Pooped in Portland

After a big breakfast downstairs at the hotel (I had french toast!), I finally got to go for a swim in the indoor pool. I practiced floating, paddling, kicking, and drinking pool water. Then we had lunch at a cafe alongside the Willamette River, and Daddy and I walked all over downtown and went to the Library while Mommy got her hair done at a crazy place with concert posters all over the walls. When we finally picked Mommy up I couldn't stop grabbing her new hair and giving her kisses! All that hiking around wore me out, and I went to sleep as soon as my Daddy put me down, in my favorite position - with my blanket over my face. For some reason, it freaks my parents out when I do it, to which I say, whatever.

Offroadin'

At long last, we are off the highways for a few days. I am, of course, the best-tempered baby ever in the history of the world, but even I have grown weary of staring out the window at pine trees. We are staying in Portland for four whole nights. Woo hoo!!!




This is a picture I took of my mommy and my daddy.* They love getting to hang with me all the time, but they're getting a little weary, too. They're looking forward to just hanging out, swimming in the pool, and walking around for a few days.




I am getting so big that I can help my parents do certain important things, like feeding myself Carrot Wheels in the car or helping Daddy put on my shoes.


*Just kidding! I'm a gifted child, but even I don't have the manual dexterity to frame a picture or depress the camera shutter or even to hold the camera still long enough to take a picture. What were you thinking???

My Sonoma

After spending Monday night in Rohnert Park, we spent Tuesday looping around the Sonoma Valley. While I slept in the car, my parents got burritos and took them for a picnic at St Francis Winery, between Santa Rosa and Kenwood. When I woke up, we went inside for a tasting. I tried to share Daddy's Old Vine Zinfandel but got nowhere.
In the town of Sonoma, we stood on the spot (or one of the spots, at least) where Californians declared independence from Mexico.

In the Sonoma town square, I watched a Mommy, Daddy and four brand new baby ducks swim in the pond. I also got to watch the big kids watching the ducks, which was even more fun than watching the ducks themselves. I got out of the stroller and practiced my raspberries on Mommy.

We hit the Tuesday night Farmers' Market in Sonoma. Mommy and Daddy ate zucchini tamales and Thai rice paper rolls and coffee cake cookies while I got strained pears. Whoopee. They're going to have to start sharing, and soon.

Today we drove all day long to get to Medford, Oregon, and tomorrow we drive (but not quite as long) to Portland, where we can park the car and stay put for a few days. I have been sooooo good for three weeks, but I am finally starting to get a little tired of the carseat, so I will be glad to chill after tomorrow's drive. I want to just hang out with Daddy and Mommy and work on growing my tooth.

Central Coast-a-Go-Go

On Friday we drove the rest of the way down through Big Sur to Hearst Castle. We stopped for lunch at Ragged Rock and I got to eat al fresco with the birds. I was so thrilled to hang with the birds I could hardly eat!

The tour guide at Hearst Castle noted what a well-behaved but fearless baby I was. I liked hearing my voice echo in the big rooms.

On Saturday we checked out Saturn Cafe in Santa Cruz and went to the boardwalk, the oldest boardwalk in the United States.

We made a side trip to Castroville ("Artichoke Center of the World") to see the Giant Artichoke.

Yesterday we met up with Jenny to see the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in San Francisco. I enjoyed the bands with drums, the dancing, and the bright colors. A policeman gave me a Junior officer's badge sticker as my reward for hanging out in the sun for the whole parade.


Today my parents have planned a trip to the laundromat, a viewing of the Rivera mural we didn't make it to last week because I pooped out, a quick tour of Haight-Ashbury and a stop by the building where Daddy lived when he was 18, a meander through Golden Gate Park, and then onward and upward to Sonoma, where there will be wine-tasting. I'm sure I won't be getting any wine, either.

You can call me Big Sur

I'm kicking back with my daddy this morning, chowing down some rice and some apple juice, after a good night's sleep in a river-side cabin where I listened to the rain fall through the trees and softly on our cabin's roof all night. I needed some sleep after all the hard work I did yesterday working on my consonants, especially my Ns and my Ds. While we drove from San Francisco to Big Sur, I did my vocal exercise work: Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Naaaaaaa! Da-Da-Da-Da-Da-Da-Daaaaaaa! I also experimented with the effects of the sometimes bumpy terrain of the Pacific Coast Highway on my vocal chords, letting out long moans and listening to the road make them jump. I made excellent progress in my work and look forward to today's drive, when I'm considering working on my Drah-Drah-Drahs.

Yesterday morning we went out for breakfast where I enjoyed some excellent toast; I find that if one sucks the toast as though through a straw at the bottom of an empty glass, loudly and with much slurping, one can extract a significant amount of melted butter from said piece of toast. There was a man at the table behind me who obviously wanted to talk to someone, so I turned around in my chair as much as I could to listen to him. I don't know if he recognized my efforts, but I hope he appreciated my participation.

After breakfast we went to the giant baby store in Emeryville to get me a carrier as well as a book to help me learn the names of my body parts, and then we headed down to the Monterey Peninsula. We stopped in Carmel-by-the-Sea, which was packed with dressed up tourists, and got out on the beach for a bit. I saw a squirrel - right in front of me! - and some dogs and some birds and some big waves and some grass across the way which my parents tell me is the Pebble Beach golf course. When we got back in the car, we drove around town and looked at the tiny cabins packed in on top of each other and my parents laughed trying to imagine which one Clint Eastwood lives in. Then it was about time for my dinner, and it didn't seem to be the sort of town where a good smattering of cookie crumbs on the floor or an enthusiastic yelp about one's dinner would be appreciated, so we headed on down the road to Big Sur.

The stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway south of Carmel is apparently the most beautiful and dramatic stretch of the highway and also the most dangerous. Daddy loved it but Mommy found the terror of the cliff's edge made it hard to appreciate the beauty, so she was glad when Daddy agreed to stop here at the Ripplewood Resort and get a cabin for the night. We relaxed at the Big Sur Roadhouse across the road after a short hike by the river before calling it a night.

I'm digging cabin life but we're packing up to get an early start so we don't have to rush down the slightly treacherous road to San Simeon, where we have tickets for a tour of the Hearst Castle this afternoon. I have to go now because my parents absolutely cannot find the reserve of wipes, and we used the last known wipe last night, so I have to get directly in the shower with Daddy before a bad situation in my pants gets worse, if you know what I mean. And I think you do.

And now we return to our regular programming ***Now, updated with pictures!***

Hey! Here I am! Over here, in San Francisco, the ci-tay by the bay-ee-ay-ee. I've actually been here for a couple of days but I've been kept off the 'net by technical difficulties with the hotel's FREE wi-fi (the lesson I've learned at a tender age being that sometimes you get what you pay for). While I'm back online, this will be a picture-free post, since Blogger is having technical problems of its own. ***NEW PICTURES ADDED!***

Since last I posted, I've been keeping busy sprouting a tooth! Monday afternoon, after we left Randy and Jenny's place, I was absolutely squirrelly. I was trying to get my parents' attention, clawing my mommy's face and pulling my daddy's hair, but they just did not get it. Finally, the next morning, I got Mommy's attention by letting her experience my first tooth firsthand while we were nursing, and for once I didn't get in trouble for biting. I let both Mommy and Daddy stick their fingers in my mouth to confirm the breakthrough; usually, I prohibit their attempts to test for teeth, but I figured it was a special occasion, so I cut them some slack. Maybe NOW I'll get those tortilla chips they keep putting out of reach.

In other culinary adventures, I had my first tofu, which I immediately loved, at Delica rf-1 at the Ferry Building, after Mommy and Daddy sampled Persian Lime and Blood Orange olive oils at the Stonehouse stand (as usual, they did not share with me). I also had a piece of carrot and a couple of peas off Mommy's bright green chopsticks at Lucky Creation Vegetarian in Chinatown, which I enjoyed, and some pureed taro off her soup spoon, which I found putrid, and I made sure everyone at the large round table we shared with three other people knew it by spewing it from my mouth as I shook my head in disapproval. Much better are the apple cinnamon snack sticks my parents introduced today, which I like best with one in each hand.

Moving on to transportation, I have now ridden four trolley cars, which I find greatly entertaining - the jerkiness when we take off, the squeak of the tracks and the squawk of the brakes, the moving view, the other passengers who talk to me. I would also like to see what it's like to jump off a moving car, but my parents fail to appreciate the potential thrill value in that maneuver and accordingly spent the afternoon trying (and failing) to find an infant carrier for me, since they stupidly left mine at home. Until they find one, my parents say we will have to stick to using the rental car to get around town, which is fine with me, too, because I have the whole backseat to myself, suckas.

Other highlights from the last few days include walking around Japantown, Chinatown (where I got me some peacock blue shoes and got my parents chewed out by an elderly woman for having me out in the cold, to which I say, I'm from Cleveland, so I laugh at 60-degree weather! HA!), the Financial District, Pier 39 (where I saw me some sea lions) and Fisherman's Wharf, the Mission (where I caught an exhibit of Oaxacan protest posters), and Union Square. I've also been shopping at Whole Foods with Mommy and helped my parents do some laundry at my first-ever trip to a laundromat. We're chillin' back at the hotel now, trying to cheer the Nets to victory over the Bulls so the Cavs get the No. 2 seed (yea Cavs for 50 wins!), and then we're headed to the San Francisco Art Institute to see the Diego Rivera mural there.

Sunday Night Special

I am totally digging the activity center my parents bought me the other day. I love all the buttons and knobs but I have a special place in my heart for the telephone center. The handset is attached with a little phone card, and it fits perfectly into my mouth. I just refuse to let go of it. It's a real dilemma when I have a bottle that requires both of my hands to hold it, because I'd have to let go of the phone to hold it. Ideally, I'd keep holding the phone while someone else held the bottle for me. Better yet, I'd hold the phone in my mouth while simultaneously sucking on the bottle. Mmmmmmmmmm.









Today we kicked back in Berkeley. I ate my lunch and waved at the pigeons in the Asian plaza while Daddy, Mommy and Randy ate Korean, Japanese and Thai, respectively. Mommy had beautiful sushi that looked like a dragon on the plate. Afterwards, Daddy and Randy went to Amoeba Records while Mommy and I went to Moe's and bought Mars Needs Moms! which is about a boy named Milo (!) and his mom. I took a long nap on the way home and then we picked up Jenny and went to Lanesplitters for pizza and beer (but all I had was some yummy pizza crust and the sweet potatoes I was packin') to celebrate Randy's 33rd birthday with some cool friends of his. Jenny made an awesome chocolate cherry cake, decorated like a record album (because Randy is a record geek, and because it was his 33rd birthday and I am told that the big records have something to do with the number 33), and I had so much fun dancing with Jenny that I crashed in my carseat on the way home. Tomorrow, my parents and I are going into San Francisco to stay for a few days. My parents are looking forward to eating Thai, but I'm hoping to get some more of that fabulous sourdough bread I had last week, which I hear is big here.

Saturday in the Apartment

We got to hang at Randy and Jenny's yesterday while Mommy and Daddy rested up and played Killer Bunnies with Randy, which was awesome because I got to play ALL DAY LONG. I did not take a nap except for a few minutes in late afternoon in the car when we ran up to the store to get Uncle Randy a pop. It totally rocked. I slept some last night, but I'm thinking of pulling an all-nighter, if staying up all day is so much fun.

Aunt Jenny had to go to school all day yesterday but we got to visit before she left.
Uncle Randy made me many cool onesies, including this Cleveland special. There's a Frankie Yankovic album cover on the back.
Uncle Randy made biscuits and gravy for breakfast, and I got to try my first biscuit. I crumbled it and then got as many crumbs into my mouth as I could. The big people's food is fantastic!

I love hanging out in their cool Dr Seuss crib with the One Fish, Two Fish mobile hanging overhead. I could shoot the breeze with those fish for hours.
Last night, we all went to Millennium for dinner. I've been everywhere, but it was by far the nicest restaurant I've ever been to. I got dressed up in my one dressy shirt, and I only got a little bit of lentils on it. I only got to eat the aforementioned lentils and some carrot wagon wheels, but the big people ate all kinds of cool-looking things (which they DID not share with me, I'm sorry to report).

The Long Version

Where to begin? I've covered so much ground since last I posted - about 607 miles, according to the rental car odometer - but here are the highlights:

• On Tuesday, I stayed with Lori, a nice Canadian lady, who took me for a walk on the boardwalk and up to the roof to watch the birds and the sunset. My parents went to the Late Late Show taping, where they barely got in (106 and 107 out of 113 seats). They saw Good Charlotte (taping segments to air another night), Quentin Tarantino (more geeky but less weird than he seems on screen), Laura Prepon (much prettier in person than on TV) and journalist Boyd Matson (one of three famous/semi-famous alumni of Mommy's alma mater, the other two famous alumni consisting of opera singer Robert Hale and former senator/presidential candidate/sailor Gary Hart). After dinner, they had a me-free dinner at World Cafe in Santa Monica; I don't know why they enjoyed it so much, but I heard they did.
• On Wednesday, we went to the Watts Towers. My parents loved the art, but I just loved walking around with them and all the birds there. After burritos for lunch, Daddy and I hung out while Mommy did some shopping, and then we drove through the hills above Malibu and checked out the beach there. Malibu has 27 miles of beaches, but it's hard to access any of them. Easier to access are the roads above town where huge villas hug the mountainsides and Pepperdine University's campus eats up a huge chunk of the view. We walked through a sandstorm to meet Lisa and Sharon for dinner, but it was too late for me, I decided, and Daddy and Mommy had to take turns eating and walking me in the garden outside Siamese Garden.
• On Thursday, we loaded up our car and headed up the coast to San Luis Obispo. Along the way, we listened to a trip-specific playlist, beginning with The Decemberists (because they're from Portland, a future stop on this trip) and kicking it off with their song "Los Angeles I'm Yours" as we got on the 405. As we pulled out of the city, we switched to Long Beach's Russian Surf-rockers The Red Elvises, and then we moved on to Elton John's "Songs from the West Coast" and the soundtrack from the Curious George movie (because it's from a movie, and movies mostly originate in Hollywood, and because it's mostly by Jack Johnson, who is from Hawaii, which is in the Pacific, along which we are traveling). I had my lunch at a rest stop in the mountains just north of Santa Barbara, and I was digging the wind, which was so strong it almost blew my bowl away. In San Luis Obispo, we checked out the weekly Thursday evening farmer's market along Higuera Street; my parents had jalapeno tamales and belgian frites and roasted corn on the cob but I got squat. At least they went toy shopping: they got me an activity center that I cannot get enough of and a crab with googly eyes that plays music and spins around when I hit its back. Mommy and Daddy think it will motivate me to crawl after it; we'll see.
• Today we drove to Morro Bay and saw the big rock (but no otters - maybe it was too cold for them?), then back to Atascadero and up the 101, where we saw miles of spinach and kale and grapevines and olives. Tonight we made it to Randy and Jenny's place, where they are graciously letting me break-in their new crib, decked out in Dr Seuss decor. I had my summer vegetable blend and carrot wheels at a vegetarian Chinese restaurant in Milpitas while everyone else had veggie orange chicken and lamb curry and fish in bean sauce and salt and pepper tofu. I crashed before we got home. I hope to sleep well tonight. I just hope my parents don't wake me up.
  

Zzzzzzzzzzzz

I have been on the go the last couple of days, and I'm so tired I could sleep in my stroller. I've been for multiple strolls on the boardwalk and long drives, sightseeing, shopping, dining out, and I (and my parents) are pooped. Tomorrow morning we check out of our apartment and head for San Luis Obispo for the night before moving on to Randy and Jenny's on Friday. I'll catch you up on my adventures then.

Hey! I am TALKING to you!

Yesterday my parents and I took the bus to the airport station, and another bus to the terminal, and then ANOTHER bus to the rental car lot. A nice Australian man helped Daddy get my stroller on the bus while Mommy held me. All along the way, people chatted with me and told me how cool I was, except on one bus, where I kept talking to the woman next to me and she kept ignoring me. How could anyone ignore moi??? It's simply inconceivable.

My stroller caused more trouble at the rental car lot. It wouldn't fit into the trunk opening of the first car. It fit into the second trunk, but at an angle that left no room for any suitcases. Finally, we got into a Subaru Outback, got my stroller and my seat loaded, and headed up the Pacific Coast Highway. I took a long nap while Daddy drove through Marina del Rey, Santa Monica, Venice and Malibu, then through Topanga Canyon, Van Nuys and Tarzana and Encino, past the Getty Center, and finally back home to Venice.

Last night we ate tacos on the roof. My taco was only a whole wheat tortilla with nothing in it, but I loved it soooo much. I kept cramming it into my mouth because I couldn't get enough of it. I also ate green beans, rice and avocado (my first!), but the taco was the best. I love to eat what my parents are eating. This morning Mommy made orange rolls, and then they ate them without sharing any with me! I had already had milk and rice cereal and bananas, and I had pear juice in front of me, but that is baby stuff, man. So while I whined to Daddy, Mommy put a big piece of sourdough bread crust on the plate of rolls, and then she let me take the bread from the plate of rolls, and I was thrilled beyond belief! I love me some sourdough bread!

Even when I don't get the big people's food, I am still happier these days because my parents FINALLY understand what I have been saying to them for weeks now. When I am hungry, I say, "Nyum! Nyum!" At first, they thought maybe it was the beginning of "Ma Ma" or maybe "Nonna." They are so clueless. I had to scream it at them until they finally got it. Now we have a great arrangment: I yell "NYUM! NYUM!" at them, and they jump to feed me. Life is good, people.

This afternoon a babysitter named Lori is coming to hang out with me while my parents go to see Craig Ferguson tape the Late, Late Show. I hope she is cool. Maybe she will let me have some of those tortilla chips the big people keep eating in front of me.

Easter Parade

Yesterday Lisa took us all around town. We saw UCLA, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills and Hollywood. I found stars for Big Bird and The Simpsons as well as fellow Clevelanders Bob Hope and Alan Freed. Today I had my first pancake. It was just okay; maybe it would have been better with the syrup my parents used. Later today we're picking up our rental car and then going to Malibu.



Lisa and me at the taqueria
across the street from the
legendary Chateau Marmont

Hanging with Bob Hope

Comparing handprints
with Ah-nold

This morning's treat:
my first pancake

Stroller Derby

Yesterday we took the bus to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. I helped Daddy pick some new shoes, and then we stopped for pizza and I had my first pizza crust. Nyuma Nyuma! After lunch, we walked to the Santa Monica Pier but I slept through it.


After I woke up, we met Mimi and her parents, Alysia and Cory; Alysia is Mommy's friend from the Internet. I was so happy to hang out with another kid; I laughed as loud as I could to get Mimi's attention. She is so cool; she likes cars, like me, and she looks like my cousin Bailey. Our daddies pushed Mimi and me down the boardwalk while our mommies lagged behind. We ate dinner at C&O Trattoria; Mimi is older than me so she got to eat PAS-TA! but I only got rice. After dinner, Cory helped me put on the groovy orange-striped leg warmers they gave me, and I was toasty all the way back to the apartment.

This morning I tried some sourdough bread and watched the birds on the roof of the next building. Daddy and I are wearing our Cavs shirts today to cheer them on against the Pistons. After the game, we're going out to see Daddy's friend Lisa. Now that my tummy is better, I am hoping to get something better than rice and bananas (again) for lunch.

I am so happy to get to be with Mommy and Daddy all the time and go everywhere with them. They seem like they like it, too. My only complaint is that I haven't yet been swimming, but at least I get to listen to the ocean all day and when I go to sleep at night.

Taking Over the World, One Diaper at a Time

Yesterday afternoon we went for a stroll on the boardwalk at Venice Beach. I saw more tattoos than I have seen my whole life - even more tattoos than on the parents in the baby swim class at the Lakewood Y. We also stopped and bought me some new sunglasses, because my parents left mine at home (note to self: must pack own bag in the future so as not to forget vital stuff). I needed to take them off and check them out to see what I was getting into, but after a while I was comfortable keeping them on. Plus, I look so cool in them.

My parents stopped and bought themselves Indian food at a stand on the boardwalk, and then we went back to our apartment building to eat our dinner on the rooftop terrace. They wouldn't share their food with me, much to my frustration. They would only give me strained pears and cherry stars. So I showed them: I pooped on Mommy's lap and had to be rushed back downstairs for a bath. Maybe next time they'll think to get enough korma and naan for all of us. I got a little carried away with my revenge, though; I am experiencing a case of travelers' distress, which I hope to get over soon, because I am tired of having my clothes changed constantly. On the plus side, at least I'm getting to spend extra time in the bathtub, which I love. The ocean is a little cold for swimming, so it's the bathtub for me for now; my parents have promised we'll get a hotel with a heated pool when we leave Venice.

After dinner, Daddy and I watched the Cavs game on TV. Daddy is very happy we have cable in our apartment. Then I finally pooped out, and Mommy and Daddy loaded me in a cab and took me to Albertson's so we could get some rice cereal for me and groceries for them. Since I was so peaceful in my carseat, they let me sleep in it all night, but when I woke up at 5 this morning, I was ready to get the day going. At 6, my persistence paid off: they gave in and got up and gave me my rice and bananas, and then while they ate their granola and yogurt I paid them back for making me wait an hour by, um, having some more travelers' distress.

All this revenge-taking wears a baby out, so I am napping now while Daddy takes a run, but when I wake up, we're all going to the Third Street Promenade on a blue bus. It should be a good day if I can keep everything in my diaper.