Long Weekend Ahead

A three day weekend ahead....

Although I hemmed and hawed about driving for about a total of 16 hours, it will be great to see my grandson Chris.

He and his dad will be celebrating their birthdays next month, so I decided to take them out for sushi.  Now mind you, there are some crazy names for these sushi places in Santa Cruz....but one cannot deny the good tasting food.

There is Pink Godzilla....they have a sushi bar and what I believe is called tatami rooms.  These are shoji door enclosed rooms where you sit on the tatami mat and under the table there is a hole in the floor - a place to dangle your legs.  If memory serves me right, the exterior of the restaurant is painted pink...DAH!

My personal favorite is Rumble Fish in Scotts Valley.  They also have a sushi bar and bento box meals, along with Udon or Ramen (for lack of a better name that has escaped my mind) noodles.  I love the Tempura - both Shrimp and vegetables.  Their Tempura is perfect...not too doughy.

Having said that, my son-in-law prefers a more authentic Japanese style restaurant.  It is very small and always crowded.  Again, my memory is "out to lunch," because for the life of me I can't seem to remember the name of this restaurant.

Speaking about Tempura (notice the sly segue), here in Las Vegas, I love Makinos.  They make a parsley Tempura that is quite good.

Anyway....back to the 3 day weekend.  I've spent the last 2 days in preparation.  First, I had to track down a cord for my IPOD that has a special auxiliary spot in my new car.  I went to Best Buy - they didn't know what I was talking about.  I showed them the picture.  They sent me to Fry's - the salesperson recommended that I use the adapter to work the IPOD through the radio station. 

Now if you have ever gone on a long drive....you know that you have to constantly change the radio station to avoid the static noises or style of music, and to pick up the current city's signal....this solution defeats the purpose.

I went to the Apple Store and they had no clue what I was talking about!  HELLO.....you guys designed this "puppy"!

OK....now I'm getting determined.....how about the Toyota parts department?  They must have it!

WRONG!  They actually sent me to a Scion dealership across town.  They contacted that dealer and reserved it for me and they agreed to honor the price to match the cost from Toyota.  When I get there,  I learned that they were hoping that I wouldn't show up because now they have to find this cord in the section of warehouse that has parts that are being returned to the factory. 

A hundred and five dollars later....I have purchased a cord for my IPOD!  YIKES!!!  Now this baby is unique because it has covers for those parts of this cord that goes into the IPOD and the auxiliary covered receptacle.  AWESOME....on my radio screen the names of the artists appear.  Now mind you, I should keep up with the latest in technology...because it is so much easier than trying to change selections from the IPOD while driving.  I am in heaven!

Now all that is left is to pack.  I've got a list a mile long of things I need to take.  You really don't realize how many items you need just to get yourself ready.  Now I can see if I was going to be gone for a month....but let's be realistic!  I am going to arrive around lunch time on Saturday and I have to cram time in with visiting then it's back on the road on Monday by lunch time in order to get back home so that I can get to bed and be "bright eyed and bushy tailed" for work on Tuesday.

Am I crazy?  Yes, OMG....yes .....love for and from the grandkids.....that is sheer heaven!

Have a great weekend everyone......be safe and may you be surrounded by the love of family!