Feb 16 2002
Day One
So far, so good, despite my causing a minor ruckus at the airport. Bet you thought John was the half of this couple most likley to make a scene in public, but lately, it seems to be me.
We picked John’s father & stepmother up at the airport. I saw them approaching and went forward to meet them — you can no longer meet people at the gate — and set off flashing lights and an alarm. An armed guard told me to step back, and briefly scared John’s parents, who thought they had caused the alarm. Welcome to America!
They were absolutely enchanted by the city. I guess we are so used to its beauty that we take it for granted, but this was Ed and Marj’s first visit to California and they were pretty much blown away by the hills, the Victorian houses, the Bay, the flowering cherry trees, and the fact that you can buy booze in the corner store. In Canada, you have to get it at The Liquor Store, which is government-run and closes by 5:30. Welcome to America!
They admired the apartment and our cats, taking pictures of everything, so I guess all the hassles of Operation House Beautiful were worth it in the end.
Dinner turned out fine, and they either didn’t notice or were too polite to remark on the Frankenstein-ness of the pie. However, John and I are both suffering the effects of two glasses of wine (me) and two beers (him), plus not getting to bed until after midnight. We are just so pathetic!
The clouds even obligingly withdrew to the horizon, so we took them up on the roof to show them our view of the Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Russian Hill. Even today, the clouds and rain which have been on the menu for the past few days seem to have been sent to Seattle, or one of those other places where it’s supposed to be cloudy and rainy. I’m hoping the rain will at least hold off until we have finished our tour across the GG Bridge today.