Sunday, November 04, 2007

Sabbatical Blog: 10/18 Scotts Valley, San Jose and flying home

10/18 Scotts Valley, San Jose, and Home
So Sad, today is our last day of Sabbatical. One more big breakfast, one more morning to lounge around and relax. I’m glad the weather in Scotts Valley and San Jose has been really nice. We took our time getting our act together, and Traci had made plans to visit her friend Alisa who has moved back home with her husband and family from Bakersfield.

For me, I think this was the first time I’d actually met Alisa. I’ve heard Traci speak of her many times. And Traci has seen her several times in Bakersfield. So it was nice to finally put a face to a name for me. Alisa and her husband Dave, have 4 kids. Two of which are twins. So they have their hands full.

We spent the remainder of our afternoon with Alisa and her family, before heading to the airport. For whatever reason, by the time we left I was slowly starting to feel a bit funny… kind of light headed. Maybe it’s the beginning of an inner-ear infection?

Dropping off the car at the airport was fairly easy. And for the first time in all our sabbatical travels, we had people help us load our luggage onto the rental car shuttle bus. These same people helped us unload, and even offered to help us get all of our luggage up to the Baggage check. It was very nice and refreshing.

While waiting for our flight, Kylie was starting to lose her cool. She was getting tired, and so were we. Eventually our Southwest flight began boarding, and once again no pre-boarding for families. Hopefully Traci is still motivated to write Southwest about their new boarding policy. It really sucks for families. And is a dis-service to passengers in two ways.
1. We get to bump into people up and down the aisles.
2. People don’t get as much of an opportunity to avoid sitting near families (aka crying babies).
3. We simply take longer to get settled in our seats. With the car-seat, etc.

Our flight was late on arrival, and because of this I feel they were rushing the boarding process. Because of their new boarding process, we get to board with the “A” boarding group, which put us at the back of the 60 some person line. The first row with 3 adjoining seats available was just several rows from the rear of the plane. In the time they finished boarding, and pushed back from the gate, we still didn’t have Kylie’s car seat buckled in. In short, the new boarding process sucks!

Here we are on our last day of freedom. Do we look relaxed?

Kylie rolling on the floor at Alisa's parents house.

Alisa youngest son (12mo.), Ezra, and Kylie playing.

Kylie would often try to steam-roll Ezra, why? I have no idea.

He we are at the San Jose airport awaiting our flight.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Sabbatical Blog: 10/17 Scotts Valley, CA

10/17 Scotts Valley, CA
This morning we started our day with another great homemade breakfast. Today Erwin didn’t have to work, so he warmed up the La Pavoni Espresso machine and pumped out some tasty caffeinated brew. The previous evening, we had learned that Traci’s best friend Leslie’s sister, Julie, had just given birth at the Stanford hospital. So, Traci and Kylie had planned to go visit since we’re so close and spent the middle part of the day there. From what I heard from Traci, our St. Vincent’s maternity ward is much nicer than Stanfords… but they are doing some remodeling to improve their hospital.

While Traci was out, I spent my time helping my mom and Erwin setup their new Plasma TV, Comcast Cable box, and DVD player… “correctly”. The guys who installed their equipment are a joke. They had cables connected that didn’t belong.. and the biggest offense was having a high-def TV, with High-def service, and not being able to see any of it because they had the TV using the RF modulated CH3 output from the cablebox. It’s a tragedy to say the least.

I also helped Erwin setup their new HP Color Laserjet printer with Wifi Jet direct printing. So needless, to say, I had a productive day. That evening we went for dinner at my Mom’s favorite Sushi place, Shogun, in Downtown Santa Cruz. I really like the Shogun too. It’s better than almost any sushi place I’ve been to in the greater Portland Area. (not that I’ve been to that many different places).

I also always enjoy walking up and down Pacific Ave. in Santa Cruz. There are so many colorful characters that frequent this part of town… it has it’s own built in entertainment. One landmark person, is the “pink” guy. He dresses up all in pink with a tutu and fairy wand or parasol and just stands on the corner. Occasionally waves at people. He’s not pan-handling, he’s just a landmark fixture of Pacific Street. Allegedly he holds a normal job too.

On our way home we decided to play some cards… its become somewhat of a tradition. Traci really likes to play cards, and doesn’t get to play very often. Our game of choice… Hearts. It’s quite competitive with Erwin, Traci, and myself. Erwin is really good at “going for power” or “shooting the moon” depending on your game terminology. It’s where you collect all the tricks and the Queen of spades and as a results you give each of your opponents 26 points (the goal of the game is to have the least amount of points). We spent what must have been a good 3 hours playing. Erwin won, followed by my mom, Traci, and myself. Though the results might have been different had we stopped playing sooner. In either case, we had fun.

Traci with Rob and Julie's newborn baby, Elizabeth.

From left to right: Kylie, Traci, Julie, baby Elizabeth (aka Lilly), and Leslie

It was good that Traci got to meet up with Leslie in the bay area. Initially our sabbatical plans would've had us driving up from LA to San Jose and stopping in Dinuba to see Mark and Leslie. Instead we got 6 days in Cancun. I think it's a fair exchange.

Grandma Kate and Kylie.

"Deal me in."
Kylie thought she was going to be able to stay up and play cards with the adults.

Sabbatical Blog: 10/16 Scotts Valley, CA

10/16 Scotts Valley, CA
Today we started our day with a hearty breakfast cooked by my mom… eggs, French toast, fresh fruit, etc. Erwin had to work today, so instead of having his Pavoni made espresso at home, we took a short walk across the street to Starbucks. We didn’t bring any food for Kylie to munch on, and before I bought something for Kylie, a kind woman overheard Traci and offered Traci the rest of her Kashi Cheerio box. Kylie ate these up no problem.

After Starbucks, my mom took us next door to a cute little shop that sells all sorts of artsy stuff and some kids stuff. Traci and I really liked this wrought iron mini-Eiffel tower and a finger puppet book… and my mom bought these for us. Thanks mom! Kylie really liked the Kitty cat finger puppet book.

Shortly after coming home, my mom made us a gourmet pesto based sandwich lunch… very tasty. We spent the rest of the afternoon around the house. For Dinner my mom made some Bun Bo Xao (Boon Baa Sao), one of our favorite Vietnamese dishes. We were in hog heaven… We greatly appreciate how hard my mom worked to keep us well fed… I’m not sure if she ever left the kitchen from the time we had lunch to the time we had dinner.

Kylie struggling to get the last bit of water out of her starbucks cup.
The little finger-puppet book My mom bought for Kylie.

You can see how novel it is!

Grandma Kate reading to Kylie.

Kylie wanting to conduct some business.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Sabbatical Blog: 10/15 San Jose, CA

10/15 San Jose, CA
Today we began our day with what has become a Sudano Bed & Breakfast specialty, the all American breakfast. Jenny knows how to cook a good tasty breakfast. And we were all fat and happy. Jenny took today off to hang out with us. Later that afternoon we took a short walk to the local park so the kids could play. Paul and Jenny’s daughter Isabella is very cute, and very good with Kylie. We picked the perfect time to hit the park, because shortly after we got home it started raining. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out, and left around 5:30PM to have dinner with Larry and Lona Lange.

Larry and Lona are close friends with Traci’s family, and it would be a shame not to see them and let them see Kylie. Larry made what could possibly be the best Pork Roast I’ve ever had. It was great… too bad for them that Kylie wasn’t being her usual sweet self, but they’ve raised kids and have grandkids too… so they know how that goes.

After dinner we drove up to Scotts Valley to visit my mom (AKA Grandma Kate) and Erwin.

Today also happens to be Kylie’s 16 month birthday. Happy 16 month Birthday Kylie.

Isa and Kylie playing in the morning.

Some bath time fun.
Miss Giggly Kylie.

Kylie had a lot of fun at the park.

She's beginning to really like slides. This park had several to choose from.

The only bad part is the static electricity. I hate getting shocked... but Kylie doesn't seem to care.

Isabella and Jenny trying to clear the bar. I think Jenny really enjoyed taking the day off.



Kylie trying to sneak off and go down the slide again.

Two Kids running in a field.

Teamwork. Isa really wanted to push her tricycle up the hill so she could ride it down. But she was having difficulty, so Kylie came to help.

Playgrounds seem to bring out the kid in all of us.

Kylie discovered the bell on Isa tricycle.

Wheelie time.

This was their super steep slide.


Some ring around the rosie.

We all fall down.

Time to say good-bye.

Kylie at Lona and Larry's house.

Lona, Kylie, and Traci.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Sabbatical Blog: 10/14 LAX - SFO, and San Jose, Ca

10/14 LAX – SFO and San Jose
Today we started our day, early, very early. We got about 4 hours sleep and woke up at 4AM to catch our flight from LAX to SFO. Our hotel room wasn’t anywhere near as spacious as last time here, but then again, we’re only there for the night.

We caught the shuttle to the airport and began traveling again. We have come to the conclusion that the Alaska Airlines terminal at LAX has the worst TSA security efficiency. Everyday the Security line runs out and alongside the curb. They seem to have some serious bottlenecks in their procedure. They were completely understaffed for the amount of passengers passing through that early in the morning. And when it came time for us to make our way through, they wouldn’t even help us take our car seat to get sniffed. (In most airports the Britax Marathon, doesn’t really fit through the X-ray. Some cases it does, but now that we travel with the Go-Go Babyz wheels it’s easier to let them sniff the seat). Typically, someone will grab the car seat and do their sniff test while we make our way through the X-ray. Not here. They hadn’t even brought it over to their sniffers until we had cleared the X-ray. We then had to wait. The TSA supervisor acknowledged that this was not their best performance and that they get rated Great and Poor depending on the day.

We eventually arrived in SFO. It’s such a short flight from LAX… it’s nice. We picked up a Kia Sportage from Hertz. Good room, similar to the Jeep Liberty, but even more gutless… good mileage though.

We headed south to San Jose and met up with Traci’s friends Paul and Jenny Sudano, where we are staying the night with them. We had a good time with them. By mid-afternoon we were all wiped out from our lack of sleep. Later on, Traci and Jenny went to one their friends house for a couple hours while Paul and I got a chance to relax and watch the Seahawks lose to New Orleans.
Here we are waiting in the hotel lobby for our shuttle bus. Kylie was wide awake at 5AM, ready for our next leg in our journey.

She was having fun raising and lowering her canopy.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Sabbatical Blog: 10/13 Cancun Mexico Day 6

10/13 Saturday Cancun – LAX
So sad, today is our last day in Cancun… and worst of all… this is the best weather yet. We skipped the big breakfast and headed straight for the pool and just ordered lunch pool side once the grill opened up. Pretty much all the people we had met during our stay were out and hanging out around the pool.

We had until about 3pm at the resort since our flight was at 5pm. We really enjoyed our last day. We had a great time chatting with some of the other guests. Kylie gets plenty of attention in the pool when I’m playing with her. She’s a good ice-breaker. Earlier in the week we met John from Indiana. He owns 2 GM/Chevy car dealerships and is the midst of a divorce and has 3 kids of his own. We chatted with him a bit today today and said our good-byes. Overall the people that we met on this trip were very friendly, and people are just happy to talk, chill, and relax. It’s a great environment.

We checked out, and made our 12-15 minute drive to the airport. Getting in and through security in Cancun was quite easy. A bit easier than in the States. While at the airport, Traci noticed a familiar face… Her Reality TV superhero, Phil Keoghan from the Amazing Race. I admit it too, I like that show. Interestingly enough, most people didn’t recognize him. On a second pass Traci got the courage to say something to him and congratulate him on his Emmy. Later we learned that he was on our flight and got in line behind us… so we had a chance to talk to him briefly. We learned that he was here promoting his book No Opportunity Wasted.

The flight home was bit longer than the way out, 5+ hours. We arrived about 8pm local time in LAX. Saw Phil again on our way out of the airport. He wished us good luck on the remainder of our travels. We have an overnight stay again at the Four Points LAX before getting up EARLY for our 7AM LAX to SFO flight.

Some pool time!

Some Grub Time!


Some time with Friends (Johanna and Antonia)

Time to say farewell to our Ocean View Balcony.

And time to say good-bye to Cancun. Kylie and Traci were cruising around killing time.

Sabbatical Blog: 10/12 Cancun, Mexico Day 5

10/12 Friday Cancun

Compared to yesterday today started much better. For Traci, it might not have been so nice… tequila and all, but things were shaping up better. I think this is the best I’ve felt this week so far. A few sporadic coughs, but much better energy. The worst of yesterday is behind us.

We began our day with breakfast in the restaurant again. Buffet for me, American Breakfast for Traci. Same waiter and all. He took very good care of us, and even remembered or orders. After breakfast, I helped Traci and Kylie get setup poolside, while I got ready to try to listen to a time share pitch in order to earn $120 USD, it might take the edge off our misery of yesterday. We knew that they wanted both spouses to be present, as is clearly stated on the reservation invitation, but Traci and Kylie shouldn’t have to endure the spiel, and were better off hanging out and playing in the pool.

I drove up north Kulkulcan about 15Km to one of the “Royal…” resorts. Once they greeted me, I quickly learned, no gifts, without both spouses. Apparently this is a requirement from Amex and Visa, since they’re the ones providing the cash. Oh well, my time was not all wasted, as I had planned to stop by the shopping village to pick up some souvenirs and a fresh bottle of Tequila for our German friends.

I shared our Mexican police story with one of the shop vendors in the mall… and he felt terrible for us. Even the Mexican people are given a hard time by the corrupt police in Mexico. It’s bad deal for everyone, unless you’re the one pocketing the no-paperwork tax-free dollars.

I made it back within about 3 hours. And joined Traci by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Previously we had made plans to have dinner with our German friends (Gernot, Antonia, and Johanna). We decided to keep things simple and have dinner in the large restaurant (same place where we’d been having breakfast). To our amazement it was quite desolate in the restaurant. Initially we were the only ones in there with a 5 person wait staff. This was at 7pm, either everyone eats late, or very few people eat dinner at the resort. Eventually one other couple sat and ate inside, and a few others outside... irregardless, it was quiet. Probably too quiet for two rambunctious kids to sit through dinner. We managed though. One benefit of it being so empty, is that we could freely walk Kylie around the ramps and stairs without bothering anyone. After dinner, we decided to re-live the magic of our poolside tequila night. Except this time without Traci and Kylie, since Kylie was so tired and Traci had her fill. We enjoyed the quietness, the warm Caribbean air, and good conversation until 11PM. It was a good way to end our last full day.

Kylie having fun playing in the little pool.

And sleeping like a baby after tiring herself out while I was gone.


Traci and Kylie posing for a quick pic after Kylie's nap.

Kylie had fun playing with the fountain after I introduced her to it.

Later on, we spent some chill time in the pool on the lagoon side of the resort.

Kylie getting all dressed up for Dinner with the Dambachers.

Like I said, the restaurant was essentially dead. No big deal having a couple kids walking around. Johanna was helping Kylie navigate the ramp.

It was good that Kylie found a friend.