all aboard

Ahoy,

First week back from the cruise. Hello, reality. I don't really remember the other 2 cruises we went on when I was a kid. I remember them being fun. And the pools were filled with salt water, like it came straight from the ocean. I had a great time this time around, and I hope my companions did as well. I was mainly the cruise director for my group of 8. We booked this adventure way back in October. I was scrambling to find people to join in on this deal I found. And then reeling from the aftermath of committing a group of 8, pretty much under my jurisdiction for a vacation. Oh, boy.

There was a lot of convenient eating. So now we are back to cooking our own food and cleaning our own dishes. And not having access to ice cream mostly around the clock. What a drag. Leaving this time with my family also tears me up a little. My dad was so happy to hang out and play with us. He's spent our whole lives working. And now that he's essentially retired, I'm more than halfway across the country. I've never really spent so much time with him. Every time my grandma sees me she asks me to go back home. I just feel bad about being so far away from them. I really want to know my dad better. And I really want my mom to detach from her phone.

I think it was a good time for us. My mom had been looking forward to a family vacation for a while. It was a lot of time spent with all my favorite people. I am truly so happy they all graced me with their presence and agreed to go on this expedition with me. In many ways, I hope I wasn't dragging anyone along. As the cruise director, sometimes it does feel like I'm dragging someone along. Challenge by choice. It's usually just the RRS I'm dragging along, but this time it was 7 whole humans. What a blessing to have 7 mostly willing participants.

generally ashore,
jt

cars, of course

Ahoy,

I made us reservations to go to the Nethercutt Collection sometime in March. It's somebody's private collection of old cars and other stuffs. It's open to the public and free! The family has over 100 old, vintage cars that are all restored and in working order. They regularly drive them to car shows and win awards still. Isn't that cool? They have all the staff and crew to restore a car in house except for the glass, and 2 other things. Isn't that cool? There is a big building with a bunch of cars and then another building with stuff besides cars, and also cars. The second building requires a reservation to go on the tour. But it's totally worth it, and I highly recommend you do it. 

The second building has a lot of musical pieces. There are a lot of self playing instruments and recorders. There is a piano that recorded Gerschwinn playing Rhapsody in Blue; so it plays on its own a reenactment of the composer playing his famous piece! There is a machine that has 3 violins playing on their own. There is an entire floor of orchestrions. These large boxes that contain all the pieces of a whole orchestra inside as they play themselves. Orchestrions were much more popular in Europe during WWII, and so a lot of the machines they acquired are German made. But in the States, we had silent movies set to the sounds of organs.  

The 3rd largest organ in the world lives here. The tour guide is the curator and musician that plays and maintains all the instruments. He was very enthusiastic about his job. The largest pipe could contain 3 grown men standing inside. Some of the pipes we could see, but a lot of them lived behind curtains in the wall. The guide says sometimes the building just shakes when he plays certain songs. He played a Phantom of the Opera piece for us. 

All in all, a pretty cool outing. None of us were expecting such a stellar end to the tour. It was a pleasant surprise. You should go and check it out yourself. If you're not a huge fan of cars, definitely take the tour.

resoundingly alarmed,
jt

asian fit glasses?

Ahoy,

Warby Parker has a new section at their Abbott Kinney location for low bridge fit! This is me alerting the internet universe (mostly to Asians) that you might find something more comfortable at the low bridge fit section at the Abbott Kinney Warby Parker storefront. I tried some TC Chartons, but they are just so much more expensive, and then they charge for the type of lenses, etc.

I tried googling this subject in my hunt for asian fit glasses, and did not come up with much. Maybe this will show up in somebody elses's search. Good luck low bridge noses of the world!

publicly announced,
jt

he has the immune system of a 2 year old

Ahoy,

We had plans to go to Pinnacles National Park over the weekend. It was a long (year) postponed trip with the RRS's family to celebrate his graduation. And, of course, he gets sick. We left Friday morning and arrived in the afternoon to a less than spectacular, perhaps underwhelming entrance into the park. But I was super excited to see the park and all its great features. We went for a short walk and saw a non-venomous snake that made A jump out of his shorts. Such fortitude in his spirit. We made dinner and A became much more ill. He slept in the car for a while. I went with his parents to hear a snakes talk by a ranger who didn't sound the most thrilled. But making powerpoint presentations thrilling is pretty hard.

In the morning, we decided (I agreed reluctantly) to leave early. I feel like he is always getting sick on vacation. The story of my life: we went to xyz, but then he got sick... This blog will become a record of all the times he gets sick. Somebody was describing to me how their 2 year old gets sick every month. That is as frequently as the RRS gets sick. He has the immune system of a 2 year old. We went on 1 hike and had a nice picnic lunch in the shade before heading out. I was really looking forward to being outside and getting at it this weekend, but sometimes I'm left with a 2 year old to tend to. A spice of life I would rather leave in the cupboard.

Fortunately I was still able to cancel and get a refund. It was super busy in the visitor center and I overheard the ranger turning this couple away because the campsites were all full and there was a waiting list. So how lucky for us, I offered them our campsite and they were super, duper stoked!

Pinnacles is the newest national park. It was once a monument. I asked the ranger why it changed, and he said it's the same amount of funding but more visitors, so it's actually not advantageous. And then our shuttle rolled up and I couldn't pepper him with more questions. True story, there is a pool right next to the visitor center. There used to be 2 other campsites but they got washed out by floods and were never fixed because probably wanted to let the ecosystem do its thing. The more scenic parts are on the west side, but the camp site is on the east side and you can only go to the other side through hikes or a 2 hour drive. We didn't quite get to the cool stuff, so we'll have to go back. They probably won't connect the sides with a road because it would probably disrupt the ecosystem too much, according to Paul Mondragon, another ranger I bugged about stuff. He is a descendant of the natives that used to live in Pinnacles. Fascinating.

repeatedly replanned,
jt

beach party

Ahoy,

We made a trip down to the San Diego area for G's birthday. His parents had just finished their dream retirement beach house. It was gorgeous! Words cannot describe. So much thought and consideration went into the design and furnishings. It was a block from a small beach in Encinitas, and adjacent to a little beach town. We brought a green tea chiffon cake, making the total cakes 3. A cake for every meal! Let them all eat cake! There were other foods.

We beached, volleyballed, played games. It was such a fun weekend vacation. I hope we get invited back. I tried my best to be a good guest and not wreck their pretty house.

sandily misfired,
jt