CALIFORNIA DREAMIN', Day 4, July 27

Maureen and I got up at about 7:00 a.m. today, had breakfast together and then gathered up all the things for the picnic we were going to have later on in the day. Then we drove to the airport to retrieve Alexandra, who was only about 20 minutes late due to the low-lying fog that was banking around San Francisco's hills. We sat for about 15 minutes in a cell phone lot, then, when I received her text that she was in, we headed to terminal 3. A particularly nasty official was ticketing cars right and left who stayed in the loading zone for more than a few seconds, so we had to circle about 4 times before she finally came out with her luggage. We placed her luggage in the trunk and then hugged, immediately pulling away from the curb in order not to be nabbed by the official, who by then was giving us the malicious eye. We drove to Randy and Shu's condo and met Isabelle, Isaac, and Irei as well as Randy there. Randy, for those who are baffled at this point, is Maureen's son, and the three I's are her grandchildren. Shu is Randy's wife and Maureen's daughter-in-law. Alexandra had pancakes for breakfast, as her odyssey had begun at 5:00 a.m. and she had had no breakfast. Then, I took photographs, played a few games with Alexandra, Isaac and Irei. Both Isaac and Irei played piano for us later, and Isabelle proudly showed me her room decorated tastefully and sporting a wonderful view of SF Bay. Maureen and I prepared egg salad, turkey and ham sandwiches, as well as cherry tomatoes, grapes, and brownies. At about 5:00, all six of us climbed into Maureen's car and left for San Francisco's de Young Museum. The weather conditions by then had deteriorated somewhat, and it was almost uncomfortably cool and gray. We sat down on a bench in front of the de Young and ate our picnic, and then went inside the museum to view a presentation in the Wilsey Court of the Museum. The Gaultier exhibit, which had previously been at the DMA, is now at the de Young, and this evening featured a variety of tango dancers onstage and live music by Trio Garufa. By about 7:15 the set was finished and we went home. Randy had returned from his day of teaching and was happy to see his kids back. We spent a bit of time talking to him, then left for home, after a few more photos of the family. When we returned home, Alexandra was so tired that she immediately went to bed. Maureen and I are working on our computers, while watching the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics, held this year in London. All in all, a good day! Tomorrow, off to Woodside to see a fellow hiker I have not seen since 2003! How time flies! SV