3/4/10 - California Trip

Last week we made an emergency trip to Southern California because we heard Dave’s mom wasn’t doing well.  She had just gotten back to her skilled nursing home after a bout of pneumonia in the hospital, and didn’t want to go back to the hospital.  Over a week of inactivity had made her arthritic joints especially sensitive, and any attempt to change, clean or move her was extremely painful. 

Thankfully, Uncle Larry works for United Airlines and was able to offer us discounted family passes.  We arrived safely on Monday night in LAX and rented a van to drive the rest of the way.  We settled into a hotel in San Marcos so we could be as close to Grandma Geri as possible without having to fight the freeways. 

 

On Tuesday we spent most of the day visiting her.  She's was thrilled to meet Bethany for the first time and see how much her granddaughters have grown.  She had to remain propped up in bed because it was difficult for her to breathe, and the pneumonia made her ribs hurt.   She was a bit drowsy from the medication, and in a lot of pain whenever it wore off.

 

Aunt Nanci took the girls to visit the Wild Animal Park to see the new baby elephant.  They’re fascinated with animals right now, and Dumbo is one of their favorite movies.  They were excited to see the animals up close, especially the lion that roared at them.  Nanci said they were less enthusiastic about the birds in the sanctuary that would land on your arm and eat out of your hand.  She had two perched on her hand and tried to show them to the girls, but Amanda kept her distance while Eva stared with her fingers safely tucked under her chin. 

 

Later we had dinner with Chappy and Misty, who treated us to Rubio’s Fish Tacos.  Their little Carnell III is getting so big!