This seemed brilliant even though Matt was going to be in Chicago, so Amelia and I were flying out by ourselves again. This flight was scheduled for later in the day so I went to work that morning and figured that she would eat and sleep most of the flight. I was so wrong. All I can say is if that day was my version of Groundhog Day I would have resorted to killing myself much earlier. Even though we arrived more than two hours before the plane was supposed to leave, because of all the elevator detours you need to take with a stroller, the process of checking our bags, and then getting to the gate (which was past the sign that said "There are no more gift shops or restaurants beyond this point" which I think the airport equivalent of the end of the known universe) we were there 5 minutes before boarding was to start. Not a big deal except, this was the second leg of a flight from Geneva and there had been a problem with the plane so they had to reticket everyone on the flight. And then getting people boarded took an hour. It was the most chaotic airplane scene I have ever witnessed. Oh, and they had to pull a dad with two kids off the plane with the cops. Amelia was pretty good for the first part, and then she started to need her diaper changed. This was an older plane with no good place to change a baby. I ended up with her on the top of the down toilet seat. She was screaming, and then as I was holding her legs and wiping her she arched her back and ended up with her head stuck between the toilet and the wall. Thank God she didn't decide to take that moment to spray pee all over the bathroom. Then there was just general fussiness, eating four times in five hours and inability to sleep. By the time we landed I was ready to drink all of the wine in California.
Thankfully, after a night's sleep we were all doing much better. After my morning meetings, and then some work in the hotel room, we met up with my mother and took Amelia to the San Francisco Zoo. This was Amelia's first zoo experience, and while there were some animals she liked (penguins, peacocks) most earned a look of disbelief. The first animal we saw, a giraffe, especially confused Amelia and she had no idea what she was looking at. Here's what Amelia did enjoy. A ride on the small train around the zoo.
Playing with statues of animals. This baby elephant was especially popular once she figured out she could touch it.
And it wouldn't be a good day for Amelia if it didn't include a ride on the swings. The SF Zoo has a playground and this was definitely Amelia's favorite part.
Saturday was the day of the Big Game. Amelia and I had brunch with my brother and his girlfriend while everyone else went to the game. Here's the family with the final score (Stanford 48, Cal 14 in case you can't read the scoreboard in the background).
This is the trophy that is played for every year. I used to know that whole story, but my family got to go down on the field after the game and touch it. Very cool.
Amelia and I did attend the after party at a friend's house. She was decked out in all her Stanford gear and was the hit of the party. Especially since there were a couple of Cal fans there that need a pick me up.
The next morning we went up to see my mom and step-father and attend his church. He's the head pastor there, so most of the congregation had heard about Amelia and people were very excited to see her. She slept through most of the coffee hour, but was awake during the service. She was very vocal during the whole thing. Thankfully it was mostly laughter, but it was the most talkative I had seen her in a long time. Clearly she had opinions on the service, or at least the parts of the Church bulletin she wasn't allowed to put in her mouth. She got to meet the whole congregation, and Kent almost gave her the microphone, which I'm sure he never would have gotten back if he had. After a lovely brunch we were off to the airport. 
While we've had a good time in California, I think we're done with the traveling for a little while. It would be nice to put away the suitcase and not pull it out again for at least a couple of weeks. We are going to my aunt's house for Thanksgiving, and that's only 20 minutes away. I think that sounds perfect. Have a happy Thanksgiving!
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