Barry with pancake and potatoes. Mom with French toast and coffee

Caleb is up at 4:30 am and I get up at 6:30 when I hear my mom up and stirring. I get to talk to Tiffany – my sister at home in Texas that wanted to come visit, but just started a new job – via Mom’s cell phone. Barry joins us in the living room where we talk on the couch for half an hour. I take a shower and then we go to the West Coast Café. We let a customer go in front of us while the two of them decide if Barry wants the breakfast burrito (it’s like an enchilada) or a pancake – “No, it’s not the wheat ones you like so well”.

Bai Yun (White Cloud) 22yo

Xiao Liwu (Little Gift) 1yo

We go outside and find a table away from the smokers and wait. I ordered a strawberry protein smoothie, but it was more of an icee than what I expected. When the food arrives Barry’s eyes grow with the size of his plate – Do I have to eat all that? They didn’t want the meat that came with their pancakes and French toast so the man who took our order gave them some extra carbs and Barry got a side of potatoes that we shared at the table. I ordered a cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter, bananas, and honey. Our waiter brought out silverware – and the syrup in an industrial size container.

Barry begins to pour the syrup on half his pancake and wonders if he has to use all the syrup – the container isn’t full, but there’s still enough for ten of his pancakes in there – I let him know he doesn’t have to. I brought a to-go container and we will take half his pancake and a slice of French toast in it and wrap some potatoes in the multitudes of napkins that we were given. We drop all this off at the house before we drive to the San Diego Zoo. Mom doesn’t want syrup leaking in the backseat.

We go by the ITT Office (military discount store for amusement parks) on base before the zoo to save at least $7.00 per ticket, and get aerial tram and bus tour rides included. The gate on Harbor Drive from the Main St/ Division St exit is closed, so we go to the one by the NEX on 32nd Street. Barry thinks the $40 each is a lot for a zoo, but I let him know we are buying the animal food and care. We have no problems getting to the zoo parking lot, but once there, Barry is overwhelmed with the size of the place.

on the aerial tram overlooking zoo and cityscape

We park in the 2 Giraffe lot and make our way to the entrance. I take their picture by the zoo map and then we walk to the right. We walk miles looking for pandas, polar bears, elephants, kookaburras, and partridges (not in their pear tree). Mom’s favorite animal is the koala bear and she buys a magnet in the gift shop to commemorate the day. Barry is ready to leave at 3:00 pm, but we make it until 4:00 pm and skip the insect exhibit to go to Yogurtland in Little Italy – Barry loves frozen yogurt.

We park two blocks away and fill our cups will lots of flavors and mine with lots of toppings. We take a few blocks detour back to the car to see more of the area and by the dog park to see the Dalmatian-looking Great Dane. Home at 6:30 and Barry is ready for bed – tired from driving and sore from walking. I knit and Mom plays solitaire until Caleb gets home at 8:00. The three of us walked the dogs, that had been home for ten hours and not let out, around the block after dropping Caleb’s key off with the neighbor so that the dogs won’t suffer when we go to The City of Angels tomorrow.

sunset in Little Italy