Adventures in public transportation

Jake and I had the day to ourselves so we headed downtown to the
Children's Discovery Museum. Here's Jake playing in the ambulance they
have set up there (I know, kind of weird). We got our first rainy/

cloudy weekend since last winter so the place was packed. The crowd
started to get to me (surprise) and I was so so hot (surprise) so I
talked Jake into going outside to run around (the museum is set on a
beautiful sprawling lawn). But once we were outside, Jake noticed the
light rail and got super excited and started yelling "Mommy! Train!"
So, I bought us $2 tickets and we hopped on! Now, I've lived within
walking distance to light rail stations for 7 years but I'd never been
on it - but how hard could it be to ride around and get back to my
car? Yeah. So an hour later I've got my two-year-old lost in downtown
San Jose with no idea how to get back to my car. In New York, the
subway goes in both directions... not in San Jose. We managed to get
into a part of town where the train only went North. After a stop in a
seedy fast food joint for burgers, I reminded myself that I had my
GPS, Dave was just a phone call away, and even though I had no idea
where the hell I was, I couldn't have been more than three miles from
our house. So I grabbed Jake's hand and we just walked. We walked by
the art museum, through some great park with fountains, and by lots of
office buildings and banks with the best steps for Jake to jump up and
down on. He even stopped at some giant planters and said "Wow!" It
really is amazing to see things through the eyes of a toddler - who
knew downtown San Jose could be so interesting? After and hour of
walking we found a southbound station and made it back to the car.

Jake hasn't mentioned the museum, but can't stop talking about the
train and his "walk."

Go Giants!

A shot of Jake after the Giants became NL champs!

Weekend in Davis

Two weekends ago, we went up to Davis to see Vishal, Allison, Jay, and Deven. We wanted to spend some time together before I was too big and uncomfortable. We visited my favorite pumpkin patch - it's just a farm up in Davis, and doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Bay Area pumpkin patches, but it reminds me of Massachusetts. Not crowded, big open spaces for Jake to run, and a hay ride without a two-hour line. It's fun to see the difference just a year makes. Last year Jake kind of ran around, not caring about pumpkins or the petting zoo, but this year he was ALL about picking a pumpkin (he chose a white one), following Jay up to the top of the hay bale tower, and - best of all - checking out the tractors and other farm machinery. 

Santa Cruz

Jake didn't have day care on Columbus Day so I took the day off and we
headed to Santa Cruz after swimming lessons. We went to the beach at
the boardwalk (I'm sure it has a real name but I don't know it)
because it's closest to our house. It was a hit because Jake was
amazed by the boardwalk itself and the rides, even though they were
closed. I pointed out the Big Dipper and told him it was Mommy and
Daddy's favorite roller coaster and we loved riding it and we'd take
him on it some day when he was bigger, and blah, blah, blah... just my
typical babble because it's hard for me to keep my mouth shut and ever
since my little sidekick was born, I've had full-on, one-sided
conversations with him even though I was fully aware he didn't
understand/care what I was saying. Later on in the week when I was
putting him to bed he looked at me and said he really liked the big
roller coaster that was my favorite and would ride on it with daddy
and me when he was bigger. I was pretty touched. Guess I underestimate
the fact that he really does listen to my constant chatter - I think
it's time I pipe down and let him get a word in so we can start having
some two-way conversations.