When we got up this morning, we were all exhausted, at least Jeff and I were. Eliana seemed fine. She was ready to crawl around and explore. She got to play with her Cousin Jake and Aunt Karen. She showed them all her tricks: Touchdown, High-Five, Kisses, Meow, and Kissie Face. After being awake for 1 hour, she was ready to go back to bed. She napped for an hour and a half, and then it was time to go meet Marianne for lunch at Beachside in Goleta.
http://www.beachside-barcafe.com/
This is the "fancy" restaurant we used to go to in college. It's right next to UCSB, but not in Isla Vista. It's on the water and has outdoor seating for beautiful views of the ocean. As we took the freeway exit for the restaurant, the fish smell of the ocean was overwhelming. We were ready for a stinky lunch. Somehow, the smell was totally gone by the time we reached the restaurant, even though we were closer to the ocean. Marianne was already there, and we were able to get a perfect table outside.
I ordered the Chowder Boat, New England clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. It was good, really good. But not excellent. Jeff had the fish tacos, made with dorado. Very tasty. Marianne had the crab and shrimp pasta with sundried tomatoes and artichokes. It looked and smelled delicious. The service was slow, really slow, and our server forgot to bring out my order, but this was made up for with good food, a great atmosphere, and catching up with an old friend.
After lunch, we had to head back to my aunt's so Eliana could have another nap before our drive down to Simi Valley and then to the Dodgers game. We left for Simi at 3:45 and got there at 5:30. There was a little Friday holiday traffic, but it wasn't too bad. We went to Simi to meet Jim, Leanna, and Lucas before the Dodgers game. We were greeted by all three of them dressed in Dodger blue. Yuck! They have a cute house in Simi that they just finished revamping. Nice work!
Then, it was off to the Dodgers-Giants game. I was ready for the LA traffic we always hear about. And also ready for the slow drive into Chavez Ravine. It took us 45 minutes total. Awesome! That's better than the drive to AT&T Park! Turns out, LA isn't that bad.
I was nervous to wear my Giants gear. I'd heard too many stories about Dodger fans. None good. Jeff wore a Giants shirt and Eliana wore her black and orange beads. When we got closer to the stadium, I put on my Giants visor. Although there were a few hecklers, the Dodger fans were much calmer than I had prepared for. We had great seats, Section 130 Loge. We were between home and first, in the second level, 7 rows up. Within an inning of sitting down, top of the second, a foul ball off Buster Posey's bat came our way! Jim and Jeff stood up. Leanna and I stayed seated and protected our babies' heads and bodies. The ball bounced out of Jim's right hand, off my left arm, and then we couldn't find it! Jeff finally found it sitting in Eliana's bag, just as a little boy saw it. But Jeff was quicker. Eliana's first foul ball! From Buster Posey! Nice work, Booskie!!!
The rest of the game was fairly uneventful. Eliana blew a lot of kisses to the little boy sitting behind us and a Giants fan next to him. Jeff and I both had Dodger Dogs for dinner. Kruk and Kuip always talk about how good the Dodger Dogs are, and I have to agree. Not as good as a Sheboygan, but better than a regular hot dog.
We left in the middle of the 8th. The Giants were losing and didn't end up coming back for a win :( After the game, we drove to Long Beach to stay two nights with the Aguilars. The drive only took 25 minutes, and again, no traffic. Vicky and I were roommates for two years in college, and I couldn't wait to spend the weekend with her, her husband, and two cutie patootey kids. Evan, 2-years-old, and Liliana, 5-months-old.
We were all tired when we got there. Eliana went to bed in Lili's crib, and Jeff and I slept on an Aerobed in the living room. After the late night the night before, I was looking forward to a good night of sleep!
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