Dexter's grandpa and grandma traveled from Kansas via Amtrak to see Dexter. It was a long train ride through plains, desert, and 2 mountain ranges that took 2 whole days. They got a private sleeping cabin that had 2 twin bunk beds, but could only use the bottom bunk because the cabin was so small. The top bunk was too claustrophobic. After the first night, they gave up on the beds entirely and just slept in the chairs. I looked up the dimensions of this tiny little cabin and they were just 3.5 feet by 6.5 feet. That's pretty small quarters to spend 2 days. (That's what they get for not flying.)
We picked them up at night in Emeryville and took them to their hotel, Stanyan Park Hotel, which I reserved for them. It's only a couple blocks from us and they really liked it. It is very clean and "old-fashioned" as my dad put it. Their room did have cable TV, which was good for them because we do not have cable or watch much TV. The entertainment they got at the Cobra den was endless fetch with Squee and Dex. My dad tried hard, and eventually succeeded, in wearing Squee out so much playing fetch, that Squee refused to get his toy and laid down, exhausted. That is truly a feat if you know Squee.
Our first outing was down Haight Street because it's so close. It was a Monday, so the panhandlers were in full effect after disappearing (aka kicked out) for the weekend tourist crowds. Good, authentic, San Francisco grit to get them started. They kind of enjoyed being nervous around them. We visited a few shops and they bought a few gifts to take back to Kansas including a Haight Street T-shirt. We ate at Magnolia Pub and I was so enthralled that I forgot I had a doctor's appointment. (I still have yet to call and re-make that appointment.)
The second outing, we drove over Golden Gate Bridge and then went to the famous overlook. The same overlook we had taken time lapse for a video project less than a year ago. It was a very windy day, so we didn't stay long. We just got a few pictures and then drove down to Sausalito. They went and looked at the boats in the marina and then we strolled around downtown.
We didn't do much for a couple days because Mike was expecting a delivery, so I needed to stay home and wait for it or else he had the car. Which was fine because a couple hours was about all I could do. I was still recovering from the birth and trying to manage my arthritis which was just making me so tired all the time. My parents didn't mind the rest either. We watched 3 movies in a row!
We went to Fisherman's wharf and they saw the sea lions and did a little shopping. We ate at Bubba Gumps which the quality of food has dramatically taken a turn for the worse since we took Mr . Cobra's mother there a couple years ago. It was the most expensive meal and the worst tasting of their trip.
Mr. Cobra took them to Alcatraz on Thursday while Dex and I went to for his one month check-up. (Wow I just realized it's taken me a month to write this post). Funny thing about that was that Mike told me it was on Friday, so I told my parents it was Friday. He then insisted it was Thursday. Mike had purchased the tickets online and had the printed versions, so we all just assumed that he must've accidentally told us the wrong day. He took them down there on Thursday. They were too late to catch the boat because the dock for the boat had changed to a totally different location than when we went a few years ago. Lucky for them that they did miss it because I took a look at the ticket later that night and sure enough it said Friday and not Thursday!
We drove down Lombard street and did a nice nighttime car ride around San Francisco complete with a trip to Treasure Island for a beautiful look at the San Francisco skyline at night. We always take visitors there for the breath-taking view of the city lights.
Over the weekend, we took them to Muir Woods. Dex was more aware that day then we'd ever seen him. He was amazed at the trees, cooing at them and looking around with big eyes. People were commenting on how they had never seen such a young baby be so awake. It was an awesome way to show my parents the beautiful redwoods without actually hiking.
My mom stepped into the Pacific for the first time in her 60 years. She'd never seen a palm tree before she came here either. It was really wonderful that she finally got to do that. I was the same way before I moved to San Francisco 8 years ago. The ocean is not warm and just because the city is on the coast in California doesn't make it warm. Like me, she learned that the hard way.
We went to Union Square where my mom finally got her picture in front of a palm tree. We didn't ride the cable car, but we watched them turn it around. It was just too busy with a line, the cars were packed, and Dex and I wouldn't be able to go anyways. Next time we will because Dex will be big enough and I won't be so tired. Yeah I hope there will be a next time! It took a grandchild to get them to come out to visit us. I suppose we would have to bribe them with another one…
