Thanksgiving Travel Adventure, Part 2
Jan. 1st, 2014 11:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bloodyrosemccoyMy siblings' apartment is a nice setup , with an open kitchen/living area and an airy hallway. They've been gathering furniture for it, and it's getting pretty comfy. The one strange thing, though, was the drifted piles of plasticky and papery and feathery little ditzels and greebles in odd corners.
MY SISTER: Oh, those. Yeah, just be glad there aren't any Starbursts or grapes. All will become clear in time. Anyway, here's the air mattress. Tomorrow we'll go pick up Harley.
Meeting the Kitty
It's been a while since I've had a tiny kitty around. My cat is old and tired, and outdoorsy, able to gallivant around outside if she's bored. I'd been assured by my siblings that little Harley* is in no way an old lady cat. And when we went to pick her up from the friend's house where she was staying, I quickly saw it for myself.
FRIEND: It was great to have Harley back with the other cats! Back when we were fostering her, before you adopted her, the other cats were a little annoyed with her. She's settled down a lot since then!
HARLEY: *streaks by chasing one of the other cats*
MY BROTHER: Thanks again for taking her in again. And for dinner! You guys are great.
HARLEY: LOOKIT ME EVERYONE! THE FLOOR IS LAVA!
FRIEND: No problem! We love you guys! And it's nice to see your sister again.
ME: I am glad to see you, as well!
HARLEY: HI, NEW PERSON! WANNA SEE MY STICK? HERE IT IS! MAKE IT GO! MAKE IT GO!
FRIEND: Indeed! Let's enjoy some dinner!
HARLEY: *zooms by again* MEEP MEEP!
She didn't even slow down after we'd left their excellent dinner and went home. The moment we arrived at the apartment, she launched herself into the nearest pile of the debris drifted in the corners of the house. The ditzels and thingies were her toys. And by god, she liked them. She selected one and brought it to me.
ME: Well, hey, little buddy!
HARLEY: Look! This is my favorite toy! That plastic seal-and-ring thing that seals an orange juice carton! It is the best thing ever! MAKE IT GO!
ME: ... Uh, okay. *toss*
HARLEY: VIEW HALLOO AND TALLY HO! *charges off*
First cat I've ever met who plays fetch.
I also discovered that Harley--who accepted me into the fold as another family member (she doesn't do that with all visitors)--likes to sleep next to your head. Which would be great, except that she is a BOUNCY little bugger. She runs up and down your body, pokes her head up against yours, futzes with her toys, and loudly cleans herself, all next to your ear. And when she finally settles down and you think maybe finally you'll be able to rest, she cracks off the most astonishingly nasty little closely-contained farts. It's hard not to giggle, though.
My brother points out that as an indoor cat, Harley has less stimulation than our own indoor-outdoor cat, which is why she's so eager to play all the damn time. And they work hard to make it up to her. My sister particularly likes to do what she calls "enrichment," but which pretty much boils down to Messin' With The Cat. Hiding treats in boxes and egg cartons, buying her cat towers, putting her in boxes, that sort of thing. Harley puts a lot more effort into it than my cat ever would, too--and yeeks about all her discoveries like a little Fuzzy. It's pretty goddamn funny.
ANYWAY! There was more to the weekend than Messin' With The Kitty. I got to check out the bookstore where my sister works! It's an excellent little spot in downtown Pleasanton. I realized while there that one of the drawbacks of having left the library was that I no longer effortlessly keep up with books that are just coming out. It made me a bit jealous.
MY SISTER: No worries! I'll send you all the good stuff I come across!
ME: SHH! I'm trying to write down several interesting book titles I just saw on this shelf!
I'd have liked to stay there longer, just to hang out but it was, y'know, Thanksgiving weekend, and chaos reigned. Books were flying everywhere; old ladies fretted whenever we made even a cursory move toward the space in front of them in line; cash registers were registering cash. So my brother and I left her to her Black Friday rush and decided to do some sightseeing.
MY BROTHER: Well! Shall we go into San Francisco? There are sights to be seen! There's Fisherman's Wharf ...
ME: Smells of fish.
MY BROTHER: ... Alcatraz ...
ME: Depressing.
MY BROTHER: ... the absolute hole-in-the-wall Cartoon Art Museum?
ME: SOLD!
We had a hot chocolate at a Ghirardelli bar, but that's not a substantial dinner.
MY BROTHER: As long as it's just you and me, let's go to the Blue Agave for dinner! Our sister does not like it so much.
ME: I am pleased that you guys are so excited to show me around your town.
MY BROTHER: Actually, I am mostly doing this because they have this seasonal stuffed pepper dish and dammit I am craving it.
ME: I'm for it!
We worried that my sister would also be unavailable for the trip to the Academy of Science's museum, but her boss, who is apparently a pretty great lady, decided that this wasn't fair and let her have the day off work to join us. We spent the day frolicking around the museum, taking photos of frogs and plants and things. We saw Frozen together. And, finally, it was time for me to go.
MY BROTHER: Well, have a good time figuring out the trains!
ME: Yeah! No problem! I have these trains down TOTALLY pat.
an hour later
MICHELLE THE CONDUCTOR: You know you're going to San José, right?
ME: Actually, no. Do tell.
But Michelle the Conductor was pretty awesome, and got me set up on the right track (and as I went along I realized just how dang much train idioms still exist in vocabulary). I just had to catch the Sacramento train the next day, which meant staying an extra night there with Gram.
ME: I appreciate you letting me stay here.
GRAM: THIS WILL BE SO MUCH FUN I'LL MAKE YOU DINNER AND WE CAN SIT AND TALK AND DO THREAD THINGS WHEE!
ME: I see you are cool with this.
I got on the train the next morning and cruised from the nice, balmy California weather** into the Sierras and watched everything turn from autumn to winter. I got home at 3 a.m., and that was the end of my adventure.
But I wasn't the only one who had an adventure! While I had a good time, Mini Addy was having her own adventures. Maybe those will show up next!
*Harley Dent is her full name--in honor both of the way her face splits down the middle, and of the way the split is red and black and switches sides at her ears like Harley Quinn's hood.
**"IT IS SO COLD" all the Californians said, shivering in their sweatshirts in 50° weather. "IT IS LIKE SNOW WEATHER!"
MY SISTER: Oh, those. Yeah, just be glad there aren't any Starbursts or grapes. All will become clear in time. Anyway, here's the air mattress. Tomorrow we'll go pick up Harley.
Meeting the Kitty
It's been a while since I've had a tiny kitty around. My cat is old and tired, and outdoorsy, able to gallivant around outside if she's bored. I'd been assured by my siblings that little Harley* is in no way an old lady cat. And when we went to pick her up from the friend's house where she was staying, I quickly saw it for myself.
FRIEND: It was great to have Harley back with the other cats! Back when we were fostering her, before you adopted her, the other cats were a little annoyed with her. She's settled down a lot since then!
HARLEY: *streaks by chasing one of the other cats*
MY BROTHER: Thanks again for taking her in again. And for dinner! You guys are great.
HARLEY: LOOKIT ME EVERYONE! THE FLOOR IS LAVA!
FRIEND: No problem! We love you guys! And it's nice to see your sister again.
ME: I am glad to see you, as well!
HARLEY: HI, NEW PERSON! WANNA SEE MY STICK? HERE IT IS! MAKE IT GO! MAKE IT GO!
FRIEND: Indeed! Let's enjoy some dinner!
HARLEY: *zooms by again* MEEP MEEP!
She didn't even slow down after we'd left their excellent dinner and went home. The moment we arrived at the apartment, she launched herself into the nearest pile of the debris drifted in the corners of the house. The ditzels and thingies were her toys. And by god, she liked them. She selected one and brought it to me.
ME: Well, hey, little buddy!
HARLEY: Look! This is my favorite toy! That plastic seal-and-ring thing that seals an orange juice carton! It is the best thing ever! MAKE IT GO!
ME: ... Uh, okay. *toss*
HARLEY: VIEW HALLOO AND TALLY HO! *charges off*
First cat I've ever met who plays fetch.
I also discovered that Harley--who accepted me into the fold as another family member (she doesn't do that with all visitors)--likes to sleep next to your head. Which would be great, except that she is a BOUNCY little bugger. She runs up and down your body, pokes her head up against yours, futzes with her toys, and loudly cleans herself, all next to your ear. And when she finally settles down and you think maybe finally you'll be able to rest, she cracks off the most astonishingly nasty little closely-contained farts. It's hard not to giggle, though.
My brother points out that as an indoor cat, Harley has less stimulation than our own indoor-outdoor cat, which is why she's so eager to play all the damn time. And they work hard to make it up to her. My sister particularly likes to do what she calls "enrichment," but which pretty much boils down to Messin' With The Cat. Hiding treats in boxes and egg cartons, buying her cat towers, putting her in boxes, that sort of thing. Harley puts a lot more effort into it than my cat ever would, too--and yeeks about all her discoveries like a little Fuzzy. It's pretty goddamn funny.
ANYWAY! There was more to the weekend than Messin' With The Kitty. I got to check out the bookstore where my sister works! It's an excellent little spot in downtown Pleasanton. I realized while there that one of the drawbacks of having left the library was that I no longer effortlessly keep up with books that are just coming out. It made me a bit jealous.
MY SISTER: No worries! I'll send you all the good stuff I come across!
ME: SHH! I'm trying to write down several interesting book titles I just saw on this shelf!
I'd have liked to stay there longer, just to hang out but it was, y'know, Thanksgiving weekend, and chaos reigned. Books were flying everywhere; old ladies fretted whenever we made even a cursory move toward the space in front of them in line; cash registers were registering cash. So my brother and I left her to her Black Friday rush and decided to do some sightseeing.
MY BROTHER: Well! Shall we go into San Francisco? There are sights to be seen! There's Fisherman's Wharf ...
ME: Smells of fish.
MY BROTHER: ... Alcatraz ...
ME: Depressing.
MY BROTHER: ... the absolute hole-in-the-wall Cartoon Art Museum?
ME: SOLD!
We had a hot chocolate at a Ghirardelli bar, but that's not a substantial dinner.
MY BROTHER: As long as it's just you and me, let's go to the Blue Agave for dinner! Our sister does not like it so much.
ME: I am pleased that you guys are so excited to show me around your town.
MY BROTHER: Actually, I am mostly doing this because they have this seasonal stuffed pepper dish and dammit I am craving it.
ME: I'm for it!
We worried that my sister would also be unavailable for the trip to the Academy of Science's museum, but her boss, who is apparently a pretty great lady, decided that this wasn't fair and let her have the day off work to join us. We spent the day frolicking around the museum, taking photos of frogs and plants and things. We saw Frozen together. And, finally, it was time for me to go.
MY BROTHER: Well, have a good time figuring out the trains!
ME: Yeah! No problem! I have these trains down TOTALLY pat.
an hour later
MICHELLE THE CONDUCTOR: You know you're going to San José, right?
ME: Actually, no. Do tell.
But Michelle the Conductor was pretty awesome, and got me set up on the right track (and as I went along I realized just how dang much train idioms still exist in vocabulary). I just had to catch the Sacramento train the next day, which meant staying an extra night there with Gram.
ME: I appreciate you letting me stay here.
GRAM: THIS WILL BE SO MUCH FUN I'LL MAKE YOU DINNER AND WE CAN SIT AND TALK AND DO THREAD THINGS WHEE!
ME: I see you are cool with this.
I got on the train the next morning and cruised from the nice, balmy California weather** into the Sierras and watched everything turn from autumn to winter. I got home at 3 a.m., and that was the end of my adventure.
But I wasn't the only one who had an adventure! While I had a good time, Mini Addy was having her own adventures. Maybe those will show up next!
*Harley Dent is her full name--in honor both of the way her face splits down the middle, and of the way the split is red and black and switches sides at her ears like Harley Quinn's hood.
**"IT IS SO COLD" all the Californians said, shivering in their sweatshirts in 50° weather. "IT IS LIKE SNOW WEATHER!"
