I don't even have my contacts in yet. Neener neener neener.
God, I have been busy for the last week. My mother-in-law came on Thursday with her great-nephew, and that day we ate out both lunch and dinner. We also ended up on that side because Kurt got out of work really late, and it wouldn't make sense for him to come home since he had to be at work at 5am the next day.
Friday was Kurt's Hell Night for his Chief's initiation. I thought about him all day, knowing that he was going through some tough times. I knew the Chiefs couldn't hurt him, but I knew it was going to be mentally tough on him. But he pulled through with flying colors, just like I knew he would!!
As Kurt was getting mauled by his fellow Chiefs, his mother and I, along with the kids, did the touristy thing in Seattle. First we visited the Sci-Fi Museum and Hall of Fame, right there by the Space Needle, but they confiscated our cameras so I didn't get any photos. What was cool was they had my favorite author, Robert A. Heinlein, on their Wall of Fame, but they didn't really mention any of his books in the exhibits. How can you NOT mention the Grandmaster of Science Fiction in a science fiction museum? Oh well.
After the museum, we went across the street and rode the Ducks of Seattle! They're the funny-looking vehicles some cities have that give you a tour of the city as well as going into the water and showing you the sights by sea, as it were. The Ducks of Seattle go into Lake Union and drive almost all the way around it. It was pretty cool, and I would highly encourage anyone who has a Ducks program in their city to check it out. It was a LOT of fun!
Then it was off to Pike Place Market!! What is a trip to Seattle without seeing the fish-flinging fishmongers? I didn't end up buying anything at Pike Place, surprisingly enough, but I would love to live somewhere in Seattle where I could go to Pike Place to buy the stuff for dinner every night. I'm so jealous of people who can do that. Grace's cousin also wanted to go to the very first Starbucks, where he got a giant Frappacino. It was packed there. Yet another reason I'm not so keen on the whole Starbucks thing.
We also ate out both lunch and dinner on Friday, and then the ceremony itself was on Saturday. Afterward we tried to eat at a fancy restaurant nearby, but they were all booked with reservations so we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory. I'm so surprised that Kurt didn't manage to fall asleep in his spaghetti; he was so exhausted!! He did fall asleep in the car on the way home, though.
Sunday his mother and cousin came over to our side of the water and we went to the pool!! We have this awesome pool over on Bainbridge Island that is so kid-friendly, and Grace's cousin just had an absolute ball! Grandma loved playing with Grace in the water as well, which gave Kurt and me a chance to soak in the hot tub together, something we haven't done since Grace was born!
My mother-in-law left on Monday to go back to Tucson, which gave me a few days to recuperate. But then yesterday I drove my friend J down to Olympia, about two hours away, to see a veterinary ophthamologist for her aging kitty. Unfortunately it was determined that the poor kitty is in a lot of pain, which is why he's sleeping so much of the day now. He also doesn't see very well; one day J had to rescue him from her backyard because he didn't see the three raccoons there. She's decided to put her kitty down since he's in so much pain.
Poor kitty. I love that cat! He's so friendly. I'd head over to J's house, and he would roll around in the middle of the street, crying like he was never paid any attention to. So I'd bend down and scratch his belly, and sometimes he'd even let me pick him up and cuddle him. When J comes over to my house, her kitty acts as an escort, walking her across the street and then waiting in my front yard till she's ready to go home again.
It makes me sad. *sniff sniff*
After driving four hours round-trip yesterday, I came home thinking that I would just vegetate and have a quiet, relaxing evening at home. Of course, I was wrong!! Kurt was underway yesterday, but they only went to another base in the area. Since this base is on my side, I asked Kurt if he wanted me to drive up there and take him out to dinner.
Such a simple thing got extremely complex. The base he was at yesterday is a very secure one and doesn't allow visitors. So first he had to find out if I could even get on the base to pick him up. I couldn't find ANY numbers for the main gate either on the internet or in the phone book. It's like this base doesn't even exist!! Finally he left the ship and walked off the pier to a gatehouse where he found the numbers for the main gate. Then he had to give them all kinds of information to allow me on the base... name, rank, serial number, date of birth, first-born child, the whole nine yards!! Once he had that information, then he had to ask if he could even leave the ship as liberty had been secured for everyone. Amazingly enough, his XO decided to let him go. But Kurt had told me not to get my hopes up, so I had pretty much decided Grace and I were going to have a quiet dinner at home together. All of a sudden, Kurt calls me and says, "Alpha team, go go go! Leave!! Get out of there! Quick, before they change their minds!!" So I threw on my shoes, flung Gracie in her car seat, and off I went.
We ate dinner at this rinky-dink restaurant, one of those places that small towns like to think is fancy eating when really it's not. (Chele... sort of like Lockhart's... *wink*) The food was good, though. It was a place that really only the locals go, so for us not to be on a first-name basis with our waitress was a little odd. But it was nice to see Kurt on a night that he was supposed to be gone, especially since he has duty again tonight.
Finally I got home last night at 11pm. So yeah... I am going NOWHERE today. Hopefully tomorrow Kurt will get off early enough that we can go get our new ID cards reflecting his new rank. One perk of his getting promoted -- now he can park on the pier instead of walking three-quarters of a mile to and from his car every day! Wooo hoooooo!!!
PS -- Photos up on my Flickr page... click the banner at the top!