Monday, August 13, 2012

TDT aka Assisted Living Part 7

Preparing for a trip away is always daunting, but in addition to figuring out how many black tee shirts I should bring (2 per day, if it is a hot clime) I must figure out how many tight-y white-y's to bring for the old guy. Yes, it is a lot like having a kid. Now the kid will get more capable, have a mind of their own, and come to resent you. An aging parent, will get less capable, loose their mind and if you are lucky, thank you every day. And most of you will find this charming; me? Well, lets just say its been a long 8 years...
So we hit the road, an hour late. The ride is long and hot; my left arm begins to hurt,as well as my back, and I am wondering why I didn't just rent a lot of movies with San Francisco in them?
But despite traffic (and you NOCAL folks think LA is bad, au contraire) across the bridge, we had a delightful dinner with my cousins (the liberal white sheep of that side) and fairly easy drive back (did I say that every event possible was happening in SF that night?). The next day, in true fashion, the old guy had no idea why were were here, but in spite of my impluse to do something untoward, I pushed on. We hit the beach (foggy and cold) the mission (warm and uber hip), the Zen Center-no I am not meditating, it was once my mother's home and where my parents met. No, it was A Jewish Women's Residence designed by the famous Julia Morgan. I remember Passover Seders there... And a cray-cray trip to the Ferry Building, with every other tourist. Did have a kick ass snack at the Slanted Door take out window! And a surprise visit to the Railway Museum (all the trolleys), which I dearly love.
Upon return to the Berkeley Marina, we took a plunge and short swim, showered, rested and met Hannah and Felicia at the delicious Pizzaolo in Oakland. Lovely Lena was hostess and so we got rock star treatment. One word: panacotta!
The next day we walked on the Marina, did a quick drive by of the campus, ate Bagels and Lox at a Cambodian owned bagel store and hit the road.
My left arm still hurts, and I slept like a log, but all in all, I am glad I didn't just rent the movies.

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