Bean: our trip to California

Last Thursday we went to San Francisco for four days. I took a different flight than Mr. Doodlebug because he wanted to work a full day on Thursday and I knew baby Doodle wasn't going to be a happy traveling companion at 8:00 at night. So we took a flight that was supposed to leave the Philly airport at 2:00 p.m. After sitting at the gate for a while the captain's voice came on the intercom and said that they were refueling the plane and as soon as they did that and the paperwork was through we would be "pushing back." Our plane had been sitting at our gate for an entire hour before we even boarded it. I don't know why they couldn't have been refueling then. So I was keeping baby Doodle occupied with many snacks (cheddar bunnies, animal crackers -- that I call cookies, grapes, cream cheese and jelly sandwich and apple juice -- which he didn't like!). After about twenty minutes the captain comes back on and says that they've refueled but are waiting for the paperwork. Another ten minutes go by and I'm already running out of food to keep baby Doodle quiet. We are supposed to remain seated.

I take out a Richard Scarry book. Baby Doodle is enthralled and happy to sit on my lap and point things out in the pictures that he recognizes (boats, cars, trucks, planes, helicopters, cows, cats, monkeys . . . you get the idea). The captain comes on again and says they're ready for take off, and the plane starts moving away from the gate. We're rolling around the tarmac. I look out the window and it seems that we are going in a giant circle. All the while I'm telling BD that any minute we're going to be in the sky and isn't this exciting. Another twenty minutes go by and the captain comes on yet again. He says that we're being rerouted because there are storms by Pittsburgh and the federal government wants to give the pilots their reroute before we take off. So we're apparently waiting for the feds now. More time goes by. Finally, we are on the runway ready to take off -- we're second in line for take off. We're in the air an hour and ten minutes after we were supposed to be. It was 3:15 p.m. Baby Doodle hadn't slept at all yet so I thought once we were in the air and riding along smoothly that he'd fall asleep. I could not have been so wrong.

He demanded constant entertainment. He paid no attention to the little screens that came down from the ceiling. He only tolerated the iPod earbuds for about thirty seconds even though they were playing Baby Beluga in his ears. After a few hours, several walks up and down the aisle, and two diaper changes he started getting crankier and kicking the seat in front of us. I would make him stop and he'd screem and cry and squirm away from me. He wasn't hungry any more, he didn't want to play or read, we weren't able to walk around because the plane was turbulent and we had to stay seated with our seat belts fastened. I was so frustrated I started tearing up. I got up and walked with him in my arms up and down the aisle a few times. Then I sat back down and tried for the hundreth time to get him to fall asleep. This time it worked. It was 7:00 p.m. Eastern time -- BD's regular bed time. He slept for the last hour of the flight, including the landing. My aunt was at the gate with a stroller in hand. We drove home and BD chatted to himself in the backseat.

You will be happy to know that that was the worst part of the trip. I had an excellent plan for moving around the airport and getting to and from the parking lot where we left the car. BD was in the baby carrier on my back. His carseat was set on wheels that I borrowed from a friend. The two bags I had (diaper bag and plane entertainment bag) were in the carseat that I wheeled. I even had a free hand. It was great and worked well in both directions.

Mr. Doodlebug didn't arrive at my aunt's house in Walnut Creek until midnight (local time) Thursday night. I'm so glad we didn't take the flight with him even though baby Doodle was a pill with me. On Friday Mr. D had meetings in San Francisco. Baby Doodle, my aunt and I went for a walk to a great playground and then to an adjoining museum that cares for animals that are hurt in the wild and unable to find their own food and survive. We saw a bald eagle with only one wing, a mountain lion, many raptor birds and owls. They had a play room that BD found entertaining.

Saturday, we went to Sonoma to do a little wine tasting. The wines and food were good. We went to Arrowood and Gloria Ferrer. At Gloria Ferrer they serve you the tastings outside on the veranda overlooking the grape fields and rolling brown hills. At Arrowood they had a basket of toys by the unlit fireplace for kids/babies to play with. It was perfect for BD. We sampled some chocolate at a chocolatier whose name I can't recall. We tried Cabernet chocolate ganache and mint chocolate ganache. Both were incredible.

Sunday, Mr. D and I took BD into San Fran. We rode BART there which was great. Baby Doodle loved boarding an actual train and looking out the window. We went to Pier 39 where BD wasn't as taken with the sea lions as he was with the constant stream of boats going by. He was quite taken with the carousel, but we didn't ride it, we figure we'll take him on the one at Point Pleasant this weekend. We walked up to Fisherman's Wharf and got some fresh crab and clam chowder. Then onto Ghiradelli Square where a musician was singing one of my favorite songs, Hallelujah, the Jeff Buckley version. BD played in the fountain and we listened to some very good covers by this guy. We gave him a buck and went to get some Ghiradelli chocolate ice cream which we kept hidden from BD because he was due for a nap and I didn't want him having chocolate. We hiked up to China Town, then down to Union Square where a band was playing and an art show was happening. We hopped back on BART around 3:30. It was a great day in the city. I love San Francisco. The vibe there is upbeat and uplifting. Just walking through the city you run into all kinds of cool, interesting things to see and experience.

Monday, we went to two more wineries in Livermore, not far from my aunt's house. Baby Doodle was asleep when we got there so my aunt graciously offered to stay behind and read while BD slept. They met us in the first winery after a good hour long nap. We tasted, had lunch and walked around downtown Walnut Creek a bit. We got some frozen yogurt, which we shared with baby Doodle -- he had already slept.

We took BART to the airport on Tuesday morning. This time Mr. Doodlebug was with us to help with BD. Our flight was late pushing back again, even though it was not late arriving at SFO. We left more than a half hour late. When we arrived in Philly we had to circle the airport for about 45 minutes while we waited to be cleared for landing. We landed then had to wait on the tarmac for another half hour or so while a gate was arranged for us. It was as if they weren't expecting us. Or as if we were early. I will do what I can to not fly US Air again. The flight attendants were unfriendly and unhelpful with BD on the way out, both flights were delayed and there wasn't a single apology from anyone let along free headphones to listen to the movie. They don't even provide a meal any more. You have to buy it from them for $5 (the headsets are also $5) -- be bought neither.

We all had a great time on the west coast. I'm sad that summer is coming to an end already. We head out to Spring Lake on Saturday.