East Bay Visit

Isaac and I recently had the chance to visit the Bay Area for both my grandfather's 95th birthday, as well as to visit friends and family. We arrived on Sunday March 15 and had the pleasure of being greeted at the airport by Kier and the girls with a "Welcome to CA Aunt Miwa and Isaac" sign. That evening we went to my grandfather's party and had the extreme fun of surprising my grandparents with our visit. My grandmother's face when she realized it was us was priceless, and that it took my grandfather a full 45 minutes to truly believe it was me just added to the fun of the surprise. Monday Isaac had no plans and so went to my old stomping grounds in north Berkeley and Albany. Turns out that in order for me to find my way around there is to put me in my old neighborhood and then I can get where I want to go, otherwise detailed instructions are absolutely necessary. I learned to drive after leaving CA and so only know how to get where I used to walk myself. First, we stopped in to see my 7th grade teacher Ms. Davis who is now the principal of the middle school. Ever since I moved to AZ in 1988, she and I have managed to keep in touch. Next we headed up Solano and ate lunch at Zachary's Pizza and then drove to the park next to the pool where I used to go to swim team practice. The day was perfect, overcast and yet sunny, cool with the warmth of intermittent sun. I had my camera and snapped some pictures in the awesome light.
Since the weather was so nice, and we had no where to be, it was really great to just hang out at the park and let Isaac play. He had a blast and loved that I wasn't hurrying him home. Out here in AZ parks are most always *hot* and it's little fun for mom to sit while kiddo plays...










To top off a great day, Dan, a friend from swim team that I hadn't seen in over 20 years, came and met us at the park and then took us to the Little Farm in Tilden Park. Unluckily, most of the animals were put away, but we did tour the whole place and also walked around the pond. While Isaac ran ahead and tried to hide, Dan and I chatted--it was just like no time had passed, pretty amazing since the last time we were hanging out I was 13 and he was 14. Our only failure was to take a picture of us together! Next time, we'll have to remedy that, Dan! Capping the day off with dinner at Kier and Eric's made for the perfect ending to a great day!