The last time I went to Monterey, both my mom and Justin were a little wistful. The aquarium is so wonderful, and they would have liked to see it again, and share the experience with our children, who add such enthusiasm to these kinds of adventures. The weekend was supposed to be warm and sunny, practically record-setting for January, so we thought why not go? It’s a little more complicated with all three children, since Soren still naps for quite a while in the middle of the day, but I would be able to take him out to the car and sit with him while he napped for a few hours, and Mom and Justin could stay with Claire and Ronin in the aquarium.
It worked out well. We made it down there just as it opened. We saw the penguin feeding, and everyone loved the gigantic multi-story tanks filled with sharks and schooling fish. Soren could have stayed there the whole time. He said “Hi” to every fish that swam by. It was nice having one adult per child. At lunch time, I got a sandwich to go and took Soren back to the car for his nap, and everyone else stayed to eat and then explore some more.
I do not have any pictures from inside the aquarium this time. I was too busy chasing Soren around. Plus, sometimes it’s nice not worrying about taking pictures.
Soren did not nap particularly easily or well in the parked car, but he got it done, and afterward everyone else was ready to move on to Dennis the Menace Playground. This is the place with the full-size locomotive parked in the sand, as you might recall. Ronin and Claire promptly climbed up high onto the train, and then over and under and around, and then as they crawled underneath it to the front of it and I went around to meet them, I caught Claire as she was about to run out of the train area and Ronin was nowhere to be found. We looked all over the train. Mom and Claire went to look for him at the other end of the playground after we searched for him futilely around the train for another long few minutes, and brought him back from the long bumpy slide.
Ronin and Jan staying close at the playground
I tend to put bracelets on them with our telephone numbers inside when we’re going to be in busy or chaotic places, like the zoo or museums or an aquarium or big playgrounds, so if they get separated they know they are supposed to ask someone who works there or a woman with children to help them. Ronin in particular tends to wander off and not look back. However, that bracelet doesn’t do any good if he doesn’t care if he’s separated. He will go off and play and not look back. Claire gets panicky if she can’t find her group, especially me, so she’s better at staying close.
We emphasized that they all could play wherever they wanted in the playground, but they couldn’t go off without telling a grown-up, and having the grown-up go with them. It is a very big playground, with multiple structures, hundreds of kids and adults, and many areas that are hard to see, like tunnels and mazes and hills. After that we stuck more closely with the children. They all had a great time, and although we did too, I suspect it was a little harder for us just trying to keep up with them and keep them in sight. I know at least a few more times they forgot and tried to run off to different areas without checking with us.
Soren learning that two of his favorite things (tunnels and slides) can be combined
It seemed a lot later than it was. We didn’t want to go home just yet, because it was the time of day that would cause all the kids to fall asleep in the car if we had a two-hour road trip, but it was too early for bed. If they fell asleep now, they wouldn’t go to sleep at night. We decided to look for some sand dunes and then stop for dinner on the way home. We found a beautiful beach on the way out of Monterey.
Soren and Claire in the sand
We watched the sun set as the children danced out of the way of the incoming waves. It was a beautiful end to a pleasant day.
Claire, watching the sun set
Justin and Soren
Ronin and Justin
Claire
I would like to say the rest of the drive home was uneventful, but you already know from my title it was not. Actually, I should have written this blog entry much sooner, but I have been waiting for the outcome before writing it up, and honestly, I’ve just been feeling alternately too cranky about it and then too busy when my attitude was a little better. We got most of the way home (thank goodness) when lights on my dashboard started appearing. It seemed like one system was failing after another. I got off the freeway and pulled onto a dead-end street just as my lights went out and my car shut down. It did not restart. We had three adults in the car, two sleeping twins, one awake baby who should have been sleeping much earlier because it was past his bedtime and because he didn’t nap much that day, and a logistical issue facing us with getting my car towed somewhere convenient and getting everyone home in as few trips as possible, leaving no children without adults and keeping all children in their car seats. It was like a river crossing riddle.
My poor minivan!
I remembered why Justin and I work so well together. Things went very smoothly. He called a taxi right after I called for a tow truck. They arrived roughly at the same time. Justin, Mom, and the twins went home in the taxi while Soren and I and the van went to the night drop at the nearest Kia dealership. By the time we got there and the van was getting unloaded, Justin had already settled Claire and Ronin at home with Mom, who was tucking them into bed, and had driven down in his car to pick me and Soren up. Soren stayed awake through this entire experience, fascinated by everything and particularly by being strapped into his car seat in the front seat of a tow truck, facing forward. He loved looking around. He fell asleep about a minute away from home, only to wake up inside as I changed him into his pajamas. He was up until 10:30 PM!
Anyway, my car was in the shop all week. I didn’t get it back until Friday afternoon. Each day, I called and they told me that it would probably be done either that day or the next day, and then I would call back and they would tell me that it would probably be done the next day, and they would let me know. Then I wouldn’t hear anything until I called back, at which time I was told it might be done that day or if not, the next day. And so on, for an entire work week. It was very frustrating and I kept trying to make plans to pick it up or decide if I should rent a car because I had to pick up the kids from school and take them to class. As it was, each day that went by Mom graciously lent me her car and came over in the early mornings on my work days so I could get to work on time.
It apparently was an oil leak that dripped into the alternator, causing it and the battery to fail. It took so long because they didn’t look at the car for more than a day, and then it took a while to figure out the problem, and then the oil leak was complicated, and then a part didn’t come in on time. Anyway, it is over now, and it could have been worse. The whole repair except for the battery was covered under warranty.
We are very glad to have my car back!
