California at Last

I'm sitting at my Grandma's computer in the kitchen that looks nearly the same from the time I was a little girl. This morning I walked/ran along the levy remembering all the reasons why Gilroy has such a huge hold on my heart. 

I love the abundance of flowers, the smell of garlic (no wonder I constantly crave spaghetti), the quiet cool mornings, and the smell of my grandparent's home. As a little girl I remember swinging from the rafters in Grandpa's garage, finding a Strawberry Shortcake doll in the Christmas tree, Dad waking us up in the gray dawn after being away for a long time, Grandpa pushing my dinner plate until it was flush with my chest, Grandma reading books out loud on the porch, and on and on. Memories are so precious. Each time I visit Gilroy it feels like home. 

Getting here was a very stressful experience. Early Monday morning Amelia started to cry. I went in to check on her only to find her with a temperature of 104.5. I gave her some Tylenol and mused about what to do. We ended up packing her up and going to the airport. After all the stress of going through security we plopped down for some breakfast at Burger King. They worker only gave us a quarter of what we ordered, forgetting drinks, tots, and Amelia's biscuit. We make it to the gate. There Justin finds out the flight was overbooked by three people. Our choice was either Justin or I takes the flight. He went. I was very glad to get the $400 voucher and $21 in meal tickets. I was booked on the next flight leaving at 9:15 pm. Justin paid for parking with his credit card and took the house key with him. Problem! I couldn't get the car out of the parking lot. De-bo came and picked us up. My neighbor who had my house key was not home. We waited outside in the heat for about 30 minutes until she got home. I took Amelia to the Dr to find out she had either a sore throat (something -gytis) or rosea. Luckily, her fever was nearly 104.7 so they hopped around and got me in and out rather quickly. On the way home Justin's car stalled each time I stopped for a red light. That was NOT fun. Justin wasn't available to discuss options with so I just sat in the car and cried. Feeling better I finally made it home. Justin finally called and we decided to just take the 9:15 pm flight and deal with her fever later. De-bo took me back to the airport. The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. Amelia slept most of the flight. One guy in front of me kept giving us the stinky eye whenever she cried. I let Amelia pull his hair on accident. Opps. Justin was like a shining GOD of grace waiting at the end of the baggage claim area. We spent the night in Livermore. 

Tuesday morning Amelia and I drove down to Gilroy finally arriving at my Grandparent's around 11:30. Phew! Amelia stuck to me like "velcro" according to Grandpa. No naps and a new environment made for a cranky baby. Last night she slept pretty well and is napping right now! YES!!!