4th of July - almost Disney-bound

July 4, 2013



The Millers took on the California freeway experience today, heading from the peace and quiet of the Sierra foothills to the wilds of the Bay area. Pat and Dave were terrific hosts, and we said goodbyes, promising to see each other next while they’re in the Lower Mainland visiting the Lillian Belle. David promised to put Norbert to work on the boat, and I promised to return their hospitality with a home-cooked meal or two or three, as their time allows. It was wonderful getting to know them better, and to be welcomed into their family. The next time we see each other, they’ll be a new grandchild and they will have lots of proud grandparent stories to tell!

So clutching David’s thoroughly-Google researched numbered and arrowed map printouts we drove down towards San Francisco, and only missed ONE major turn-off and ONE minor turn-off.

We’re pretty proud to say that for us, that’s pretty damn good.

The San Mateo bridge was pretty impressive, and the $5 toll almost felt worth it. The bridge itself took nearly 15 minutes to cross, and gave us a really panoramic view of the bay, with sailboats scudding along the surface at crazy rates of knots. We arrived at our airport hotel and looked forward to relaxing by the pool for a few hours before retiring to our room.

There was just one flaw in our plan - the weather. It is DAMN cold down here. The wind is blowing a small-scale gale, and the temperature is definitely at least 15 degrees lower than it was in the foothills. One day ago we were dreaming of these temperatures - now, I’m not so sure that I’m liking it!

So no pool for the two of us, although the boys are braving it with help of the hot tub.

We’ll head out early on the airport shuttle in the morning, and with any luck, Disney will be warmer and calmer than it is here. We're fairly sure that one thing it won't be is quiet - on a holiday weekend like this is, Norbert and I are saving all our spare Valium for the ride line-ups. The boys are pretty excited, but as usual, too cool to show it.