Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Back to Palo Alto...oops accidental detour!

So Sunday, Patrick and SofĂ­a leave for Phoenix, and the girls have a dramatic farewell.  They hug each other and say how much they love each other, and how much they will miss each other. Again this was very emotional for me as I knew hard it was for them to say goodbye. It only took Anise 4 minutes to stop crying and start reading.  Uncle Leonard had a Norman Rockwell biographical book, with a chronological rendition of all of his work...Anise was enamored. I went on to ask her what she noticed in the pictures, and she looked up at me and says, "Mommy, there are a lot of dogs in the pictures."  It was cute.

We spend the rest of the evening with Aunt Rosie and Uncle Leonard, had a nice warm home cooked meal (thanks Aunt Rosie!), and off to bed, as tomorrow (Monday) we would be driving back to Palo Alto, CA.

Monday we wake up and head downstairs and the 1st thing Anise asks for...surprise! Cinnamom Toast Crunch cereal...her new favorite breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

We ate breakfast headed up to get ready and packed.  I have to say the draining part of it all was asking Anise to let me pull her hair back and to let me put the antibactirial ointment on her ear.  She did not want any part of it...and after a few minutes of wailing, she would give in.


Side View of Anise's bandages
Side View 2 Anise's bandages

So we said our goodbye's...thanks Aunt RoseAnne and Uncle for your hospitality, Anise got somewhat antsy, but knew that she was ready for a nap.

Our journey back to Palo Alto began, it would be a 2 1/2 hour drive back, and I knew Anise would be sleeping.  During my trip my navigation device died (Shame on our reliability on technology!!!!). As I pursued to drive I realized that I had made an accidental wrong turn and ended up in San Francisco...yes San Francisco. I panicked for a split second, and said to myself, "you either panic and freak out, or you can follow the signs and head over to the Pier 39, and make the best of it!  Anise was in good spirits, we had clam chowder for lunch, saw the sea lions, and made for a good afternoon.  Once we figured where we needed to go, we made it back to the hotel in about 40 minutes. Our detour turned out to be very adventurous, and I didn't freak out!






San Francisco
Bay Bridge



Pier 39

Pier 39 and Sea Lions from afar


Fisherman's Wharf
Sea Lion statue @ Fisherman's Wharf