The Visit

Nick, Colleen, Jacob and Eric were due to arrive Friday night at 22:30.  We had just the time to squeeze in a play and still make it to the airport on time.  The play was the Greek tragedy The Women of Troy.  This six hundred year old play is still very much apropos in the 21st century.  But my god do these tragedies every stretch out the tragic.  The wailing is only matched by the constant laughter during a good comedy, but I guess that's a bad example.  At any rate, we survived the play feeling sad for the characters but glad it happened to them, not us.  All in all, it was a very good performance.

Just before leaving for the play, we had received a call from Nick that they were delayed in Calgary because of fog in Seattle, deja vu all over again.  Their first night of holidays was to be spent in Seattle in the first motel available that was later being referred to as the Bates Motel...  Old and creeky, but that's another story [movie?].

They arrived in sunny and warm San Diego at 11:39 am on Saturday and all the luggage was found and retrieved.  At this point, we're in two vehicles, Joan, Kathleen are with me, top down, going to rendez-vous at the car rental place while the rest took the shuttle.  We found the place and waited while the shuttle eventually came.  Line-ups were long so Joan went in-line, saving a spot for Nick.  It was very obvious that things would take time.  Phillip, Colleen and the boys and some luggage then came with me to register at the motel where everything went very well and the guys discovered the pool...  A call from Joan at the rental place set the stage that Nick had moved forward about a yard...  After a quick side trip for liquids, Phillip and I returned to the rental place to see how things were going.  All's well that ends well, and we all rejoined at the hotel.  Just so you know, it was the Dollar car rental in San Diego that took as long to process a confirmed rental reservation pickup as the flight from Seattle.  Well, almost as long...

Pool time as the guys found the hot tub and heated pool.  The grown-ups luxuriated in the warm sun, plastic cups in hand.  Ah, the pleasures of pool-side in January.

Starvation was prevented by a trip to the fifties style diner that's just at the end of the block where Kathleen and Phillip live.  After dinner we all walked a very happy little Maveric, ecstatic  about his newly enlarged pack.  We found a great children's play area with facilities new to the boys.  It's amazing how these guys keep growing when you're not watching; Eric can now pump his own way on the swing, without ever needing new pushes... 

The evening ended as the visitors found their motel without problem as Grandpa followed the wrong van, going to the wrong place, without a cell phone, just in case Nick might need some help...  As mentioned earlier, all's well that ends well.

Today: beach, boogie boards, and Legoland.  What fun!