Niece in the House, Day 1
Baby Dog has a lot of cousins, though they’ve never met. There’s a sixteen year gap between her and her next youngest cousin. There was a long pause in that particular generation.
A tradition I’ve maintained for a while is that when one of my nephews or nieces turns twenty-one, I fly them down to wherever I happen to be living and show them the sights for a few days. As it’s turned out, I’ve been living in the Bay Area since I instituted the program, so this is where they’ve all come. At first, I ran kind of late – I averaged two years late for CAL and BDG, got it to within a year for JRC and TM, and this time, for CL, I managed to get the job done just a week after her twenty-first birthday.
A funny thing about having relatives visit is that it causes you to do all the touristy shit you’d never do in the course of your daily life. I’ve gone to Fisherman’s Wharf exactly six times in the twenty-odd years (off and on) I’ve lived here, and each time has been in the company of a visiting friend or relative.* This Saturday, I’ll be taking a nephew or niece to Alcatraz for the fourth time (BDG opted for the Winchester Mystery House instead. This time I didn’t even bother to book a headset for myself for the audio tour. I’ll just have a seat in the cafeteria while CL and her boyfriend do the tour. Maybe I’ll read a book. Maybe I’ll occasionally yell “Ya dirty screws!” at passing tourists. Haven’t quite decided yet.
Today, all we did was pick up CL and her boyfriend, D, at the airport, get them some lunch**, then take a walk up into Berkeley with Baby Dog in the stroller. Showed them Amoeba to little effect – apparently they don’t buy CDs but have some sort of magic computer file things. Kids these days. I showed them People’s Park, and told them its story as best I could remember it. Tootled around the Berkeley campus a bit. Met Mama Dog at the tapioca drink place. Rode on home. They were pooped from rising before the sun and traveling all day, so we're all retiring early. The first day is always slow.
Tomorrow, we’re going to the animal prison. Time now for me to rest up.
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*I lie. There was a sixth and a seventh time, once when Gals Plus had the Christmas party at the Maritime Museum and another time when Bucky dragged me to some godawful place out there where he liked to have breakfast. I don’t really count these, though, because neither time involved looking at the sea lions.
**D was keen to try out Jack in the Box, so we did. Odd, that. CAL made the same request when he was down here. I guess Jack in the Box has never penetrated the Canadian market, but the ads on American television make the kids curious. Not a curiosity I’ve ever shared, but I have to admit the chocolate malted crunch shake was pretty good.
A tradition I’ve maintained for a while is that when one of my nephews or nieces turns twenty-one, I fly them down to wherever I happen to be living and show them the sights for a few days. As it’s turned out, I’ve been living in the Bay Area since I instituted the program, so this is where they’ve all come. At first, I ran kind of late – I averaged two years late for CAL and BDG, got it to within a year for JRC and TM, and this time, for CL, I managed to get the job done just a week after her twenty-first birthday.
A funny thing about having relatives visit is that it causes you to do all the touristy shit you’d never do in the course of your daily life. I’ve gone to Fisherman’s Wharf exactly six times in the twenty-odd years (off and on) I’ve lived here, and each time has been in the company of a visiting friend or relative.* This Saturday, I’ll be taking a nephew or niece to Alcatraz for the fourth time (BDG opted for the Winchester Mystery House instead. This time I didn’t even bother to book a headset for myself for the audio tour. I’ll just have a seat in the cafeteria while CL and her boyfriend do the tour. Maybe I’ll read a book. Maybe I’ll occasionally yell “Ya dirty screws!” at passing tourists. Haven’t quite decided yet.
Today, all we did was pick up CL and her boyfriend, D, at the airport, get them some lunch**, then take a walk up into Berkeley with Baby Dog in the stroller. Showed them Amoeba to little effect – apparently they don’t buy CDs but have some sort of magic computer file things. Kids these days. I showed them People’s Park, and told them its story as best I could remember it. Tootled around the Berkeley campus a bit. Met Mama Dog at the tapioca drink place. Rode on home. They were pooped from rising before the sun and traveling all day, so we're all retiring early. The first day is always slow.
Tomorrow, we’re going to the animal prison. Time now for me to rest up.
___________________
*I lie. There was a sixth and a seventh time, once when Gals Plus had the Christmas party at the Maritime Museum and another time when Bucky dragged me to some godawful place out there where he liked to have breakfast. I don’t really count these, though, because neither time involved looking at the sea lions.
**D was keen to try out Jack in the Box, so we did. Odd, that. CAL made the same request when he was down here. I guess Jack in the Box has never penetrated the Canadian market, but the ads on American television make the kids curious. Not a curiosity I’ve ever shared, but I have to admit the chocolate malted crunch shake was pretty good.
posted by PapaDogDuvalier | 10:48 PM
3 Comments:
Not interested in CDs? Kids these days! In my continuing efforts to impart my ecclectic musical tastes on BabyDog, I went slightly bananas at Amoeba and bought the following musical selections:
Artie Shaw
Sweet Honey & the Rock
Mohammed Rafi
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Those sea lions sure are cute; they're like Thalidomide doggies!
Have fun! I love doing the tour guide thing!
Sorry about that last comment - I didn't even think about it after seeing her name on MamaDog's site! Will do better next time...
Have a good day!
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