California Trip

Our recent trip to Los Angeles and San Francisco was stressful and tiring, to say the least. It's been a few days since we've been back, but I am still in need of much sleep. I can't even blame my exhaustion on jet lag, since the three-hour time difference doesn't usually have an impact on me. Now why was this trip so stressful and tiring, you may ask? Well, let me start from the beginning...

Friday, 9/17/2010
We were already off to a bad start in the wee hours of the night when baby K woke up crying incessantly. We brought her back to bed with us, but even being near us didn't bring any comfort to her. Our poor girl was so exhausted that she finally went to sleep when the sun came out. We suspected she had an ear infection (since that's typically the only time she would react in such a way), and made an appointment with her pediatrician as soon as they opened Friday morning. We were scheduled to head to the airport mid-morning and I ended up changing our car service pick-up time for a half hour later. The visit to the doctors proved to be uneventful; despite our concerns, baby K was given a clean bill of health and cleared to fly (in retrospect, that may not have been the best decision).

Throughout the flight to Los Angeles, baby K was not a happy camper. We gave her some Tylenol to calm her down, but the worst came during the landing, when her crying started up again and didn't stop until we were safely on the ground (which makes us wonder if the pediatrician was wrong about her ear infection). She didn't eat anything that morning, nothing during the flight, and skipped dinner that night. At least she was still willing to drink water and milk. Friday night marked the second night of no sleep.

Saturday, 9/18/2010
We went out to San Gabriel for dim sum with my grandfather, my parents, and a few of my aunts and uncles in the morning. Baby K refused to eat or sit still at the restaurant. M and I had to take turns bringing her outside. That evening was my cousin KT's wedding, so we drove back to Claremont (to my aunt and uncle's place, where we were staying) to get ready. The wedding was held at Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa in the mountains 5,106 feet above sea level. We got there early and explored the complex. Great view, but not many (or rather, any) photo ops since baby K was too cranky to cooperate. About 15 minutes before the ceremony was to start, baby K started feeling extremely warm. Fortunately, there was a supermarket not far from the resort, so we took a quick walk there to pick up some Ibuprofen. By the time the ceremony was over, the medicine had fully kicked in, resulting in baby K running rampant during cocktail hour. She refused to eat anything during dinner time and eventually crashed in M's arms despite the loud music blaring over the speakers. Unfortunately, she wasn't tired enough to sleep through the night and still kept waking up crying, making this night #3 of no sleep.

Sunday, 9/19/2010
We went out early that morning with baby K and drove to Starbucks in hopes that getting a pumpkin bread or blueberry scone would entice her to eat (she usually loves that stuff). Of course, it didn't work and baby K just got more cranky when we tried to force-feed her. We drove around the neighborhood and baby K eventually fell asleep. When she woke up, we were parked in front of CVS (waiting for the Minute Clinic to open up at 10am). We still had time to kill, so we went inside and walked up and down all the aisles. It was heart-wrenching looking at baby K; she didn't even crack a smile when we showed her Elmo stickers. We ended up getting her a Dora the Explorer toy since that was the only thing she seemed remotely interested in.

The nurse at the Minute Clinic checked baby K's ears and said she could have an onset of an ear infection, but it was hard to tell since she had been crying so much. Since we were traveling, she prescribed baby K some antibiotics just to be on the safe side. After the visit to CVS, we went back to my aunt and uncle's place and just hung out there for the rest of the day. Baby K got her much needed uninterrupted nap in the afternoon and slept for almost three hours. We then took a short drive to Trader Joe's and I picked up some pasta to cook for her that night. I was so thrilled that she ate it; her first meal in three days! However, this still ended up being night #4 of no sleep.

Monday, 9/20/2010
With baby K being sick, M and I explored all the possibilities of changing our flight to San Francisco (we were scheduled to fly out Monday afternoon). Some of the options considered were: canceling the leg from LA to SF and renting a car to drive to SF instead; changing our SF flight from Monday to Tuesday or even Wednesday; staying in LA the rest of the week and flying home from LA on Saturday; or flying home immediately. With any change in our itinerary, it would've meant an automatic $300 change fee right off the bat, plus any difference in airfare (and subject to availability of the flight). I called up Continental Airlines and priced out some of our options. Even taking the $300 out of consideration, none of the options we had were very viable. We ended up sticking to our original plan and flew to SF that evening. Baby K didn't do well on the flight, but I suppose I wouldn't either if I was burning up with a fever that wouldn't go away.

We stayed at my friend MC's place during our stint in SF. This new environment meant more unrest coming from baby K and night #5 of no sleep.

Tuesday, 9/21/2010
We took the BART out to San Francisco and ventured off to Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, and Chinatown. Baby K was still feverish and cranky, but there was some slight improvement from the past few days. We went to an Italian restaurant for lunch at Pier 39 (since pasta was the only thing we know she'd eat), and she actually had an appetite for food. Progress made, but still night #6 of no sleep.

Wednesday, 9/22/2010
We visited the California Academy of Sciences at the Golden Gate Park (which, despite the name, is not at all close to the Golden Gate Bridge!). It was a bit of a waste since we went thinking it was a child-friendly place for baby K, but she ended up napping the majority of the time we were there. By the time she woke up, we had already gone through all the exhibits and it was time to leave already.

Wednesday was probably the turning point of the trip where baby K was back to her usual self. Night-time sleep was dramatically better... I believe she only woke up twice in the middle of the night.

Thursday, 9/23/2010
We got off to a late start that morning and didn't leave Concord (where we were staying) until close to noon. We made a trip back to Fisherman's Wharf and had lunch at In-N-Out Burger (can't pay a visit to CA without going to In-N-Out!). M and I committed a big no-no... we let baby K eat fries! After days of inconsistent meals and barely having anything in her stomach, I was just happy that my little girl was willing to eat!

We had hopes of visiting the Golden Gate bridge after lunch, but baby K fell asleep and we didn't want to risk waking her up by taking her out of the stroller when we boarded the bus, so we ended up walking around Fisherman's Wharf, back to the Embarcadero BART station, and all the way to Chinatown.

Friday, 9/24/2010
We made it to the Golden Gate bridge in the morning, stayed long enough to take a few pictures, then rushed to Pier 33 to make it in time for our boat ride to Alcatraz. Baby K gave daddy a hard time while we were in Alcatraz, running around the island and refusing to listen to him. M got mad, but I was so happy to see my little girl back to normal that her rambunctious behavior merely put a smile on my face.

Saturday, 9/25/2010
We had an early morning flight out of San Francisco. EC drove us to the BART station and we got there so early that the station wasn't even open yet. I panicked for a brief minute when I saw the gates down, thinking we wouldn't get to the airport in time (we were already cutting it close; any unexpected delays would have resulted in us missing our flight). Fortunately, someone came and lifted the gates soon after. It turned out we didn't have anything to worry about anyway, since our flight was delayed by an hour.

There must've been some miscommunication at the airport. During check-in, we were told that our flight was delayed by three hours. As a result, we received $12 in vouchers to use at the airport for our inconvenience. When we got to the gate, the staff there said they knew nothing about the delay being three hours. By the time we got breakfast, fed baby K, and enjoyed our lattes (courtesy of Continental Airlines), it was time to board already. I even had to rush to change baby K's diaper. Timing worked out great, and the flight back worked out even better. Baby K slept for four hours straight and when she woke up, she was happy and playful. I wish all flights can be just as smooth.

In Closing...
I was originally thinking of hitting Asia for our next trip, but after what we just went through in the west coast, I am having doubts and reconsidering. Regardless of where we go, we'll have to invest in travel insurance going forward.

US Open 2010

Our trip to the US Open this year was one of many pleasant surprises. Thanks to my friend SW, I ended up being a grand prize winner of $1,000 from Chase. (I wouldn't have won if it weren't for her, so the prize money will be split.) We also got free passes to go into the Chase lounge to enjoy some free drinks and refreshments (and to allow some peace and quiet for baby K while she took a nap). Of course, the t-shirt and ball M got autographed by Mary Joe Fernandez at SmashZone weren't too shabby either. We definitely made out better this year than any other time we've been to the US Open. How ironic that earlier that morning, M and I were just talking about what we can do to maximize our trip and make the most of the expensive ticket prices and parking fees.

I was disappointed that we didn't get to see any of the women's semi-final matches. I had expected them to be staggered a day apart as they have been since the beginning of the tournament (so I thought we'd be able to catch Wozniacki vs. Zvonareva), but apparently all the women semi-finalists were given the day off and they didn't play until the next day. We only caught the end of the women's doubles semi-finals and part of the mixed doubles finals at Arthur Ashe stadium. The men's quarter-finals started in the late afternoon (Youzhny vs. Wawrinka) but by that time, baby K was fast asleep in her stroller. Nevertheless, we had a good time and I am looking forward to returning next year. I'll have to plan the trip with SW again... maybe this is a new tradition we can start.

Numbers

2, 5, 6, 9, 10. These are the only numbers in baby K's vocabulary. She would randomly start repeating these numbers in the car ride home sometimes. It's cute, but strange. I don't know how she came to be so familiar with these five digits and why there's a discrimination against 1, 3, 4, 7, and 8. It's not like I ever skip over these numbers when we're counting or reading books. Try as I might, I can never get her to say them. When I start counting 1, she automatically continues with 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, bypassing everything in between. Maybe I should buy a lotto ticket with these numbers.