There and Back Again

We took Thing 1 and Thing 2 to Catalina this weekend so they could see what it was like before we actually moved out. I think this may have relieved some of Thing 1's anxiety about the move.

We flew out Friday afternoon, got in around 2:30, grabbed some 'dinner' at the airport, and then got a shuttle to the Catalina Express terminal in San Pedro. We had some time to kill before our ferry, so we did some sight-seeing. For those of you who have never been to the San Pedro Catalina Express terminal, it is in a very, um, interesting location. Directly under the Vincent Thomas bridge at the end of the 110, it is in the middle of the Port of LA. On one side there was a GIANT freighter being unloaded by GIANT cranes. (You really have to see these things to have an appreciation of their size.) On the other side was the cruise ship terminal. We got to see the Monarch of the Seas pull out. And there is also a retired Navy boat the SS Lane Victory to look at. Chester (a stuffed bear) almost got left at the bocce courts, but Sweetie found him while doing some bird watching.

The Things managed to stay awake for the entire boat trip, despite the facts that 1) it had already been a very long day, 2) the sun had gone down, and 3) the trip was extra long because of the stop in Avalon. I guess your first trip across the channel is exciting. When we got in to Two Harbors, we were greeted by our friend John and some other faculty who happened to be out with a class. We walked up to the 'townhouse' where we'll be living. The boys were very bouncy until we lay them down, and then they fell asleep immediately.

The next day we took a drive into the interior, saw some bison (including a baby), saw the burn area, and ate lunch at the Airport in the Sky. We also showed the Things the Wrigley Marine Science Center and then had dinner with our friends. The kids played video games. Sunday we went kayaking in the morning. We saw some sea lions basking and the kelp beds. We could see some garibaldi's down by the rocks. It was fun and no-one fell out or got bonked on th head with a paddle. We also took a hike up the ridge above the WMSC and had a close encounter with two bison who had wandered through the fence. The kids were unimpressed since they were busy playing swords with dried fennel stalks. Once again, everyone was exhausted by the end of the day (and Dad was sunburned).

Monday was another long travel day. First a drive to Avalon to catch the ferry, then the ferry, then a taxi to the airport, then the (long) flight home, then the short trip on the 'mobile lounge' (bus) (since we flew into Dulles) and then the car ride home. Arriving home after midnight, Thing 2 was full of pep since he slept for about half the plane flight. Thing 1 could barely stand up, and had school the next morning.

We got a better look at the house where we'll be living. It's pretty small. We got a layout of the place and I've been making little furniture blobs to arrange. But it's clear that a good deal of our stuff will have to go into storage.

There are still many unknowns, and zero hour is approaching. The adventure is nigh.