One Last Weekend

My last weekend in the states was a perfect one.
We slept in unbelievably late and felt the effects of our junk food the day before. So much so that we had a slice of mom's pie followed by the chipotle black bean hummus score from the farmer's market.
It was going to be a good day.
As we reminisced through our pictures and videos of the Grand Canyon and our trip in general thus far with the boy's mom, I felt my first singe of emptiness as I thought of the Monday ahead.
I've dreaded a lot of Mondays in life. And while I rarely thought of this one since we were so busy having fun, when I did, it really gutted my insides.
It makes me cry just writing that.
We slowly got ready and headed out for lunch. I had no idea where we were going and was quite distracted by the neighborhood we were driving through - it looked just like mid town Memphis. I was wondering what it would be like to live there when we pulled up to Fenton's creamery and I dropped all thoughts not relating to dessert.
The boy had an amazing Tuna Melt and I enjoyed something that tasted like a crab salad sandwich. It was good, but not as good as the tuna melt. And neither were as good as the Banana Junior we got to follow. There were so many sundae choices it was too hard to choose one.

I decided I was definitely going to have to move so I could be more available to try them all.
We took a scenic drive around Lake Merrit. Another place that would be cool to live.
And then to the North Face Outlet.
They were having their winter sample sale. Essentially they clear out all their winter season samples that go to distributors. This means all the clothes are mediums (yes!) and the shoes, well, they weren't my size, so who cares?
I had acquired more room in my luggage since I would be leaving my backpacking backpack in California, so I desperately wanted a coat so my family didn't have to ship mine. And I got a pretty sweet one that was at least originally $200 for $60. And a nice dress (with pockets!) and a work out shirt.
I spent way too much money.
The boy happen to pick up shoes that noted the size as 12 on the tag (which is weird because that was not a size that was supposed to be feature in the sale). He was so excited to wear his new $20 North Face shoes that he put them on as soon as we got to the car.
Well, attempted to put them on.
After some investigation, the stitching said they were a size 9.
That makes more sense why they were in the sample sale.
No refunds, sir.
Determined to make them fit, he cramped his feet in as we walked into the 2 story (yes, 2 story!) Target store nearby.
I did my best to contain my laughter at walking around with a guy who's laces weren't

tied because the shoes were way too tight.
I did a pretty good job if I say so myself.
So I got my journal, an agenda, and a CamelBack Water bottle with a filter (seemed like a good idea for China) and we headed on our way to Ukiah to spend the evening at his mom's condo lounging about before an oh-so-strenuous day driving through Avenue of the Giants.
On the way we grabbed some Mary's Pizza, which features amazing garlic sticks (in hindsight it seems garlic is a trend with this kid), to eat while watching the Goonies (my first full viewing of it) and the Mexican.
Apparently we weren't done making up for the first half of our trip being a work out, as we didn't leave the condo until after 12 and stopped at the first taco bell we saw.
We were sort of embarrassed of ourselves. Not enough to let a Doritos taco go to waste, though.
Shrug.
Why not?
Let's do it!
The drive was an interesting one. I felt like we were driving to East Tennessee for all the trees and the heightened sense of "hick" that I never knew existed in California. We stopped for a couple of dorky sideshows, including a drive-through tree and Confusion Hill's Gravity house.

Driving through Avenue of the Giants was amazing. We stopped a couple of times for pictures. I couldn't believe how small we were.
It seems I spent most of my trip feeling small.
Small in the Grand Canyon.

Small on top of Yosemite.

Small amongst the Giant Red Woods.

And soon-to-be just a small percentage of a huge population in a huge country.
The boy decided we would take Pacific Coast Highway down until the sunset. Yes!
However it took probably 30 or 45 minutes (maybe I'm being dramatic) of super windy roads to get there. I was seriously nauseated. And the Taco Bell wasn't helping.
Eventually he even got a little sick. Conveniently that was only for 5 minutes before we were out of it.
Must be nice.
And, just like before, it was gorgeous. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Every once in a while I would feel rude for not being better company, so I would engage in some conversation, but nothing that would require my taking my eyes off the view.

We stopped for dinner in Fort Bragg at Silver's. Awesome crab cakes. Beautiful view of the sunset.
At one point I acquired the boy's sun glasses, a different pair this time. They looked like L.A. snob glasses, so I played the part pretty well.

I quickly returned them before they ended up lost, though, and we headed on our way.
As I watched the sunset, I could help but let it hit me. This was it. This was the last ocean sunset.
I thought about our trip and how it really turned out to be the great American Adventure, exploring gorgeous scenes of the US landscape. We had see more in the last 2 weeks than some people see in their lives. And I still had more to see in the 6 months ahead.
But it wouldn't be this.
There wouldn't be greasy American food.
Or ridiculous movies.
Or scenic drives.
No side trips just for dessert.
No pie.
None of my goofy friends.
No hugs. I know that one was stupid, but 6 months is a long time to go without holding or being held by one of your friends or family members. And, of course, especially the adventure boy.
I couldn't help but to cry then just as I am now.
I'm not the most expressive person when I'm upset to the point of tears. So I really left the boy dumbfounded when he noticed I was crying.
We pulled over just as the sun was gone as he got out to walk around and get the skinny. I can't remember what either of us said, but I do know I got a hug as I sobbed into his new North Face sweatshirt. (Sorry, boy, I feel bad about that, now)
I finished my melt down and pushed for us to drive on. We had a long drive ahead and not much sugar in us.
We had another 30 or 45 minutes of curvy roads to get off of Pacific Coast highway, so my tears were taken care of pretty quickly.
Around midnight, we finally got home to Castro Valley, but made a stop by the boy's friend's house. My mom had sent chocolate covered strawberries (my favorites!) as a sweet goodbye surprise.

What a great midnight snack. And amazing breakfast the next morning.
Of course we ended up at the boy's favorite greasy diner for breakfast, Dell Cafe - he had an amazing hamburger that feature random breakfast items on it.
We spent the day running errands and doing laundry. It doesn't sound fun, but when those errands featured an awesome thrift store (Buffalo Exchange) and AMAZING ice cream and cookies (C.R.E.A.M.) with really great company, it was a pretty amazing day.
The boy claimed we were going out for my last night, so I put some effort into myself. I put on make-up and even shaved my legs. Classy, I know.
He said we were going to Santana's restaurant in Livermore, which was apparently nice Mexican.
I was secretly crushed. I was really hoping we would go to Simply Fondue like we did on my first night in California on Spring break. I LOVE fondue in general, but they also have really awesome martini's, too.
I did my best to mask my disappointment as we rode to Livermore. (Did I really shave my legs for this?)
We parked and walked into the downtown area, turned a corner, and walk right through the doors of Simply Fondue.
I couldn't help but laugh. Of course, everything has to be a surprise. Even if I initially knew where we were going. I can't believe I bought that.
Frick.
We enjoyed an AMAZING dinner and really great Campfire Fondue for dessert. Of course great drinks, too - My root beer float and Reese's martini's were rockin'.

As we walked to the car, we were quite the sob fest. Lots of hugging. Even more tears.
Why did I wear make-up?
We finally pulled ourselves together to get home. There was no time for tears. We had to leave at 4:30 AM and with lots of laundry and packing to do and midnight upon us, there was little time left to waste.
I also have no more time to spend writing this, as I have a medical check-up to attend - cross your fingers for no malaria!
My last few hours and plane adventure will be up soon.
Much love.