We Made It

We’re back from our grand adventure in San Francisco. Why are trips to the city such an adventure? Why can’t they be boring? We started off at a little before 10, in full knowledge of the fact that it would take but 2 hours and 23 minutes to reach our destination; St. Stephen’s church, located in the Stonestown district and close to the University of San Francisco. We had to be there at 1, but it was a bright and sunny day and we had an open road before us. What could go wrong?

Traffic, of course. Tons of it. And the clock kept ticking as we inched our way over the Bay Bridge. Denise had brought along ‘Maggie’, the Magellan GPS map reader for us to use, so we could see both the mileage and the time remaining, all at the same time. Counting down.

We arrived at about 10 after the hour, taking about 40 minutes longer than we had expected. But; surprise! Lots of us were late and so we found the majority of the participants standing outside and waiting for the latecomers. In San Francisco, you never have to invent an excuse for being late; simply shake your head as if you were really frustrated (you are) and say, ‘traffic’. Excuse accepted.

Once inside, the baptism ceremony went off without any problems. Colum seemed to think the whole affair was mildly interesting from a baby’s viewpoint and he seemed only a little startled when held over the baptismal font and the waters of baptism were poured over his head. A beautiful ceremony.

Afterwards, we went a few blocks away to Michelle’s grandparents’ house for the birthday party for Colum. A beautiful San Francisco house. I’m sure there is a name for the architectural style, but I don’t know it. But, as you stood outside and viewed the house and all of its neighbors, you knew you were in San Francisco. You couldn’t be anywhere else. It was the same inside; a warm and inviting house.

It was a grand party with great food and good company. And Colum endured, even without a nap. Then it was time to go and we bravely set off, with Maggie as our guide once more. Did I mention traffic? Well, it took us one and a half hours to get to the Bay Bridge. It’s obvious that at some point in the 1950’s, someone should have said, “Stop. We have enough people in the city now. We’re closed.”

Finally, at Vacaville, we found the 505 route and left the I-80 traffic behind us. Relax.

Colum in a contemplative mood...'what is this stuff?'