DAY FOUR:

I didn't post anything for Saturday night because after a very long day Dan and I crashed HARD at about 10:30 which was really 1:30 Michigan/body time! We got in so late because we had such a late dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe because we stayed at my parents apartment for a few hours visiting with my Brother Damon, His wife Beth, and their Son Cameron. There was a LOT of reminiscing and basketball talk. My brother had to endure long diatribes on Kobe Bryant, and it got so bad that I had to comment, "Kobe is our third brother, the one Dad loves the most!". Actually it was my Brother and father who went at it about basketball. I sat there and instigated! lol Earlier Dan had taken the car and gone to the beach to ride that darn roller coaster and to get his feet wet in the pacific Ocean. Something he has wanted to do for some ten years. And me? I took a long deserved nap. You must remember, I'm 51 and not the spry young man I once was. I had time to nap because earlier we left my parents home much sooner than anticipated because my Mother was having some irritation issues due to the onset of dementia associated with the Alzheimer's and our being there only made things worse. That was another reason for my afternoon nap. I just needed some time alone to process what I had experienced and come to terms with the reality of this disease and to think of what my poor father has to endure day in and day out.

After Dan got back from the beach and we visited with my Brother and everybody, Dan and I went into downtown and strolled the Gaslamp District looking for some Italian food. The problem was most of the restaurants, and there were probably a dozen Italian restaurants within a three block area, is that 1) they have dishes that you can't pronounce and 2) they cost an arm, a leg, and a nostril! After bouncing from menu to menu Dan said that he could go for the Hard Rock and I said lets do it! Besides the cool interior and music memorabilia and guitars all over the place (Dan was in Rock and Roll heaven!) the food was pretty good. And we saw the grand daughter of our Pastor there. WHAT A COINCIDENCE!

Today (Sunday) we started off by going to our old church home, Grace Assembly and worshiping with our church family. It was a wonderfully uplifting experience..the Holy Spirit was in that place! I enjoy singing the old hymns..ALL four or five verses! Everyone joining in and our voices singing praises together. Both messages by Gerry and His wife Jolene were knowledgeable, educational and inspiring. I will begin sharing their messages via pod cast on my web page. I only wish that Judy and Ebony could have been there. Next time perhaps. After church we headed over to my parents church which is pastored by a cousin. So that was somewhat a mini family reunion. My Sister came down from Pasadena for my Fathers birthday, oh yeah, we took Him and my Mother out for dinner the night before just prior to my Brothers arrival. But I was able to many family members many of whom were seeing Daniel for the first time since he was a young child. It was truly a blessing to have Dan here with me so that everyone could see Him. My Mother looked so proud. 

The last thing we did was go to La Jolla to take some pictures, then to a place called Sea Port Village, then back to my parents one last time, and now we're back at the hotel. And did I mention that we had to change hotels? Yeah. Apparently I only reserved the room for one day, and the next day it was rented and so we had to leave our marina view room and either take the smoking double that smelled like an ash tray, or move to a different hotel. We did the latter, and ended up in a party hotel! lol Sirens, fire department, police. Tonight will be quiet as the hotel is almost empty. Dan and I need to get packed up and ready for our early flight tomorrow morning. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.