see in one day. So we hit the highlights, which depending upon who is going to the zoo varies with each person. Our day included the bus tour, lunch, a 4-D short movie of Rio - the Disney animated flick, a walk through the reptile enclosure to two of my favorite exhibits, the Galapagos tortoises and Kimodo Dragons. Our last stop was a visit to the polar bears. Having left so many exhibits unseen, except by bus, it was time to head back to camp. But, not before dinner at Souplantation in La Mesa, joined by Landon and Reagan's mom and dad, our niece Nikki and her husband Tom. This was another early night for Ahna. We wore her out. She wore us out. The fun was mutual.

Saturday, April 12th was Skip's 70^th birthday. For nearly two months, Susan and a friend had been planning a surprise party at Petco Park and the Padres/Tigers baseball game. Skip's closest friend from high school, Jim, turned 70 on April 4^th, and another friend, Mike, was turning 70 on April 17^th. In order to deflect Skip's attention away from the party and keep the surprise, Nikki and Tom turned the meal on Friday night at Souplantation into a birthday dinner. On Saturday morning, we along with Ahna, took Skip and Susan to breakfast as our gift (in addition to a Super Bowl T-Shirt honoring the Seahawks – a totally fun gift since Skip and I have a great Seattle/San Diego rivalry going). After a quiet afternoon, Duffy, Ahna and I boarded the Trolley bound for Petco Park to meet Kurt and Heather who arranged to attend the ball game and party along with Ahna and Jamin, who came from the journalism conference held just across the bridge from the ball park at the Hilton-by-the-Bay. Maya stayed at the hotel, feeling worn out from her crazy week.

None of us really expected Skip to be totally surprised, but to our great surprise he was! And, no more surprised than when Skip's son, Lance and girlfriend Sarah walked in, having flown in from Denver without Skip having a clue they were coming. All the kids, grandkids, closest friends, Duffy and me, Kurt and family were there. Skip watched very little of the game in his delight in the presence of friends and good food.

On Sunday morning, Jamin and Maya flew home accompanied by their journalism advisor's husband and son, close family friends. Kurt, Heather, and Ahna, who went back to the hotel with Kurt and Heather after the party, stopped by Santee Lakes for a quick lunch before taking off on their three-day drive back to Olympia. Duffy took a nap while I took laundry to Skip and Susan's to run a couple of final loads before our departure. After a meal at Chili's Restaurant, we said our goodbyes until our next trip south.

On Monday, after stopping by the park office to arrange our camp spot for 2015, we departed San Diego via I-395. Our route took us to Lone Pine, CA (D
iaz Lake) the first night, Carson City, NV (Gold Dust West Casino Resort & RV Park and fantastic Mexican Restaurant Olé Olé), the second night, Paradise, CA (Debbie's home), the third night, Canyonville, OR (Seven Feathers RV Resort) the fourth night, and home by 8pm on Friday, the fifth night.

Spring has blossomed in Olympia. The tulips and daffodils Duffy planted in pots by our front door in February are in full bloom. Our home remodel progressed in our absence: we found cabinets installed, flooring laid, doors and wood trim installed, granite countertops in place. Amazing! Yes, there is a lot to be done. Yet, what a difference two months make.

Tomorrow (Monday) we get back in the swing of our routine. Hopefully, we will be able to pace ourselves and concentrate on the things we need to do to finish the remodel. Next time we travel, we will really have earned the break.

Until next time...Pam and Duffy