Planes, Bridges, and Tunnels
It’s been a busy weekend with Mom and Dad in town - I’ve hardly had time to sit down and write. Today’s a bit quieter so I’ll share what we’ve done so far. The photos here are from Castle Air Museum, a couple hours away from Oakland on the former Castle Air Force Base. We’d passed by there on the way back from our rafting trip a few weeks ago and I’d mentioned it might be fun to visit with the ‘rents. Turns out yesterday was Open Cockpit Day, where many of the planes are open for visitors to climb in and poke around. Although it was (understandably) crowded, the displays sprawl over several acres, so it never felt claustrophobic with all those people there. We did have to wait for access to a few planes, but never more than a few minutes.
They arrived on Wednesday evening, and Thursday they ventured into the city to visit Alcatraz - having been twice (and once just a month ago) it was a good activity for me to skip, so I got some work done at home. Friday we ventured out to the Golden Gate Bridge, walking around the park there and halfway across the bridge and back. We continued over to Marin County, and went to Sam’s Anchor Cafe for a brisk (but sunny) outdoor lunch. After wandering around the historic downtown, we made our way back home across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to relax for a few hours.
In the evening, Sean had booked 30 minutes of tunnel time and we were able to introduce Mom and Dad to the wonders of (indoor) skydiving. I’m not sure either of them would be eager to go again, but they seemed to enjoy it well enough. We then adjourned to the In-N-Out behind the tunnel to give them a taste of California’s favorite burgers.
Saturday was spent wandering around Oakland - first to Lynn & Lu’s for another delicious breakfast, then to the Grand Lake Farmer’s Market, Noah’s for bagels, and Trader Joe’s for salad dressing and coffee. A mellow afternoon at home, a visit to the gym for me, and a dinner of home-cooked bulgogi capped things off. Yesterday we spent all day on our air museum excursion and came home to an Indian feast before settling in for the night. Today is more unstructured, with lunch at Chez Panisse Cafe planned for 2 p.m. (the only reservation available!).