A visit to the Bay Area

In the middle of November Cara and I undertook another adventure - a flight down the the Bay Area to visit family and friends. C originally thought he would be able to join us, but ended up having to fly to a meeting in Europe instead. But mom and Cara managed the flight down to Oakland just fine, where we were met by a very eager Grandpa. Cara was clearly delighted to see him and began waving her arms and kicking her legs soon after she realized who that smiling man was.




We had a busy schedule trying to spend time with the many people in the Bay Area that we are close to. The main focus of Saturday was a lunch-time Chinese banquet hosted by Grandma and Grandpa to introduce Cara to the extended family. It was quite the event with aunts, uncles and cousins running everywhere. Cara charmed everyone, although was still reticent about letting anyone other than mom or Grandpa hold her. She even got an early birthday cake, but didn't quite get the idea of blowing out the candle. Next year!



Sunday the focus was on visiting some old friends. Three families with children and dogs gathered in Berkeley for a day of kid-oriented play and a chance for the adults to catch up. The main event was a trip to the Tilden Park Steam Trains and we all got to ride behind a steam engine! Although I think for Cara the best part of the day was playing ball with one of the dogs, Ginger. We ended a busy day with dinner at Picante, a wonderful Mexican restaurant in Berkeley. Cara loved the pinto beans which mom sacrificed from her plate. A tired girl fell asleep in the car on the way home.




We had the following morning to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa and watch the squirrels that hang out in their backyard (lured by many peanuts). Cara had refused to nap the previous afternoon and hadn't slept so well on Sunday night, so she was a little less cheerful than usual. After a quick lunch we regretfully headed out the airport for our flight back to Seattle. Fortunately the flight home was uneventful and we both slept well back in our own beds.