Forty Trips Around The Sun

Son Brian's birthday was at the beginning of the month, but in order to fit everyone's schedule the party took place this past weekend. It was a great one.

Hubby Tony, Son Donald, and I flew to San Jose on Friday. Non stop flights are extremely rare, so we went into San Diego and then waited for the connecting flight. This was our first time to take Southwest since they transitioned to assigned seats. I was a little concerned, but the process went smoothly. The biggest issue was people trying to stuff their suitcases into the overhead bins to save the checking fee. Because our trip was only for a long weekend I chose not to bring a big suitcase, which didn't contribute to the problem.

Brian and Nicole's house doesn't have enough sleeping space for three guests, so after picking up a rental car we drove to a nearby hotel, where we had reserved a room for the weekend. It was also the same hotel that Son Tony and family stayed at on Saturday night.

Saturday was filled with family time. Errands were run, games were played, and crafts constructed. We got to see Grandson Jay play baseball (sadly, Grandson Ell's game got cancelled). Everyone came back together for dinner. Tony Jr's family left shortly after eating so the kids could get to bed. Tony, Donald, and I left after book reading time. Later that night all three brothers met at a restaurant near the hotel for drinks and conversation.

Sunday morning we met Tony, DIL Ie, and their family for breakfast at the hotel, then went to a nearby the park. When it was time, we drove over to the birthday boy's house and got ready to caravan to the main event.

San Francisco Giants

The party was held at Oracle Park in San Francisco, where Nicole had purchased a suite for the Giants baseball game versus the Miami Marlins. The guests were a combination of family, friends, and work associates. Some I knew and some I enjoyed meeting. The game got off to a slow start, but in the end the Giants won by 3 runs.

After the seventh inning stretch Tony, Ie, and the kids left for their ninety-minute drive home. We stayed around for a while after the game talking, but left when I realized I wasn't feeling well from too much junk food. When we met back up at Brian's house for dinner the salad I ordered from a nearby restaurant was just what I needed. 

Monday morning Tony, Donald, and I opened up the hotel breakfast buffet at 6 AM. After breakfast we returned the car, then walked across the street to the airport terminal. Security went well, and there was almost an hour to kill before the flight boarded. Tony and I took the opportunity to "talk" with José , the AI powered robot. He did a good job of answering my question about where in the terminal I could find an ATM for my bank. When Tony asked him "Do You Know the Way to San Jose"? (AKA the Burt Bacharach song sung by Dionne Warwick) the bot just shook his head. If he had eyes I bet he would have rolled them 😁.

This time we flew into Austin. We already had a longish layover, but thanks to strong storms in St. Louis our connecting flight left about two hours late. Instead of getting home at 7 PM we rolled in just in time to feed Smokey Joe his last meal of the day.

Five years ago: Not Yet Approachable