A Big Day

There were signs it would be a big day. We had thunderstorms in the wee hours of the morning. We almost never get real thunderstorms here so it was truly a big deal. Some parts of the bay area got quite a bit of rain. Here in Los Gatos we only had a trace but I am sure it counts as our first rain since May or June. I really don't recall--probably because I was distracted this year.

We had a great time today. Roaring Camp Rail Road is a fun event with a real live, 100 year old steam engine pulling a half a dozen open cars up a small mountain (aka Bear Mountain). The noise of the old chug, chug and the hiss of the steam and the clanging of the bell are all topped with the sound of the steam whistle. What a blast! I kept thinking of my grandfather Connolly who was an engineer for one of the two RR in St Paul. Great Northern or Northern Pacific, I can never remember. He drove the train for decades. It turns out that Roaring Camp RR was built in 1964 in Felton CA, the same year my grandfather died. It is basically a living history museum (for profit) with a neat atmosphere and a great experience.

From there, we drove to the Santa Cruz Wharf and had a very late lunch at Olitas Cantina and Grill. Mary and I split a lunch order of shrimp tacos while Charli had the quesadilla and Tim dove into a pair of tacos. Frankly, I overdid it on chips and salsa too. Anyway, we had a major toast for that meal. It was the last restaurant Mary ate in on the eve of her major liver surgery, May 10. It was truly good to have her back at a familiar place!

We stopped at the Los Gatos Apple store on the way home. Mary bought the new Snow Leopard OS upgrade for her big iMac and Tim decided to upgrade his iPhone 3G to a 3GS. Well, somehow we convinced him to sell me his 3G so I could upgrade from my 2G. Recall, if you are a regular reader, that I recently acquired the nearly two year old 2G when Mary bought her new iPhone 3GS a short time ago. Anyway, we have a load of gizmos to start up, sync, install and otherwise make work. It will keep us busy for a while. Actually, everything is working already. Hey, they are Apple products and they just work.

Frankly, this big day was all a bit too much for Mary. When we got home, she was exhausted. Charli and I entertained the neighbors and the dogs in the front yard. None of us had dinner--well, Charli did but she is five. Mary nibbled a bit but her tummy wasn't great because we were off her normal food cycle. Lunch was too late and she was too full to get back on her normal cycle.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we expect to see Ute. That will be fun! We haven't seen her since her wedding to JoKi in Germany last November. Tim and Charli will fly home to Tucson in the afternoon.

Pictures? You bet. Here is a link to the album for Charli and Tim's visit.