OMA and POPPY

We just finished nearly 3 weeks in San Francisco taking care of Isla (2 1/2) and Adeline (8 mos) while son John and Meghan flew off to Paris for their anniversary (5th) and Portugal for the wedding of one of Meghan’s closest friends.  Wow.  We must have done something wrong in our youth.  I don’t remember going anywhere other than Lake Tahoe and Hawaii for the first 25 years of our marriage.  Different age.  I’m glad they’re banking all these great memories while they can really enjoy them.  As for us, well, it wasn’t exactly onerous, either.  Yeah, Oma’s in seventh heaven. 

Of course, it wasn’t all just sitting around.  There were clothes to wash, faces to feed, balls to roll, and many bouts of learning how to stand.

I’ll leave out the diapers (in which, I freely admit, I played no part!), the meltdowns, the cry-herself-to-sleeps (only a couple of times), and the late meals for us (after they both went down for the night), because those were minor glitches in what was a totally wonderful stay.  Since we live 400 miles away, we don’t get to see the rascals as often as we’d like, through no fault of J&M, who always are welcoming, but just the logistics of living the rest of our lives at a distance.  The girls really are a delight, and are 10+’s on any scale of ease-to-take-care-of.  They both sleep through the night without a hitch, wake up happy and, well, cuddly, eat their meals without fuss, and are good-natured at least 99% of the time.  Can’t ask for better than that.  Isla had pre-school Monday through Friday, so I took care of the schlepping across town each morning and afternoon. Addy we took to the park many days, and she was a big fan of the swings.  Isla had her own style.

One Saturday we were joined by Uncle Mikey, back from one of his trips to Boston he’s been making recently for his job. 

Isla loves the sandbox in the rear, but mostly to fill a bucket which she then transports and dumps over by the slides.  Not sure what’s up with that.

J & M live in the Noe Valley part of S.F., and ideally located to walk to the shops area along 24th Street.  I made good use of the local news vendor for my papers, two bagel shops, two bakeries, a fro-yo parlor, and a hamburger spot that also made great malts, including giving you the “seconds” in the metal mixing container.  It’s nice to have all that (and much more restaurants and shops) a minute or two’s walk away.  We can vouch for Chloe’s having about the best breakfasts we’ve ever had, albeit pricey, like everywhere and everything in S.F.

OK, can’t help it.  Addy is at that age where cute is faint praise.  Plus, every baby has to have a bath picture, right?

Loni and I usually try to get in an hour walk each day, but we found ourselves slacking off in S.F.  One day we decided to remedy that and hike up to Twin Peaks, which looms over S.F. with its TV and radio towers.  Let me tell you, that’s a l-o-o-o-o-ng hike up from Noe Valley.

I gotta confess, I stopped more than once to catch my breath and rest my heart!  But the views once we got up there, even on a hazy day, were spectacular.  The wimps (most everyone up there) drove up.

Unfortunately, the winds of hell were blowing up there, and we lurched around like drunks when we tried to walk about.  Here’s Loni, bracing against the wind, hair flying.  Fortunately, walking down was a LOT easier.

Once John & Meghan got back from their trip, we stayed over a few more days so that we could catch John’s band playing a gig.  We knew he had been in a group for years, but had never heard them play.  They had a date in Redwood City for Friday night, so a babysitter was obtained and we went down to the Freewheel Brewing Company.  I really liked this place, as nearly all their beers were at reasonable alcohol levels (i.e., for me, under 5%), much in the style of English ales and bitters.  I liked everything we tried, and they had great bangers and mash to boot!  The band, called Dr. Colossus (I messed up the YouTube post and named them “Mr” Colossus), is 3 guitars and drums, with John playing bass.

I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised.  They sounded polished, professional, and put on a great show.  Knowing how seldom they get together for practice, with the priority demands of their careers, I was very impressed.  I took some video with my phone, which is pretty horrible on the sound rendition.  None of the bass comes through, but you get the picture.  Truly, they sound MUCH better than this recording.

So, we had a wonderful three weeks up in The City, and are looking forward to our next turn with the babies.  Oma and Poppy miss them already.