California

We went to California so long ago now. I have no idea how to write this up, so it's just going to be a matter of fact type of post - bullet points. I tried keeping notes on my phone of what we did, so I'm going with those. I also didn't take a whole lot of pictures. So backing up a bit, like most things for us lately, the trip just happened. We had already booked Bali and we were not really planning on going back to the US until the Christmas holidays. However as things started shaping up, it worked out best to go when Annmarie had her two week spring holiday and she would only have to miss four days of school and we would be gone for three weeks. So off we went.

The flight. Loooooong.
This is torture. You see basically the same blue screen the entire flight.
Ben did the opposite of great. Annmarie was fine.
I didn't sleep like at all. It was long.

Day One.
My Dad picked us up at the airport.
We got settled.
Jamie went to visit his grandfather.
We had Mexican for dinner. Yum
(this is how I wrote my notes)

Day two.
We visited with Papa.
Jamie went for a run with his buddies.
Pizza for dinner.

Day three.
Another visit with Papa.
Annmarie has a sleepover with Grandma and Papa.
Thai for dinner with Bonnie
(yes, I kept track of what we ate for dinner every night)

Day four
Jamie and Ben watch football together.
Breakfast with Grandma and Papa.
Lots of shopping.
Chipotle for dinner over at Terry's.

Day five.
Jamie works.
Little farm.
Dinner at home - spaghetti.
Annmarie has a sleepover with Grandma and Papa.

Day six.
Jamie works.
Ben and I go out for Brekky
Hang out. Relax
Meet up with Uncle Jon and Papa Tom
Annmarie has a sleepover at Jon's.
Back Forty takeaway for dinner (ribs)

Day seven.
Cathy is back from France.
Ben and I visit with Cathy.
AM and Jamie hang out with Papa Tom and Jon and go swimming.
Dinner - Mexican in Concord. Yum. We really really miss Mexican food.

Day eight
Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkley.
Sushi for dinner.

Day nine.
Jamie and I have a day date in SF. Oysters at the Ferry Building. A good coffee - finally. Shopping.
Grandparents look after the kids.
Dinner at Burma Super Star with Bonnie and Glenn.

Day ten.
Jamie goes to Giants game.
Dinner over at Jamie's Aunt and Uncle.

Day eleven.
Hang out. Watch football at home.
Annmarie sleepover with Grandma and Papa.
Homemade hamburgers for dinner.

Day twelve.
Jamie works.
AM and I meet up with a friend from Oz.
AM is not feeling well.
Takeaway Chipotle for dinner.

Day thirteen.
Jamie works.
Ben and I meet up with a old friend from work.
AM still not well.
Chinese takeaway for dinner.

Day fourteen.
Jamie works.
Hang out with Grandma and Papa.
Thankfully Annmarie feels better.
Dinner (fajitas) over at Kai's with friends. Fun!

Day fifteen.
Jamie works.
Fairyland!
Dinner at the Dead Fish for Grandma's Birthday!

Day sixteen.
Jamie works.
Go to Trader Joe's for the second time. Miss that place.
Jamie and I go out in P Hill! Meet up with A and K for drink. Dinner at Serpentine. Dessert at Chocolate Lab.

Day seventeen.
Jamie, Annmarie and I go to the Cal Game. Hottest Day ever in Berkley. Ben stays with Grandparents.
Jamie then hops on Bart and goes to the A's playoff game (but not before getting a burrito).
We go to Chipotle again for dinner. :)

Day eighteen.
Visit and lunch with the H's.
Pizza for dinner
Say goodbye to grandparents.

Day nineteen.
Jamie, Nana and the kids go to the Oakland Zoo.
I have the day to myself! Shopping and mani pedi. Dinner with old friends.

Day twenty.
Pack.
Visit Papa.
Pack.
Dinner at Moshi Moshi - Sushi. Yum!
Go to airport. Annmarie cried.
Flight time- 10:30pm

Flight back went a lot smother, both kids crashed on the plane and Jamie and I both got some sleep in.
We did what we could. So many people we didn't get to see or would have loved to see more of. Places we would have loved to go to. But that is just how it goes.

It was fun being back home. 

xx

Bali Video

Just when you thought the Bali posts were over, I also made a video. #overkill

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Music - Michael Franti, Hello Bonjour

Bali - Part III - Days 8, 9 & 10

Day 8

We found this amazing beach club - Finn's Beach Club. Gorgeous, right.?

We were some of the first people to get to the beach this day. I started the morning off with cappuccino. The Balinese coffee was good, but nothing beats a good cap.

The tide was high when we got there, but it was starting to go out. You couldn't really swim yet so we just played in the surf and sand.

I want to go back there. Now.

A offering left on the beach.

Having them share a juice never really worked.

However, they would easily share the phone.

We stayed long enough for the tide to go out and have a swim. Annmarie even went out with Jamie and looked for fish in the coral. The water temp was perfect too.

Sadly it was time to go. I love how we always clean the kids up and they leave in dry clothes and I'm always a wet mess.

Waiting for the inclinator.

The operator offered to take our picture and went a bit crazy.

Hi!

Hi!

Hi again!

One more.

And this one too.

Some snaps of the resort where the beach club was located. I wouldn't mind staying here.

Heading back to the villa and this is how we traveled. It's so counterintuitive - we live a in place where there are rigid traffic laws and car seat regulations and then you go to a country where there are no traffic laws and it's complete chaos and kids do not sit in car seats. We just went with it. 

Driving back and seeing cows on the road. This guy was right by our villa.

Most days you couldn't see the volcanoes from the villa, but they came out on this day.

We had dinner that evening at M's place and called it a night.

Day 9

We went out to breakfast, bought Annmarie and Ben 40 cent watches and came back to the villa to swim and relax. Jamie headed into Kuta to do some shopping. I was totally fine not going to Kuta, as I'm not sure I could have handled the chaos. Kuta is also where the bombings occurred in 2002. That evening for dinner we stayed in and picked up food from M's warong. M had gone spear fishing that morning and we had one of his catches for dinner - yum.

This is the only picture from the day.

Day 10

We had a 11:00 pm departure time so we had a full day ahead of us. We decided to go back to Finn's Beach club. I had another cappuccino and then followed it up with this baby.

We messed around and waited for the tide to go out and had lunch.

Cheeky. I want them to recreate this picture when they get older.

Once the tide was out we all went swimming. Here are Jamie and AM looking for fish.

What happens when you wake up at 5:00am. Again, we went with it. He slept for two hours like this. We took turns swimming with Annmarie and resting next to Ben - not a bad way to spend our last day in Bali.

Cheese! (BTW - I'm not clawing Ben, I'm trying to tickle him to get him to smile.)

We went back to the villa and packed up. This was our driver Made' when we were in Bukit. He was awesome, even Ben warmed up to him.  Everyone was so great with the kids. He took us to a Balinese rib place before we headed to the airport. The food was great, however the ribs where smoked and we all ended up smelling like smoked ribs when we left the place. 

The kids somehow stayed awake until we got on the plane at 11:00 pm and then passed out during take off and slept the entire flight home. Major score.

A post about Bali would just not be complete without a picture of Bintang Beer. I would compare it to a Heineken.  We consumed a lot of this.

Some closing thoughts:

Nine nights ten Days - it was a bit ambitious with kids and we were ready to get home. We did have a great time and I would totally go again.  I can see why a trip like this may not be for everyone. It is and isn't child friendly. There's the driving thing and hygiene/water thing that you need to think about. However, the kids were very welcomed everywhere we went and so were we. The extra help you get is a big bonus. The Butler/cook at our first place was awesome and the housekeeper at the villa in Bukit kept the place clean and did our washing everyday and even pressed it. I felt totally safe there and even learned that Indo has tight gun laws. 

I asked Annmarie what her favorite things were about Bali and she told me - swimming everyday, the sculptures and the food. She asked me why my chicken doesn't taste like their chicken.?

It was awesome for us and I hope we all get to return one day. 

The End.