San Diego

A short trip to the west coast which I delayed a day so we could take an “eco-buggy” tour through the Lake Apopka water management area area that we non-water district personnel can only visit by bike or walking, which Grant and I are unlikely to do. This was a thank you from the district and Orange Audubon Society for being ambassadors on the wildlife drive. Five snail kites at one time were topped by a female vermillion flycatcher who kindly posed for all the pictures the photographers could want. Eagles, young and old, flew around. The day was wet and cold, but our tram kept us warm and dry.

For once the airport was fairly empty so we flew through TSA. I thought about lying when the agent asked if we were both over 75, but I’d worn my sandals so I might as well take off my shoes.  Grant had made tuna fish sandwiches for our dinner since there isn’t any food service unless one flies first class. I certainly have become a cranky old fart, reminiscing about the good old days of flying when people dressed up rather than wearing tank tops, and there were no dogs, no matter how emotionally distraught the passengers were. 

In any case, the flight was easy, Ryan picked us up, and we fell into bed early for California, but late for Florida.

The next morning, the fray started. Bella is up at 7:00, when her hippo clock turns green, and she is allowed out to bed. I tried to teach her to say, “My voice is piercing,” which it is since “inside voice” seems to be set at loud. Don’t even ask about outside! Grant just turns his hearing aid volume down. I am so used to my quiet little world. She is an absolutely delightful child who forgets nothing. She wanted to see my boo-boo, which I finally realized was the wasp sting bump I’d had on my previous trip. Remi sleeps in, then makes his presence know with insisting being held rather than his little feet touching the ground. “Up, up, up.” He comes by it honestly, since I carried his mother, aunt and uncles for years. My biceps were huge. Grant said I was the strongest woman he’d ever met. Would that I recover some of that with all our exercising. I haven’t picked up Remi since we said goodbye in Okinawa.

On Tuesday, Ryan is going off on a week-plus float with his ship, so we spent as much time outside as possible: a day at the zoo; Remi played in leaves while Bella went to dance class; walking at Mountain Hawk Park; and a picnic at Balboa Park. At Mast Park, I spotted a hummingbird feeding its young and another one building a nest. Yellow rumped warblers called in the trees, a western phoebe caught flies. 

Ryan just found out his application for anesthesiology residency was accepted, a big relief and a guarantee of 3 more years in San Diego. Mary has a contractor lined up and tile picked out for their master bath renovation. Needed to know they weren’t moving before giving the final go ahead. A backup residency possibility was in Jacksonville, which I selfishly would have loved. 150 miles vs 2400 miles would make a lot of difference in knowing our grandkids. Frequent flyer miles are in our future.