It says PM but believe us, it’s AM

We scored two Matson keychains. You are only supposed to get one, but we were fortunate enough to have TWO Matson “Thanks for doing business with Matson” keychains.  How you ask? Well, on the way out of the wood paneled trailer confirming that our newly waxed and shop-vacced car from Chicago in fact had a reservation for a fabulous three week cruise to Kahului, I picked up a Matson keychain out of the wicker basket on the counter.

Gary, the kind Matson representative showed us where to park the car: “behind the Toyota whatever” and “put the wheel on the white painted line.” We parked behind the Toyota or whatever, Kent got out and a second Matson keychain was placed on our keys. Gary said, “You only get one!” Of course, I blurted out, “But I already stole one from the counter!” Apparently, Gary’s wife similarly blurted out unnecessary information when coming back from Italy, blurting out that she had a plant in her luggage when she wasn’t even asked. We all laughed at my and Gary’s wife’s stupidity. Then he told me that it was illegal to take photos while at a port. I put my camera away, happy I was able to take a second keychain and photos of the port with me. Our car was on its way.

Gary was really helpful and personable. He even knew a trusted cabbie so he called us a cab and we waited, now homeless and carless, for our paid ride to the hotel.

Awesome cabbie took us the long way so he was able to show us the “foodie” part of town. We passed an In-and-Out-Burger (“why would you want to go to the In-and-Out-Burger?”) Carrow’s, Hagenburgers (“best burger in town”) and Francesco’s (“too expensive.”)

Expensive Francesco’s it is! We knew that when we passed the place we had to go there. It has not changed since 1960-something. Most of the staff has been there for 30 or more years. The menu is the same. The decor is the same. Everything is the same. The food was gray, both in flavor and in color. Normally I would say if the food is disgusting I wouldn’t recommend it to others, but if you ever find yourself in Oakland, California near the Oakland Airport, find Francesco’s and park yourself there for the night. Chat it up with your waiter. Get the Spumoni.

Oh, and Axl Rose and Brad Pitt have been there. They were completely unrecognized by the aging staff at first, which I find to be extra charming.

I don’t know the last time I had a mimosa, but it couldn’t have tasted better than on a patio on a beautiful summer Sunday morning.  And could the kids have been better behaved?  Phil and Kristine’s children are such good kids and they are so fin to be around. Bud’s was a great place to spend the morning. A perfect California morning? Should we just stay here?

Our other tasks for this last full day in Linden included washing (and later waxing) the car, giving all of our CDs, sunglasses, and other miscellaneous pieces of garbage to Phil, and making zucchini bread.

Kent spent a lot of time washing, vacuuming, cleaning and waxing the car in the hot California sun. I was pretty much inside for that portion, so all I can tell you is that it looks great now. I think it is perfectly prepared for its three week cruise to Hawaii.

Cooking with their little girl couldn’t be any cuter. Although she does exactly as instructed, she manages to multitask the entire time. While she is measuring and counting cups of flour and half-teaspoons of baking soda, she is constantly dipping her finger in the “dry” bowl. As we worked, she went from dipping just her finger into the sugar to putting her entire hand in. We made two loaves of zucchini bread, from the zucchini plucked fresh from the garden.

Dinner was great thanks to Kristine. Every meal was great thanks to Kristine. She always uses the freshest ingredients from the local market or from her garden. I was so jealous of California tomatoes. They are red, inside and out and so unbelievably flavorful. Wait, SHOULD we just stay here?

Leaving was really bittersweet. We knew that shortly we’d be in the place we have been working so hard to get to, but it was also the last “home” we were leaving. We sort of felt like we were part of the family. Now, we were off, on our own again. Oakland here we come.

We have been having a great time in California. We had a fun day in beautiful San Francisco even though thick fog completely engulfed the Golden Gate Bridge. On the plus side, driving across the bridge in the fog was pretty cool. Tomorrow we drive to the docks and drop off the car with the shipping company. They require the car to be washed, inside and out, so that’s our next task today.

We are having a great time in Linden and will be heading into San Francisco today. Pictures soon. We miss everyone back in Chicago!