So, woke up, played with Riley, the dog, and then left to visit with Claire's grandpa. The man is 88 and still a total grandpa, who relishes in recounting his life's adventures, like how he met his wife the first time, "she was the best dancer on the dance floor. I tapped her partner on the shoulder to cut in, and the rest is history." How he was a bigshot at TRW before it was known for tracking credit ratings (it began, and continues, as mainly an engineering firm). How he started driving at the age of 12, and started flying when he turned 60... and then circumnavigated the globe in a modified Cessna, alone, at 80.
Hit a couple vineyards. Was flattered when one place asked for my i.d. Lunch at the "square", the center of town. Claire swiped some bread so she could feed some ducks in the pond, but they seemed disinterested.
Next up: Train Town.
The first time I saw Train Town was when we were driving home on an earlier visit in Santa Rosa. From the outside, the place reminded me a place that had appeared in a couple vivid dreams I'd had. The front was lined with old train cars and a train station. I told Claire to pull off so I could peek inside. Even creepier, the place had some carnival type rides, and, just as in the dream, one of those spinning train changer things. Only $3.50 to get in - but they were closed. Claire promised that the next time we came up that we'd go in.
A year and a half later, we entered. The place was as in the dream... the featured attraction, a scale model, rideable train, took us on a twenty minute ride through the park. Since only a few rides were open on this Friday, the train was the only way to see most of the park, including a creepy child size roller coaster with evil looking metallic dragon cars. The route was decorated with small houses and villages, some with cheap rag dolls included in the dioramas. I was never quick enough on the camera to get any of the best ones. Halfway through the ride the train stopped at a petting zoo. Claire and I considered ducking off and waiting til the next train came around... but then I thought, its just goats. After the ride I bought a conductors cap so i could have Claire take some silly pics of me acting like I was five again, and suitable pouted when she said it was time to go.
Left and set up camp at Claire's Aunt Ginny and Uncle Peter's cool little home. I was ready for a nap and a diaper change, but Claire then dragged me back to her grandpa's for dinner, where his caregiver, a Filipino lady name Wilma or something, told Claire that grandpa was upset that I was wearing my baseball cap in the house. After having my i.d. checked, riding on choo-choos, and then being chastized for bad manner I did
Claire and I threw on the TV when we got home, and were immediately treated to some underage nudity and incest on network TV.
How is it that women's boobs are taboo on TV, child porn is illegal, and incest is a bad no no... but its okay to show naked two year olds in order to sell baby lotion, including a shot of their "mom" caressing their naked bottoms with a towel? Somethings screwed up here.
On a more practical level, I wondered if really flat girls were to show their boobs on TV, would anyone care? And if not, does this mean that big breasted girls have less rights than small chested girls?
As Claire and I discussed this, I told her that this was exactly the type of thought that people blog. And then I whipped out my laptop and started writing.
