I must write nightly because I struggle to remember all the details, let alone the next night or even later.
I didn't sleep very well Friday night. I felt fine when I got home, but something didn't sit well for whatever reason, and I felt like shit throughout the night. BOTH dogs stayed with Lauren Friday and Saturday nights, which was sweet as they liked her being back. Saturday was a pleasant day with both Lauren home and Tommy too. I went 'retro' for the am, and we jumped in the car, drove to Monterey after getting some Noah's Bagels and hit the Aquarium. After that, we head to Philz for an early lunch only to find it closed and relocating. That's big news for Philz Phanz, and we jumped up the road to try another spot… "Sea Harvest." It was good enough. Then we returned as I wasn't too keen on leaving the dogs alone for the entire day. Tommy was pleasant and responsive and even expressed gratitude for the trip. It's been a while, and I think we all enjoyed it, albeit with a sense of nostalgia for 'the good old days' gone by. I find it hard to imagine I'm even saying that, as it's odd to consider them old enough for us to have 'good old days' but they are and we do. We used to 'day trip' a lot more pre-covid and perhaps even pre-Jennifer. I have a feeling with Lauren at school, it'll be more common to carve out some adventure time when she's visiting, and maybe I can work some of this into time with Tommy/I too. After we returned, Lauren/I ran some errands, including a trip to GOBM in SJ to get a "cucumber vodka" for Jen. Man, that place is getting increasingly run down; I need to stick to the nearby one. We took Aqui to my mom's for dinner and visited for a while. It was a pleasant visit, and one Lauren was excited about. She's gotten attached to my mom, which is heartwarming. Lauren and I hung on the patio and talked in the evening. I set aside my computer to focus on her and to connect. This morning she came with me to pick up a phonograph I found on craigslist that's the same as the unit in the console I have. I wanted to get it for $20, so I have a spare for my refurbishing projects. Ideally, it'll drop in and work perfectly, but in the worst case, I will have parts I might need. It's set aside for now in the garage. We briefly visited her mom's grave before returning home and running her to the train station. It was only once we got there that she realized she'd not gotten the time correct, and she had to wait for 2hrs before it came. We walked to the very-nearby Starbucks, and she got a drink and settled in while I took off to meet Jess and Bev at our house, and we headed up to Byington for the wine tasting/pickup event. It was a great time with liberal pours and lots of laughter. Jen missed out, but I hope we'll go again for the cave tour soon. I picked her up on her return from Seattle around 6 pm, and we relaxed on the patio with a cucumber vodka drink. She's got two days before going to Leavenworth, so today/tomorrow will be focused on. It felt like a full weekend but also 'shaken up and not routine, which I found exciting. Routine can be comfortable, but a slight change of pace can remind me of things that matter yet don't get constantly considered.