MOM'S BIRTHDAY

PHOTOS: 1. Cable Car; 2. Ghirardelli Square; 3. Mom checking out the sweets; 4. Ship on the bay with Alcatraz in the background; 5. My parents with Nate; 6. Golden Gate bridge shrouded in fog; 7. The middle house with the scooter in front, was my grandparents'.

Today we had fun celebrating with mom on her birthday. Poor mom has been sick the whole time she's been here. Some kind of sinus infection/flu-type bug that caused her to have a fever after they flew 7 hours to get here and barely have a voice. She was better today but still suffering with a stuffy head. However, she was determined to go to Ghiradelli on her birthday so off we went.

First off, we visited a church nearby. It was a purpose-driven church, slightly larger than ours in Tucson. At first, when we arrived, the grounds were empty of people. We wandered aimlessly for a moment, not sure where to go, but found the nursery. The helper was there and she was really friendly. When we walked out, the previous service had ended and we were greeted by several friendly people as we walked in. It was a good message about how Jesus proves that God is visible, but not much to take home with....no application except a book he recommended. It was a nice church, but if I were looking for one, I probably wouldn't return. Just didn't feel any "oompf"....nothing to motivate me to want to get involved...no excitement that was being generated that made me want to join. Of course I purposely went in with a critical eye.

After lunch, we picked up mom and dad and headed over the San Mateo bridge to San Fran. We forgot it was a holiday weekend and parking was horrendous. Poor Don had 3 people shouting directions in his ear! Finally, we found a spot (and we didn't even have to parallel park on a hill). The sky was crystal clear and beautiful, but windy and freezing! It was much colder than yesterday but that didn't stop a couple of insane people from swimming in the bay. Ghiradelli museum was under construction but the chocolate shop was open. I don't know how many people were packed in there but I could barely move. I just clutched my goods close to me and inched past the people to the cashier. Most of the chocolates you can find in Target or Cost Plus Imports..they just put them in fancy, schmancy packaging in the shape of cable cars so you'll think it's something different. ha!

After that we didn't stay long. Too windy and too cold. Poor Nate's little hands were like ice. Didn't want him to catch anything or mom and dad getting worse, so we headed back. Stopped by grandma & grandpa's old house before we left. I remember riding our skateboards down the hill from where they lived, and walking up the hill with my cousins to the tiny convenience store on the corner. Lots of fun childhood memories there. On the way home, we decided to take mom to dinner. At first we tried Texas Roadhouse but forgot we were in California. Out here, expect to wait an hour or more for dinner unless you get there at 4:30 or 5pm! So she suggested Chili's which ended up being no wait. It was a fun but exhausting day.

I think we're going to take it easy tomorrow to gear up for the long drive home. Nate was really cranky today too, although he usually is on Sundays and we just forgot about that being in a different city. He's also been waking up every night since we've been here, with nightmares. Usually he'll go back to sleep when I lay him back down but we can't figure out what's causing it. The only thing we can think of is that the refrigerator in our room makes this popping noise. At first I thought someone was trying to open our door. His playpen is right next to the fridge so maybe it's spooking him during the night. Fortunately, he doesn't cry long and goes back to sleep quickly. I have to say, I'm ready for my own bed and own pillow myself!