The good, the bad, and the snobbish

Last Friday, I decided that the time had come for us to use up our Cosco gift card. We've had the gift card for two years or so - I guess we just never get around to going to Cosco. Going to Cosco last Friday, for only the second time ever as a shopper, I was reminded of why I generally don't like shopping at Cosco. To me, it doesn't matter how good of a price I can find on apricots and cherries if they come in such massive packages that I know half of the fruit will be rotten by the time I'm finished with it.

Regardless, I had made up my mind before I left the house that I would look for a Historical Marker near the mega-store. I plotted my route with Google and set off down the road.

The road to California Historical Marker #740 was long. All along the route I kept my eyes open for a second marker that was supposedly nearby, but it wasn't found. After several minutes of driving I was about to give up my quest. Luckily I remembered that this marker was located at a Vehicle Recreation area and when I finally spotted some hills that had been carved up by vehicle traffic, I knew I was close by.

When I reached the gate leading to the Carnegie State Recreation Vehicle Area I was disappointed to read that I would have to pay an entrance fee to search for my plaque. However, after speaking to the park ranger at the gate, I had her convinced that my daughters and I had no intention of going four-wheeling in the big, red car. In fact, not only did she allow us to enter the park for free, she also knew (after a quick check) where the historical marker was located.

The girls and I parked close to the target, but not so close that my car would necessarily be in any photographs I took of the plaque. The girls were more enthusiastic about being in my pictures than usual. In fact, Amelia even took a couple of pictures of mommy and Diana in front of the marker. One turned out pretty good.

After we got our shot, the girls wanted to play. They had been in the car for quite a while, so I wanted them to be able to get out and run around a bit. I didn't feel we could go very far away from the entrance, since they had been nice enough to let us in without paying a fee, but the girls found their own fun in collecting rocks. The pile they made was impressive enough for a couple of photographs and made me think, once again, that Amelia really needs to sit down and watch The Long, Long Trailer.

Today, the main reason for traveling out of town was so that everyone in the family (except me) could visit the doctor. Daddy had the longest, and most intensive appointment, so I thought I would find a nearby marker while he was undergoing his procedure.

Of course the first task involved getting both girls their flu shots. I foresaw that going very poorly. Once one of the girls had her shot and cried, it would be almost impossible to get the second daughter to sit still for her vaccination. Surprisingly enough, things went incredibly smoothly. Not a single tear was shed, in fact there were no complaints at all.

So once the girls got their shots and band-aids, we were off. It took some time to find the first street we were looking for. Once we found that first street, everything fell into place - until we got to the road that the marker was supposedly on. Google maps indicated that the marker was on the right-hand side of the street. I drove the entire length of the road (to a reasonable distance) back and forth but I didn't see a marker anywhere. I finally decided to go to a nearby winery in the hope that they might know where I could find either the Cresta Blanca Winery or the plaque that indicated where it had been.

The first person I spoke to was the valet who parked cars at the Wente restaurant. He was very helpful and knew that the tasting room was adjacent to the Cresta Blanca banquet room. He said we could wander about the grounds as we wished and he seemed certain that the employees in the tasting room would be able to assist us.

So we drove around to the tasting room and parked nearby. I brought the girls with me into the tasting room and asked if any of the three or four people working knew where the historical marker might be. Most of the group was baffled and confused by my request, but one young man knew exactly what I was talking about and brought me directly to the marker. I was surprised to find that the marker was next to a cork tree that was only about 100 feet from the tasting room. It amazes me sometimes that people can work somewhere and have little to no knowledge about the areas around them.

Our visit to the Wente winery wasn't quite like our earlier visit to Hop Kiln. While the employees at Hop Kiln were friendly and chatty, the sommeliers at Wente were stand-offish and snobby. The winery was clearly designed for well-off individuals to enjoy and not for the likes of my little traveling band. Their loss - when the thousands of individuals who frequent my blog realize what snobs work at Wente, I'm sure their business will collapse. (Of course I'm kidding.)

While we were wandering around the winery I got a phone call saying that Mike's procedure was going to take much longer than expected (apparently, the doctor scheduled to perform this procedure was a tad bit late coming in this morning). Since we had lots of time to kill, we went out to lunch and then to a playground near the medical center where daddy was being seen.

The girls had a great time playing in the warm sun. Diana sang one of her new favorite Disney songs while she played. Of course, Diana doesn't know many of the words, but she's happy to repeat the bits she knows over and over again...

"Can you feel the love tonight?
Why won't he be the king I know he is?
The king I see inside.

Can you feel the love tonight?
Why won't he be the king I know he is?
The king I see inside.

Can you feel the love tonight?" (etc.)

Amelia has recently been having fun pretending that she's a super hero. Her super hero name is, "Super." And today she enjoyed climbing to the top of the playground and announcing, "I am a super hero!" She would then seek out people in need of her help by asking, "Is anyone in trouble?" She seemed a bit disappointed when no one acted desperate for her help.

Lisa