Valuable US Transport Lessons

* When you borrow a friend’s car, it’s best to make sure they have a spare key. Sadly, I managed to lose Steve’s BMW key somewhere in his house. Luckily Steve has a good sense of humor, only works 2 miles from home and enjoyed having James chauffeur him in another car we borrowed (although somehow we failed to remember to mention this incident to that friend). $100 later, Steve now has 2 new keys.
* The doors to BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) don’t open just because you shove your arm through as they’re closing. Luckily we weren’t injured, but quite a panic ensued after Veronica jumped onto the subway and the door closed before Ashlynn and I were able to get on. It was a bit ironic that after 20 months of riding the rails, we manage to finally get separated on our first outing in California. I was admonished by the BART employee for banging on the doors especially since it turned out that the doors would have reopened anyways because the train wasn’t leaving for another 3 minutes (although there was no sign to that effect).

Tattoos and Blubber Galore...

After being away from the US for almost two years, it’s not surprising that some things have changed. There were two things that were especially obvious. The first was that Southerner’s waistlines have gotten even larger since we left. The other was that Californians are definitely keeping the tattoo parlors in business. From the shoulder to just above the elbow seems to be the new favorite place to cover up. Our buddy Mike’s new homage to the Stones is actually quite small compared to many of the tattoos we saw. We’re hoping the girls will follow his lead and wait until they’re over 50 to decide if they really want a tattoo.

Muscle Mamas...

It might not take muscle power to be an Expat Mum, but it does take strength--inner strength, that is. Strength to say good-bye to old friends and family, settle in a new country with an unfamiliar culture and language, and to say good-bye to new friends as they move onto their next assignment or return home. Stacie and I met at a Thanksgiving dinner at the Busch’s the week we both arrived in Holland. We became instant friends and day trip buddies. Sadly, we had to say farewell in July when Lon’s job moved back to the US. Lucky for me, they live just an hour from my dad; her family joined us there for a pool party and we were able to spend a night at her house. While I’m bummed she’s not here with me in Holland, I’m thrilled to know I’ll get to see her whenever I visit my dad.

Getting Techie in Silicon Valley...

I might not be tech savvy, but both my husband and my father clearly are. Unfortunately, Jimmy missed going to the Computer History Museum where Dad had arranged a private behind-the-scenes tour. He’d been interviewed by the museum as one of Intel’s earliest chip designers for a future exhibit. Although we couldn’t see his name in lights, we were able to see the progression of computers throughout history and a small section on memory, as shown in the above photo. The girls were especially impressed with the small robots. While we went into the 70,000 sq ft warehouse to see the 50,000+ artifacts and 50 million documents that there currently isn’t space to display, the girls stayed behind to play chess. Perhaps they might be future computer nerds.

Totally Cool Tour...

Although I didn’t feel guilty about being away on Veronica’s 10th b’day, I thought I should do something unique to celebrate her special day. I came up with the idea of touring Toyota’s first manufacturing plant in the US in nearby Fremont. NUMMI is a joint venture with GMC that opened in 1984 in an abandoned GMC factory. Ashlynn couldn’t go since visitors had to be 10, but my dad joined us. I had mentioned that we were celebrating Veronica’s b’day and the tour guide surprised her with a few pins and we all sang to her. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos, but it was totally awesome going on a tram through the 5.3 million square foot factory and watching a combination of people and robots making Toyota Corollas, Toyota Tacoma trucks and Pontiac Vibes. This factory stamps out the bodies for 1,000 vehicles out of 1 million pounds of steel each day, then adds motors, glass, seats, tires and various other parts made around the country and Japan, Canada and Mexico. Now Ashlynn’s looking forward to turning 10 so she can go, too.

Shakespeare’s Never Been Funnier...

It still brings a smile to my face to think about what an impressive job the four stars did in “The Twelfth Night.” It was a rather complicated play of mistaken identities with everyone playing at least two parts and poor Grandma playing four parts. Two moments in particular stay in my memory. On the left, you’ll see Ashlynn right before she discovers that she has both swords in her belt, which creates a fair bit of confusion off stage while searching for the missing sword. And on the right, you can guess what Grandpa is doing as he came on stage as Sir Toby Belch. All the hard work paid off--the acting was superb and the costumes were great. Can’t wait to see what they come up with in 2009!

The Secret Thing...

For close to a year, the girls have been plotting with their grandparents about “The Secret Thing.” During past visits, the girls have put on puppet shows for us. We just assumed that they were planning on another this summer, but perhaps on a bigger scale since they had the week without us to work on it. Turns out Grandma suggested they put on “Little Red Riding Hood” and had already found a wolf costume to rent for Grandpa. However, Ashlynn said she didn’t really want to put on a fairytale and Veronica suggested they do Shakespeare’s “The Twelfth Night.” She worked hard to adapt the famous play into a 20-minute production. Looks like that fancy education might be paying off after all.

One Hell of a Hike...

Living in a flat country, we don’t get to hike very often, so I was looking forward to hiking in the hills above Avalon. 88% of this island is owned by the Catalina Island Conservancy with the intent to keep it wild and we had to get a permit to hike. It had been awhile since I’d been in that kind of heat and desert climate as you can see by my red face, so I had to take it slow. The 1.7 miles to the summit was a series of switchbacks with some great views of the harbor. The above photo shows a couple of the fire roads which were put to good use when a 4,000 acre fire broke out in May and Avalon had to be evacuated.

Diving in Catalina?

For months I'd been looking forward to scuba diving in Catalina. I'd been warned that it wouldn't be the same as diving in the warm waters off the Keys, but I was willing to try after a 7-year dry spell. In the interest of safety, we hired a dive instructor to put us through a refresher course. We brushed up on our hand signals, squeezed into a ridiculous amount of neoprene along with a hefty weight belt and scuba tank, and headed into the Avalon Underwater Park. Unfortunately, in the time it took to swim out to the descension line, I'd had enough time to chicken out. When I couldn't get my legs straight under me, the instructor grabbed them, which freaked me out even more. I headed back to shore and left Jimmy to do the dive without me. He enjoyed the kelp beds, but was glad that I hadn't continued because it was quite challenging due to a strong current and low visibility. From now on, it's only warm sunny diving for me.

Kayaking in Catalina...

It had been 4 years since Jimmy and I had a chance to go kayaking. It was a beautiful day, so we packed a picnic lunch and rented a kayak along with snorkel gear. Somehow I had this romantic idea that we’d find a lovely secluded beach, but instead we struggled to find anywhere along the rocky coast that we could land on. We finally managed to find a place that was flat enough, had lunch and hit the water. It was too cold for me even with a wet suit, so I didn’t last long. I actually preferred the view from above the kelp beds than from within. It was especially cool on our return trip when we saw 6 leopard sharks (although we didn’t take this photo).

Our $150 View...

When I was researching where to stay, I think I checked out just about every hotel and B&B on the island. Rather than stay along the waterfront with an easy walk everywhere, I picked a hotel at the top of the hill so we could have a workout between meals. When I chose the Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel (former home of the famous Western author), I knew it would be bohemian. No TV’s, no phones, no room service (breakfast was 2 pieces of bread, some jam and a piece of fruit), no Internet, but it did have a pool and a fantastic porch where we had wine and cheese each evening. Wasn’t aware how run down the place would be, but the view made up for it. Jimmy joked that it was our “$50 room with the $150 view.”

Our Island Paradise...

Rather than escape to somewhere exotic like Hawaii, Jimmy and I had our island adventure on Catalina, off the coast of LA. It was quick 75-minute ferry ride from Newport Beach complete with dolphins playing alongside. Below is the harbor of Avalon, the island’s only city, population 4,000. It’s a popular stop for cruise ships on the way to Mexico, so the waterfront is quite crowded during the day with folks that clearly regularly eat too much from their cruise buffet. The city limits the number of cars, so most residents drive around the hilly town with golf carts. The island was originally developed by William Wrigley, Jr., the king of gum and owner of the Chicago Cubs. He built the famous landmark, shown below on the right, known as the Casino. Rather than a gambling facility, it’s actually a movie theater on the ground floor and a ballroom that fits 6,000 on the 10th floor which we enjoyed seeing on a tour.

More Time with Good Friends...

We spent our last evening in San Diego with several good friends at Kathy and Phil’s. Hard to believe that it’s been over 15 years since Kathy brought me to my first hash. I’m thrilled that we’ve managed to keep in touch with these wonderful couples. Carolyn & Mike, Debbie & Dick, Jennifer & Craig and Kathy & Phil (he’s not pictured since he was off on a boy’s weekend) all also met at the hash. While most did get out to visit us in Raleigh, we’re still working on getting them out to Holland.

La Jolla Children’s Pool...

While Jimmy and gang were swimming, Julius and I wandered over to the children’s pool. At one time it was a popular place for children to swim, hence the name, but now it’s a popular place for California sea lions to gather. We weren’t lucky enough to see a whole gang sunning themselves on the beach like we have in the past, but we did see several seal pups playing in the water. Veronica and Ashlynn also went in search of seals while visiting the beach in Half Moon Bay with their grandparents.

La Jolla Cove...

One of the things that Jimmy has missed since we left San Diego was meeting friends for a swim at La Jolla Cove, so he was thrilled when Nancy organized a swim for him. Jimmy especially enjoyed swimming through the cave along the cliffs. Julius and I didn’t join them for the 1-mile swim, but Suzy Q and hubby Jeff did, then joined us afterwards for fajitas and margaritas at Jose’s, another one of our old haunts. That evening, Nancy and Dan hosted a dinner party and we enjoyed seeing some more old friends.

He Gets Paid for THAT???

One of the things that has always amazed me about hashes around the world is the wide variety of occupations that hashers have. While mere mortals might view hashers as truly sophomoric, most hashers actually have incredibly respectable jobs. Over the years, we’ve met lawyers and police officers (which both come in handy when the hash runs into trouble), doctors, computer nerds, biotech researchers, accountants, an opera singer, artists, real estate brokers, a rocket scientist and professors. Debbie, above, works at that insurance company with a gecko as a mascot. Other hashers work at such diverse places as IBM, Duke University, the US Navy, the Dutch Special Forces, and the International Criminal Court. There’s no contest, however, when it comes to the most surprising occupation we’ve encountered at any hash. Above you’ll see Captain Zero, who we’ve known for years. He’s ex-military intelligence and a retired mortgage broker, but now spends his time starring in porn films as Dave Cummings. At 67, he claims to be the oldest porn star in the biz. He was quick to point out that Debbie and I were too old to be in one of his films, although, I assure you, we hadn’t volunteered; at least he didn’t object to being photographed with us. Guess there’s life after retirement after all.

Back to Our Roots...

No trip back to San Diego would be complete without doing a SDH3 hash since that’s where we met. The weather was fantastic and the setting beautiful as we wound around Mission Bay. While Jimmy intentionally ran the eagle trail which took him entirely around the bay, Dick, Dan, Nancy and 10-year-old Julius ran the longer trail by accident. I stayed with Debbie and we walked the turkey trail which took us around one of the resort islands and along just one side of the bay. The trail ended on the patio of a beach house right along the boardwalk with an incredible bbq dinner (a big improvement over the old days when we’d arrive dead last and go hungry). We went to Sunday’s bike/run hash in Carlsbad because it was Jimmy’s 200th SDH3 hash and he was supposed to be presented with his 200-timer pewter mug (not sure why they’re still keeping track of him), but unfortunately the mug didn’t make it to the hash.

A Stroll Down Memory Lane...

Of course, we had to go to The Waterfront, the dive bar where we had our first date and wedding rehearsal dinner. As with much of downtown San Diego, it’s been upgraded since we moved. Apparently all the fancy condos being built around it have changed the clientèle and it’s been yuppified with outdoor seating, fancier beers and lots of flat screen tv’s. We were definitely older than most of the crowd and enjoyed the shocked looks when we said that we’d had our first date there over 15 years ago. We also couldn’t resist having an afternoon snack at our favorite dessert place, Extraordinary Desserts, which has a new outdoor patio and was just as great as ever; luckily some things don’t change--they still use real gold flakes to decorate their chocolate.

Retracing Our Steps...

It’s been 6 years since we were in San Diego, so we were curious to see how things have changed. We spent an afternoon driving around some of our old neighborhoods. I was disappointed to see that Rubio’s Fish Tacos, Roberto’s and College Restaurant all near SDSU were gone. The first apartment I lived in 1983 didn’t look any different other than the above “No Soliciting” sign. Perhaps that was in response to the quadriplegic who used to rent out his room by the hour to El Cajon Blvd working girls. Sadly, our old house looked like a total wreck as seen below. Apparently the new owner never bothered to take care of it despite the fact that it’s tripled in price to approx $375K in the 11 years since we sold it.

Freedom!

For the first time since Veronica was born 10 years ago, Jimmy and I had a whole week with no kids. While we’ve had separate vacations over the years, we’d only been away together for one weekend. We were truly thrilled when Dad and Ann volunteered to look after the girls. We debated our options of exotic locations, then decided it was time to visit our friends in San Diego followed by 3 nights alone on Catalina Island. We kissed the girls good-bye just a few days after we arrived in Silicon Valley, caught a flight to Santa Ana and drove to San Diego in this spiffy PT Cruiser (oops--forgot to take a picture cruising along the ocean). We drove down the Coast Highway and stopped for lunch at a great Mexican restaurant overlooking the cliffs of Laguna Beach. We were happy to be staying with Nancy, Dan & Julius Diehr, who had joined us at the Chateau in April, in their historic North Hills home where they’d recently finished an awesome addition. We went out to dinner our first night in Balboa Park.