Summing Up September Part II

Let the California adventures begin, trip one of three in a month’s time.

It only took a year to get together. After a few years of great geographic separation, Erin and I both moved to the southwest around the same time – me to Phoenix, her to San Diego. A year later, I still hadn’t visited. It was high time to visit Erin and the Toddster and the munchkin, baby JAG.

Erin and I date back to Georgetown, first bonding in Harbin and Profesora Wear’s class and slight disdain for our ward and later moving in as roomies with Crystal and sharing a love for Spain and Christopher Guest films.

It was my first real road trip since the Volvo disaster on the way to the Grand Canyon in February. I’d driven all over the East Coast, with friends, alone, and fully explored. But the West seems a whole new ballgame. Especially stopping at two border patrol checkpoints on Interstate 8 amidst the barren wilderness. That’s a new one for me. The six hour drive went by quickly. And I rather enjoyed being alone in the car; after years of not driving, I figure karma will even it out or something like that. With a fully stocked iPod, anything is more than bearable (almost).

As I get older, it takes less and less to entertain me. I’m simply content to converse, catch up, read a book, relax (really, did I just say that? Hmmm). And it was a good weekend for that. I pulled in Friday night, right as JAG was going to sleep. Erin and I caught up over dinner and errands and soon I fell asleep in JAG’s room, on the spare bed.

Erin warned me he’d cry in the morning upon the discovery of a stranger in his room. He did. But I was determined to make him like me before the weekend was over.

Me and babies – not so much a natural interaction. Over the last couple years as I’ve shopped for baby shower gifts, I can’t even bring myself to go near the baby clothing section (I almost had a heart attack writing that word – baby – just now). I usually steer clear of the baby sections of stores and end up purchasing something to pamper the mother-to-be. When I met another friend’s new baby earlier this year, the first thing I could stammer out was, “Congratulations. You reproduced.”

Sounds heartless and awful and my mom says that’ll change when/if I get married but we’ll see……I’m really not cold-hearted towards children, I just don’t know what to DO with them. I grew up watching my little brothers and of course I love them, but the rest of human beings under the height of 3 feet….not really sure what do with them most of the time.

Back to the trip.

We started off Saturday at Seaport Village, a touristy little shopping place that I’d always visited as a kid. Even the old kite shop was still there. The harbor is beautiful, the weather perfect, the artwalk full of things to see. We had great kebabs for lunch, made the trek to the beach, and had a great day despite the clouds.

Sunday morning – no more tears from baby JAG. He woke up, I woke up, and I managed to spend a little over an hour with a 15-month old. This is a big deal. I consider it a small feat. We read books and talked about animals and played. And perhaps we made friends.

Then I gave him back.

We headed to church, had some lunch and then it was time for me to trek back to the Valley of the Sun.

It won’t be a year before I return. Life’s too short to let a 6-hour drive separate me from great friends and possibly the best weather on the planet. But Erin, be assured that I’d still come visit, even if you don’t stay in the perfect weather city.