Huangs in San Jose

Just got back from a week in San Jose seeing family and friends.  A few highlights and pics below.

Day 1

Up early to catch our flight.  This year we wisened up and brought our own car seat (rental companies charge exorbitantly to provide one, and can't let you drive off the lot with a little kid without one).  This had the added benefit of allowing us to take Lyft to the airport rather than driving, circling forever in a faraway lot, and shuttling back to the main terminal.  My fears about locating a big enough car to carry all of us so early on a Sunday morning were unfounded, as our driver arrived within minutes.  We sailed through security and soon enough were on our flight.

Alaska has free movies and TV in flight!  This entertained the notoriously finicky Asher immensely, which meant I actually got to watch some flicks too.  I chose "Crazy Rich Asians" and "Creed" and enjoyed them a lot.  (Plus these were literally the first movies I'd seen in months.).

Once we touched down, we got our rental car without much difficulty, and made a beeline to our nearby hotel to drop our stuff off.  We then headed to my dad's to see him.  Many photos ensued; my dad is, after all, an Original Gangsta Asian Dad.

From there, we did a quick trip to the mall to try to get Jada's ears pierced and hair cut, but failed on both fronts and basically spent most of our time inching through traffic.  Oh well, it was fun to soak in the holiday rush and do some window shopping.  We hit a grocery store on the way back to the hotel, and ate dinner in the hotel lobby before watching TV and calling it a night.  Gaining three hours made for a long day!

Day 2

Asher woke up at 2am and then again at 4am, but thankfully he was coaxed back to sleep.  A long travel day without much nap probably helped make him tired enough to cooperate.  Perfectly, we woke up right as breakfast was being served, so we did that, and then I took him to San Jose to meet up with my dad at a local playground.  My sister and her family are also in town so were able to join us, which was a lot of fun.  They tagged along back to the hotel so they could see Amy and the bigger kids.  It was drizzling so we stayed close to the property, puttering around in the lobby and watching the airplanes land outside.

We were able to successfully get Asher down for a nap, after which we returned to San Jose to see my dad.  We also took the opportunity to sit down with two good neighbors of his who I am close with, plus see my aunt and uncle nearby.  We then grabbed some fast food on the way back to the hotel, and after a quick dip in the hotel pool, resumed our routine of eating down in the hotel lobby.  More TV ensued, and then we all went to bed.

Day 3

Merry Christmas! Asher woke up early and stayed up, so we had to kill some time in the morning with TV before breakfast.  After breakfast, I took Asher to three different play areas in San Francisco: In Chan Kaajal Park, Seward Street Slides, and Helen Diller Playground at Dolores Park.  It was fun to putter around the streets of this beautiful city and to watch Asher interact with different playground features and other kids.

After Asher's usual nap, we met up with my sister's family and my dad, as well as my cousin and her husband who were in town from Boston, and who we went out to dinner with after.  Since it was Christmas, we chose Cupertino Village, which has a bunch of Chinese restaurants, cafes, and stores.  We ended up eating at the food court in the supermarket, plus got stuff from a bakery and a bubble tea place.  Then it was back to the hotel for our usual game shows before bedtime.

Day 4

Our first day in town that we could go to the Y!  There's a place less than 10 minutes away from our hotel, so we went there so I could get a swim in.  I took Asher straight from there to meet up with a friend of mine at a library.  Books for Asher plus catch-up time with a dear pal for me, score!

After Asher's usual nap, we went to my sister's husband's parents' for dinner.  It was a delicious Indian meal, topped off by my dad taking us through a really nice slide show commemoration of my mom's life.  It all made for a late night, but it was great to see all of these old pics, plus see all the kids play together.

Day 5

More than halfway through our vacation, some familiar routines are starting to sink in.  The beginning of each day will be breakfast with Asher, followed by YMCA with Asher, followed by pre-nap stories with Asher.  The end of each day will be getting food and eating it in the hotel dining area and/or while watching game shows in our room.

In between, today we drove into the city and went to the Exploratorium, thanks to tickets my dad scored for us.  My sister and her family were there too, but we didn't spend much time doing anything more than chasing Asher all around the place, as he flitted from exhibit to exhibit.  We could've easily spent the whole day there and then some, if only we had enough stamina, as there was more than enough to hold Asher's attention.  Long live science!  A highlight of our trip to experience this great place from the perspective of a hyperactive three-year-old.

Day 6

The usual morning routine.  Then in the afternoon we went to see a high school friend of mine who lives in Orinda in the East Bay.  It was great to catch up, plus she had invited another classmate of mine who I hadn't seen in ages.  Eight kids ranging from 3 to 18 had fun playing video games, shooting hoops, and having laser gun battles, while six parents enjoyed stimulating adult conversation.  What a nice treat!

Day 7

The usual morning routine.  Then in the afternoon we caught up with high school friends of mine and their family members at a local park.  It was great to catch up with people who I've been close with for decades plus others I hadn't seen in decades.  From there, we made quick stops to see my cousins and my dad one last time, before retiring to the hotel to eat and pack.  Tomorrow morning we're going home!

Day 8

Our flight got moved up a hair and was already pretty early, so it was a fire drill to get packed, out of the hotel, and to our gate.  We were the last five to board and made it with but minutes to spare, whew!

From there it was easy breezy.  Literally, as favorable winds got us home way ahead of schedule.  So it was nice to get unpacked, order Chinese, have dinner, and do bedtime right back on our normal schedule. 

Asher had a little trouble getting to sleep, but once we turned his night light back on (it was my fault for forgetting to do that), he went down.  Good to be home, and to have a couple of days before work and school start up again.