Feb. 29th. Tino arrived safely at the airport looking like a 1970’s Afro-ed disco cowboy= Sharp!
Minor glitch- After waiting for three hours at the International Gate, we get a call on Random Stranger’s cell phone. Tino is headed out of the airport and unsure of where to find us. Says he was never even in the International Arrival receiving area. Life mystery remains=unsolved.
March 1st-4th. Days are spent resting, organizing our cozy room for three, and spinning around the southern California hot spots. Highlights- the freeways, huge cars, parking structures, escalators become a normal affair, debit purchases still an American stroke of genius. We rode the chairlift up to Mt. Baldy on the 2nd, over frozen snow and dedicated snowboarders to be greeted by 60 mph winds at the top, hot cocoa and chicken noodle soup. We attended my nieces 11 year birthday dinner at the Old Spaghetti House with her friends and spent the next two days shopping for wedding clothes.
March 5th- Parents dress for the occasion and arrive to take us to the courthouse for our wedding ceremony.
Minor Glitch- We are two minutes late, literally, and the courthouse refuses to marry us. Undeterred, we swing by the gardens of one of the old Claremont colleges, take pictures before the sun goes down, exchange rings, and go to dinner.
March 6th- Wedding ceremony successful in less formal attire, with friend and her 4 month old baby as witnesses. Ice Cream and a visit to the OB/GYN to celebrate. 1 cm. dilated and the honeymoon task of encouraging labor continues.
March 7th- First trip to the Pacific Ocean. Surfers are insane and everywhere we look is another breed of dog, from a teacup Chihuahua to a St. Bernard.
March 8th- Trip to visit our garden plot at the community garden with local friends.
March 9th- Purchase of many seeds to start and plants to put in at home. That night I am up with regular contractions. The rest of the birth story is in the next chapter.
