Audra and Raul came and picked me up from the tiny Long Beach airport and there were hugs a plenty and all was well. I was on the ground and with my best girl. We went to Shoreline Village (which, as it turns out, was my favorite place) and after a quick stop at a Pirate store, we ate at the Yardhouse. It has a massive list of beer on tap, some kind of world record or something. And the food is fabulous. We got to eat out on the patio even though it was apparently FREEZING by California standards. It's kind of worth it if you get to watch the sun set over the ocean.
After dinner we went home and I got to meet my nephew for the first time--
This is Wilson. Oh he's my little buddy. Look at the face. He's so squishy and cuddly. He's a little bit "special" but I love him more to make up for it. He's a good fella and we became friends quickly.
Wilson's keeper is Sugar. She's a big lady with a tail that could injure a small child. If she had a pinky her papa Raul would be wrapped tightly around it. She's a lot of fun, good with the tug of war and can chew things to impossibly tiny bits in record time.
That evening we ate ice cream and tried to watch Indiana Jones but like the party animals that we are, we pretty much all fell asleep about half way through.
On day 2, I remember waking up and watching the (early) morning news about all the California tornadoes that were flying around. Again, just about as I was flying in. No wonder the flights sucked! Mother nature was in a mood. Later that day we went to see the Long Beach Dirtbags play...someone, Fullerton maybe? Yes, Dirtbags is the actual name. I have a shirt to prove it. I discovered while I was there that Troy Tulowitzki is a former Dirtbag. I had no idea. Audra and I met her friend Katie and Katie's lovely sister, whose name I can't remember. Katie, embracing the California weather was wearing a puffy North Face coat. There was chippys everywhere in giant coats and hats and gloves and scarves. It was amusing. I don't remember now if the Dirtbags won or not. They were in it for the College World Series playoffs so it was a big deal. We left early though...
First there was a mist...then sprinkling, then rain, then more rain. My knees were very damp. We decided to move up a bit and attempt to wait out the 30 minute rain delay. However...when we moved up, we were just under the awning where not only the rain could still reach us but the excess water was flowing off the roof right to our seats. The row behind us was totally dry.
With all the fun we could stand and wet pants we decided to head home and dry off. There were raging curb rivers to cross and Audra being the hurdler among us fared pretty well. I accepted my wet footed fate. My pants were falling down because they were so full of rain. But, naturally the entire situation was hillarious to me and I didn't mind all that much.
It probably would have been disappointing and surprising if I had an absolutely normal trip to California. That would be so unlike us.
More to come....
For more stories, visit Audra's blog-
http://audrasmith.blogspot.com/2008/05/miss-locks-and-lots-of-rain.html
http://audrasmith.blogspot.com/2008/05/lots-of-little-things-for-big-weekend.html
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