The Biggest and the Littlest

Lunch on the road.

Yesterday I got home from a fantastic mini road trip with my littlest sister, Lucy.  WHAT FUN!  You'll remember that last year when Maggie was in Belgium we were able to get quite a lot of one-on-one sister time together, but I've had fewer opportunities with little Lu.  It's great when all three of us are together, but I was really excited to get some quality time with my baby sister these past few days.

Uncle Donny with his favorite nieces. ;)

Tuesday morning we hit the road in Spirit, her little red Mustang, to visit my uncle and grandpa.  We made a pit-stop in Truckee at the Bagel Co. (Soooooo good!  I'd been craving a real bagel sandwich since my arrival!) and then ate lunch at a roadside rest area off I-80.  It was actually a beautiful little spot, much more like a picnic grounds than a typical highway rest area.  Once we had fueled up, we powered on through the remaining 3 hours of our trip, arriving around 3 in the afternoon at my uncle and grandpa's house.

It was so great to see them.  It had been four years since I last saw either of them.  We had a fabulous visit.  My grandpa is quite elderly now and doesn't always know who we are, but he's sweet and we sat and chatted and joked and watched TV with him.  My uncle took us out for dinner and then made a great dessert: coconut gelatto with whipped cream and chocolate almond cookies!  It's a good thing Lu and I decided to run the next morning! ;)

Me and Whoa Whoa.

Lucy stepping into her new apartment! 

Wednesday, we packed up the car and headed for SSU so Lucy could drop off resumes at restaurants in the area.  She's looking to earn a little extra money this school year since she's renting an apartment off campus with two friends--SO grown up!  The day we left home I remembered last minute that my Aunt Kitt lives in the area and it had been six years since we had seen each other so I gave her a call hoping to at least be able to have a coffee and catch up a bit as long as we were in the area.  When we finally got a hold of her, she not only offered to accompany us on the job search around town, but also offered her guest room for the night.  I am so glad she did because as it turns out, a coffee date wouldn't have been nearly enough time together!

Aunt Kitt met us with about eight pages of restaurant reviews at Lucy's new apartment and the three of us headed out to canvas the area.  Lucy was pretty intimidated by the whole prospect of the job search, but after we shoved her (literally) into the first place, she did fine on her own. ;)  It was really fun to watch her and go through the experience along with her.  I was so proud of her.  She was so cute about it--not quite wanting to believe that she is actually quite experienced and not only looks great on paper, but really is a wonderful, charming person.  She actually had an interview at the last restaurant we stopped by!  It was her very first job interview and she was bubbling over when she came out to the car to tell us about it--such fun!

My wonderful aunt and her husband Peter.

The rest of our visit was just as fun.  We met my Aunt's new husband, Peter, who is a dear, had a wonderful dinner; then a nice soak in the hot tub before climbing into the world's softest beds for the night.  In the morning we got up and went for a hike.  The trail meandered through tall yellow grasses, lava rocks and low coastal oak trees up a hill where we had a view of San Francisco Bay.  You could just make out the city buildings on the distant horizon.  It was the perfect day for a hike and I was so happy to just be there with my beautiful sister and my beautiful aunt enjoying a perfect sunny morning and more wonderful conversation.

After another lovely meal together (such good food on this trip!), it was time for Lucy and I to head home.  We drove out to the airport to say goodbye to Peter where he showed us his awesome planes (!).  He's quite a handyman/aircraft mechanic and so he gave us a little tour of some of the planes he's working on.  It was fascinating.  Did you know that some planes are just steel skeletons covered with the same material that ships' sails are made from?!  I was shocked.  I really thought they were all made from aluminum or some other light-weight metal.  I had no idea. :)

 Lucy and I finally got on the road around 2:30 and made it home by 6ish.  Traffic was slow around Sacramento, but those are things you almost don't notice when you've got such good company.  I for one was happy to have a few extra minutes with my sissy all to myself. ;)

Me and Lu.  Over my left shoulder you can see the San Francisco skyline.