I strong-armed my grandma over the phone this afternoon. I’m not sorry about it, either. Here’s how it went down. (I know all of her anti-travel protests by heart and we ALWAYS have fun together.)
“Gram, remember back in August when I asked you to come out for a visit?”
Oh, I hoped you’d forgotten. I don’t feel well enough to travel.
“Wait. What? Are you sick? If you’re sick you need to make an appointment with Dr. Gonzalez.”
I’m not sick. I’m just not well. I have an eye appointment this week and I need a mamogram.
“Seems like you just had a mammogram, Gram. I think you LIKE mammograms. What’s with you and mamograms? Reschedule.”
Well, I just don’t feel like making that trip. California to New York is really far.
“You went to Hawaii with Dale last year and if her knee wasn’t bad, you’d have gone to Alaska this summer.”
I don’t know, Jenn… I’m getting too old to travel. I’m not spontaneous like you. You and Eric are gypsies. I never know where you kids are.
“I’m in New York, Gram. I drove past a PURPLE tree this morning. Fall has arrived. You’re gonna be 92 in November. You might not be alive next Fall. You’ve been talking about Fall foliage for at least a decade. You’re coming.”
Well thanks for that vote of confidence, wise ass. It’s a long trip, Jenn. I’m not up for travel… I don’t want to change planes.
“Nonstop from San Diego to New York City, Gram. And since you don’t want to drive? I’ll ask Anne and George to take you to the airport. If they can’t? I’ll send a shuttle. What else?”
Oh, I don’t know, Jenn…
“Gram, you said no to Vegas for your birthday a few years ago. You LOVED it.”
First stop: the hairdresser!
Quick photo and we’re outta here.
Sassy in her glasses; she slept halfway to Vegas!
The lobby of the Mandalay Bay. Hey, it was her birthday. Go big or stay home, right?
Unpacked.
Scoped out the hotel bathroom.
And napped.
Enjoyed the city lights before we headed out.
The Botanical gardens at the Bellagio are insane. Doesnt she look unhappy to be there?
Fall in Vegas is impressive. Artificial like most of the city, but impressive nonetheless.
Then we went to Paris, kicking and screaming all the way, she was.
Crepes for dinner, of course.
We were laughing at the tourist trying to use my iPhone correctly. Bought my FIRST iPhone for this trip JUST for the camera. Just saying.
Of course we posed for a few photos on (or near) the strip.
Because you know what they say…
Such a hard shot to take with a billion people on the sidewalk. =)
Oh, yes! It was just stunning! I never thought I’d be back to Las Vegas in my lifetime, that’s for sure! What a trip.
“You said no to Uncle Craig’s mine in Nevada. You LOVED it.”
Wild wild west, this place was.
Uncle Craig never stopped holding Gram’s hand.
Quick group selfie. (the technology blew.his.mind.) He lives almost completely off the grid.
The old headworks at one of his shafts.
There’s gold in them that hills.
But seriously. He still mines.
Caution! Danger! Peligro!
Of course I parked th struck and walked over for a better look. Uncle Craig? Not pleased.
A piece of abandoned equipment.
Headworks at a neighbor’s mine.
Dropped a B/W filter on it and the “Old West” came to life.
Oh, Jenn, that was really something, wasn’t it? And then we met that professor and went out to the Gemfield?
He was surprised we took him up on the offer to come out.
I was shocked by the beauty of the pieces he’d extracted (at a different site) already.
He showed us how to work the vein.
And even let me have a crack at it. (see what I…)
Absolutely stunning.
I brought this “gem” home. Love it.
Gram hacked this piece out of the ledge.
She was happier looking for pieces on the trail.
Such basic tools.
He is a geology professor at a school in San Diego and was leading a dig. This is one of his students.
Obligatory “how awesome is my truck out here in the dirt” photo.
And that old cemetery? Wow. What a cemetery that was! So many deaths in a short time!
Sorry ’bout the sun in your face, Gram. SMILE!
This may have been her favorite spot on the trip. We stayed a few hours reading headstones, googling, walking around.
This cat. Seriously? A grey cat following us in the cemetery?
The markers were so old, so simple and yet, in their own way, so unique.
Obligatory sunspot.
The graves were amongst the simplest I’ve ever seen
The cat, adorable as it is, actually kind creeped me out. Too much Stephen King as a kid!
Suicide.
Hart failure. [sic] Pretty sure the bible isn’t as old as the grave.
This genealogy buff was in heaven. And look. That cat!
Life became a burden.
Again with the creepy (so affectionate) cat.
The detail surprised me; punched tin.
This sheriff died “defending the life of a whore” according to the news piece we googled. Hmm.
Railroad ties.
Here comes the cat… every time I knelt for a photo? Cat.
Mrs. Dr. Piper.
The baby section made me sad.
Lots of lost babies. It was a mining town. A cold in the winter, hot in the summer kind of town.
And still this CAT!
“You said it was “too far” to go to Los Angeles to Eric’s house (after I flew in from DC) to celebrate your 90th birthday and Thanksgiving as a family. You also said ‘going into the city at night is just too much. You sure were surprised when the taxi stopped at the Staples Center.”
“All these years and there’s a subway in Los Angeles?”
Want to see a HAPPY Grandma? Take her to Staples Center.
I mean, she looks unhappy, right?
Courtside and yes, she made the Jumbotron. Happy 90th Birthday, gram!
She didn’t think 90 candles would fit on the giant cupcake I bought to surprise her, for her Thanksgiving Day birthday, either. They did.
I see what you’re doing here, Jenn…
“I’m not done, Gram. You didn’t want to go to the Grove that week because it would be crowded. You sure enjoyed watching it ‘snow’ though.”
Hand in hand with Bro.
Always fun to hand my phone to a stranger and give photo instructions.
She had NO IDEA it was going to “snow.”
And seriously almost lost her mind. I mean. She hated it.
Waiting for it to fall..
And then she started dancing.
Miserable idea, right?
Success! Good thing we didn’t stay home because the traffic was bad!
It was truly magic. I never thought I’d see snow again, Jennie. (well, technically, it was foam. Semantics, though)
“Monterey last summer, Gram. You were going just as stir crazy with that cast on your foot as I was hanging out with you all summer because you couldn’t drive. And you still said no to driving up the Coast. That was a great trip, wasn’t it? Glad I Didn’t have to club you to put you in my truck. The flight to NYC will be less than half the amount of time we spent in the car that weekend. Say yes.”
Cast was supposed to come off. Doc declared another 4 weeks.
The views on the way up were awful.
Clearly not happy, right?
The ocean was beautiful and I was too busy trying not to get sick/fall in to photograph the whales, but we saw a pod of humpbacks!
She went inside the cabin because it was cold on the deck. “Don’t tell anyone you bought this coat at Goodwill today, ok?” Sure. (whoops)
Through the window selfie, anyone?
Caught this shot sitting down. With my phone. Terrible day.
Drove Pebble Beach’s 17 Mile drive. Astounding.
The harbor outside the hotel was tough to look at.
“Don’t feed them; they’re like rats with wings!”
Highly recommended local breakfast place. 10 tables and a 90 minute wait= great food!
She was busy at the hotel at the end of the first day planning out what to see the next. Because, you know. A bad idea and all.
Toes.
I’m supposed to have a mamogram, Jenn.
“Gram, if the mamgram is so important? If that’s the last roadblock between you coming to NYC to visit before I go back to work or move out of state I PROMISE I’ll find some dude in Jersey to squeeze your boobs. Get on the plane. ”
Fine but I have to have my hair done before I come. Do you really know someone in Jersey?
She’s called 7 times since I hung up the first time and emailed. The first few calls were her being anxious about some of the things on her (seriously) busy schedule. The last few were her simply saying, “Oh, I’m excited now, Jennie. Call me tonight!”
“Your flight leaves at 9:00pm tomorrow, Gram. JetBlue. Nonstop. Bring a sweater for the plane.”
Haha, Doc. Abuse my eye… she’s well cared for and somewhat spoiled. And she ASKED about Jersey this morning.
Uh oh…
J
Screams of elder abuse. Somebody should investigate this.
🙂
Have fun Gram!
Stay out of jersey!
Well done Jenn…!!
Thanks, Jim! She’s fun to be with; it’s easy to write.