Sunday, July 31:
After finally getting up around 10 in the morning and eating some amazing blueberry pancakes Camille made fresh (yumm!), we spent the day with Jeff. Ian, of course, is living-breathing-sleeping baseball, so we went to some batting cages, went to a park to play some baseball, had dinner at the local Red Robin, and then went to a neighborhood school that has a diamond to play more baseball. Jeff said he slept like the dead that night. :D
Monday, August 1:
My legs are a little sore today...not used to all that running around. :) The pain is around my shins. Hope it goes away. I'm pretty much Ian's only baseball playmate out here. Jeff, who we love to exhaust, has to work.
I got up at 7 and read a bit over a quiet cup of coffee before Ian got up, the quiet only broken by the sounds of text messages/phone calls from my boss. It's nice to know he has trouble getting along without me, but ... really? I'M ON VACATION!!! :D
While Mike took one of his mid-terms and worked on his communications course assignment, I took Ian for a long walk. We went to Starbucks, of course, and then continued walking to Wal-Mart. We only brought two baseballs with us, and it was getting ridiculous shagging them down constantly, so we bought a small bucket of baseballs for $9, and a cheap set of badminton rackets for $5.
We then headed back to the neighborhood diamond, and having that bucket of balls turned out to be a great idea. He was able to hit 10 times before we had to chase them all down. It actually worked out much better in another way, too. Every time we collected the balls, we took a water break. Kept us both hydrated in the 80 degree heat.
The days here so far have been absolutely beautiful. Much less humidity that we were dealing with back east, and the temperature is far less extreme. It's hanging around the hi-70s, low 80s, with about 50% humidity, which feels wonderful. I'm getting some sun, but I can also breathe. I love it like this.
After dinner, I took a walk with Camille. She is giving me other ideas for a career choice after I finish my studies that don't include teaching Math. As she so eloquently puts it, "Those kids you'll be teaching are not as nice as your son." She is absolutely right. Teenagers today are much different than teenagers of my day. Respect for your elders is a thing of the past.
So I am going to open my mind to other choices: auditor, financial adviser, actuary. Research to begin when I get home.
Tuesday, August 2:
I slept in until 9 this morning! Do I feel guilty? Nope. I'm on vacation. :)
I took Ian back to the neighborhood diamond for more baseball. He never tires of it. Who am I kidding? I don't, either. My legs are still sore, though. Definitely not used to this much physical activity. I'm the only person I know that goes on vacation and loses weight. Just wish my legs didn't hurt quite so much.
Tonight we are seeing a Mariners game. The feel of the stadium is so much different from Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo. For one, it is much bigger, seating up to 47,878 fans to Buffalo's maximum of 18,025. People are different out here, too. In Buffalo, we sit in the stands and talk with everyone around us, total strangers, about the game, the latest baseball trades, etc., but out here, people don't seem to talk to each other like that. Actually, they don't seem to talk to each other at all, unless they came together. Interesting feeling.
The Mariners won. Jeff and I had a bunch of laughs at Ian's expense. When the game was beginning, and the announcer said, "Now batting....Ichiro Suzuki!" Ian's head whipped around SO fast! Good thing it's attached. :D He was so still, concentrating on that game so hard, it seemed he was barely breathing. I think I only see him that still when he is sleeping.
Wednesday, August 3:
5:55 a.m.: The melodious tones of my cell phone receiving another text...from my boss. {heavy sigh}
Today is laundry day. To save on the amount of luggage we cart across the country, we packed enough for four days, planning to do laundry half-way through our week. It works out well.
A nice, calm, easy day for relaxing in the sun.
I told Mike about the pain in my legs, and he said, "Ugh. Shin splints." I think he's right. Stretching and no more running around on a concrete baseball diamond are in order.
This evening, we will go to Jeff's and visit with my grand-nephew, Tristan. That would be Sir Tristan of Seattle to all of us minions. Jeff and Tristan will be flying back with us on Saturday.
Thursday, August 4:
We will see the Space Needle and the Seattle Science Center on Thursday. More photo opportunities for the Tyska Traveling Fish!
