ooohh…that water’s cold!

I get a message on Facebook on June 26. The parents are taking Tiffany’s boys to Balmorhea State Park in west Texas and Jason is joining them. He wants to know if he can drive out here – of course! He tells me on the 29th that he will be bringing his puppy, Bailey. I’m not worried about her behavior, but the temperament of my dogs, but that’s what closed rooms are for. I tell Caleb this will be the second sibling to see our place – the first being his brother, Kris, in Virginia Beach.

His progress via text on the first: 10:48am – New Mexico, 1:15pm – Arizona. I reassure him with, ‘Ya, only 7.5 or so more hours to go!’ At 5:45pm he thinks he is 80 miles from CA and at 6:29pm he is 200 miles from San Diego. At 8:53 I ask where he is. His reply, ‘should be within an hour. these mnts are crazy.’ And he was right. He would park in front of the house at 9:45pm, Bailey in hand (she’s a chi-weenie) and announce his hunger.

I grab my keys and tell him to get in the truck. We could walk over, but I believe Don Panchos closes in ten minutes and I don’t want to chance it. He made a comment about my driving, but will soon appreciate it. He orders two BRC (bean, rice, and cheese) burritos with some salsa to go. Back at the house, I will introduce him to apple pies – apple cider with fireball whiskey and he offers me half a burrito in return – I wasn’t that hungry.

view from Cowles Mountain

I tried introducing the dogs and they just wouldn’t be nice so they got to spend the night in the bedroom alone. We would stay up until after 3:00 am talking about everything. It felt great to get this bonding time with him. I think back to our childhood and that maybe mine and Eric’s relationship was based on the tight bond that him and Tiff shared. And now their relationship with our sister is less than good. She has let them down as a sister and as a mother to her kids. Jason tells me they are embarrassing to be with in public.

My dogs wake me up in the morning before Jason. I use that time to blog. And when he does wake I show him different photos from my collection. It piques his interest and he is now following my blog via Facebook…Ya! Then it is time for showers before heading to the beach to get sandy feet. This is his first time and I’m excited for him. He had heard that the west coast water was colder than the east and now his feet agree.

Jason at the top of Cowles Mountain

We walk to the end of the pier and this fishing man wishes he had brought his pole. With nothing to catch fish with we go to the West Coast Café for brunch where I will get French toast and a side of bacon for Jason and he will get a monkey bagel – peanut butter, banana, honey, and a cup of coffee. We will stop by the house to change shoes. Jason has chosen to wear Velcro shoes in honor of a fad Eric tried to start in high school.

After the dogs are let out, we set out for our next adventure – to hike Cowles Mountain. Jason had heard about Mom doing it and wanted to try it for himself. I’m glad we did. It was dustier out than we both realized and we couldn’t see the ocean, but Jason was still amazed at all the mountains in view. We both took pictures, we both sweated some, and we both agreed that we need to do this more often – exercise or hang out I’m not sure.

we liked the sticker

Back at the house, Jason has worked up an appetite. I suggest Aroma Thai to try something new, but he is addicted to Don Panchos. We go back for three burritos this time, but it won’t just be salsa he’s putting on one of them. I have some yellow hot sauce that I got from Washington on a past visit. I want him to try a taste and he ends up covering his burrito with it and regretting it soon enough.

Jason decides to have a movie marathon night. I’m ok with that. They are my movies; I should like them. Then I think about it. This will be the first time in the 3.5 years of owning this bed that another boy or man will be on it besides Caleb – weird thought. On to the movies. He chooses Bad-der Santa – it’s funny. Next, Snatch – more laughs. Lastly, Halloween by Rob Zombie – not so funny. I still like his music and his choice to put tits in the film, but I question my choice for violent films – less death, more life.

Jason drinking fancy milk

Midnight passes, but the conversation is flowing. My dogs will wake me earlier in the morning. After an hour and a half or so I go back to bed to take a short nap. Fifteen minutes later and I hear Jason shuffling around. He has let Bailey out and is gathering his things. We agreed to have breakfast before he leaves. We will go to another restaurant in Imperial Beach. I offered Coronado, but all I could think of were bagels.

We sit down at Seacoast Grill – also somewhere I took Mom while she was here, but we didn’t get the same smiling service. I ordered water and Jason a chocolate milk that came in a fancy stemmed glass – with a straw. To eat I would get an everything cream cheese bagel and he would order eggs, meat, hash browns with a side of pancakes – a stack that never came. He had the waiter take it off the check, tipped him, and we were gone.

Back at the house Jason would put his bags back in the car before coming back for the dog. She is so well behaved and already potty trained at such a young age. She is still in the trip-over-your-feet puppy stage and rides in Jason’s lap – he loves it. Though our visit is short I agree that Jason go somewhere that good fireworks are a guarantee – like Andice, TX where we went growing up. A see-you-later hug is had and he drives away.