Visit to San Diego, Feb 23 - 26, 2001

With Robin, Mary and kids living so close to Anaheim, CA, where a lot of trade shows take place, it was great to be able to combine a visit to them and a visit to the Etronix Show (I had a couple of meetings there).

Robin and family picked me up at the airport in Orange County (because that's where I'd have to fly out of on Monday evening) and drove me straight to his employer's facility in Carlsbad. They were having a company "picnic" of sorts. Robin tells me the company does something like that about once a month to give their employees and families an opportunity to socialize. The food was great.

After getting our fill of food, we all got back in the car and drove back to the apartment in Oceanside. Their apartment is only about two blocks from the oceanfront - easy walking distance and you can see the ocean from their apartment. Their garage is on the ground floor with stairs up to the living room/kitchen level and then up to a third level to get to the bedrooms and bathroom. Robin and Mary, of course, have the master bedroom and the kids have the smaller bedoom . . . I slept in the garage. Actually, it was quite comfortable. They have one of those electric pump inflatable air matresses so you can adjust the firmness of the mattress at any time. My only complaint with staying down there was that when I got up to use the restroom, it was two floors above. I was usually wide awake after returning to bed!

I was just getting over the cold I caught in Chicago two weeks earlier, and it rained virtually from the time I got there until the time I left on Monday morning, so we just stayed around the apartment except for a visit on Saturday to Isis so Robin could show off his office. He has a private office on the perimeter of the building (I never had one of those!) and his name tag is on the wall outside. The kids were with us, so we didn't stay too long . . . just long enough to see some of the projects Robin is working on. After dinner, we talked and watched TV until bed time.

On Sunday morning, we went to a local Carrow's restaurant to breakfast (still raining). It was fun to just spend time with the grandkids. Erin's was just starting to warm up to me when it was time to go. I'm sure with the small amount of time I've spent with her, she's not too sure who I am. We did have some good discussions. Her vocabulary is great and she's basically a happy little girl. The baby, Kate, just smiles a lot. She doesn't make too much noise . . . unless, of course, she want's something! Have you ever seen a picture of her when she wasn't smiling?

On Monday morning, Robin was kind enough to drive me clear back to Anaheim (about 60 miles). Then, after spending the rest of Monday in a meeting and a quick walk through the Etronix show at the Disney Hotel, I went back to the airport for my flight home. I'm looking forward to going there again!

Here are some snap shots. I didn't mean to exclude Mary! She's on my list for pictures next visit.