My San Francisco surprise

On Labor Day morning, I was chatting to my mother on the phone about their plans for visiting with Nathan when his ship came into San Francisco for a 48-hour liberty. She was saying how she and Lee were going to drive downtown and hopefully watch his ship come into the harbor area, and then they were going to tour his ship, and then take him back to their place for 2 days of fun. I got really jealous. Then the wheels in my head started turning and I remembered that I still had an Alaska Airlines ticket (from our foiled Cordova trip) that needed using up. I asked Don, who had just finished the last of three huge server-related projects, if he could take a few days off and be "me" and he said "yes, go for it!" So I did. Between Cassie, who babysat on Wednesday so I could leave for Seattle at 10:30, Sandra, who picked up Patience and Sean from school that day, and of course Don, who held down the fort from Wednesday evening until I got home on Sunday, I was able to get away for quick trip to San Francisco. And then best part is that Nathan had no idea I would be there : )




I flew out of Seattle at 2:20 and got into San Francisco at 4:40. Mom and Lee were there to pick me up and we quickly drove to downtown. Miraculously, there was no traffic! We drove all the way to the end of the Embarcadero where there is a long public pier. We walked out to the end and looked westward toward the Golden Gate Bridge, and lo and behold! There was a little black speck making its way toward us. I just had a feeling that was Nathan's ship and sure enough, as it got closer, we could make out the CG stripe, the crane, and eventually the number. It was the Sycamore.




Here are Mom and Lee with the Sycamore just over Mom's right shoulder.




And here it is right in front of Alcatraz.


















Here she is moored at Pier 27.




After a few hours Nathan finally got to leave the ship. Really, how long does it take to park a ship? He walked down the pier and out the black gate that you can see in the previous picture and greeted Grandma and Grandpa with big hugs. And then he saw me, sitting on a bench a ways away. He was shocked! It was so great to see him and give him a happy surprise : )


We put his bags in the car and then walked back to the ship for a tour. Below is Nathan at the bridge. This is where he works now since he got moved off the deck. His area is nice and tidy.




The ship is actually huge, even though it didn't look so big when it was coming through the Bay. We saw the rack where Nathan sleeps, which is seriously only around 16 inches in height. I'm not sure he can even roll over in there. It's a good thing he's not claustrophobic! We saw all the different rooms and areas of the ship and got a really good idea what life would be like on a cutter.

We got back to Moss Beach just in time to pick up burritos from the corner stand. They were delicious as usual. We went to bed eventually, not sure of the time, but we were all plenty tired.

On Thursday we did some banking and shopping and then came home and Lee barbequed a lovely marinated tri-tip roast. We watched a movie (of Nathan's choosing) and had just a lovely time.

Friday morning we got and headed to San Jose because of course Nathan can't be in California without paying homage to the Sharks. We tried to go watch a practice at Sharks Ice, but when we got there we learned that they were not practicing that day : ( But then we went to the Sharks store and Nathan got some serious retail therapy. New t-shirts, garbage cans, pillows, pennants, hats, you name it. Nathan loves that store, and I think they love him, too!

From there we headed to Santa Cruz where it was a warm and lovely day. Because it was a weekday in September the parking was free; but the rides were not operating. Kind of a good news/bad news thing. But that was okay because we had a wonderful picnic lunch packed, so we sat out on the beach and enjoyed the afternoon, and then Nathan went in to the arcade a rid himself of some more money. And that's when Mom started feeling icky.

Poor thing...by the time we got home she headed to bed. I haven't seen Mom sick in years. I knew it must be really bad if she was missing taking Nathan back to his ship. So I thought maybe I would change my plans as well. Heather had planned on coming over on Saturday to visit with me while Mom and Lee were at an art and wine festival, but I figured she shouldn't be exposed to this crud (and I shouldn't, either). So I called her and we decided that I could come to her house instead, and that she would pick me up at BART in Pleasanton that night.

So Lee and I drove Nathan back to his ship and he got all of his new and old belongings back onboard. Then Lee drove me to the Embarcadero BART station and I headed east. Heather picked me up around 11:00 and we got back to her house in Modesto around midnight. Frank had just gotten in from a business trip and her daughter had just baked chocolate chip cookies. Life was good! We sat up and yakked for an hour or so and then headed off to bed.

Saturday morning Heather, Haley, and I spent a lovely morning with Starbuck's, pedicures, shopping, and then met Frank at Round Table for their lunch buffet, which was delicious, of course. We went home and visited for the rest of the afternoon while Haley did school work and Frank prepared for the next business trip. That evening Heather and Haley drove me back to Pleasanton where I took BART back to Daly City, where Lee was waiting for me! BART is really a great way to travel when you have chauffeurs on either end!

Haley pondering the nutritional value of McDonald's fries.

Mom was feeling much better by the time I got back to their place, although she did spend the entire day in bed. Lee spent a good part of the day weeding.

On Sunday morning I crammed everything I purchased, or that Mom purchased, into my one carry-on roller bag (I got it all in, but it was HEAVY). We got to the airport around noon for a 1 o'clock flight and wouldn't you know it? The line for security was long. By the time I got to the gate they were already boarding. Thankfully I had checked in online and I didn't have bags to check. I had a nice, uneventful flight and got home around 6:00 to some very excited children and a very relieved husband!

It was a great visit with Nathan, Mom, Lee, and the Smiths. Thanks to everyone who made it possible! Oh, and if you want to see better, and more plentiful pictures of this trip, go visit my parents' blog.