west coast recap

friday
flight was way early in the AM but we left just before the rain so there was a beautiful orange tint in the sky! first leg relatively painless, quan tuo slept mostly since we were up til 2am for a 5:45 pick up! 2nd leg we didn't get to sit together despite asking several jerks if they would move. we arrive at john wayne airport in the OC on time! quan tuo's grandpa was there early to come & get us!
immediately everything smells different [a running theme to our short visit] & we are on the freeway. i like his grandpa's driving. in 30 minutes or so we are at his house. his mom was still resting from surgery the day before so we drop our stuff off & hit IN-n-OUT, a hamburger joint i have heard a lot about. the milkshake & fries were excellent but the prices were suspiciously cheap! had my first smoke outside with his grandpa & chatted a bit. again the smell is wholly different & we were surrounded by mountains. back to the house & his mom is awake. she is very friendly & talkative, very much like my mom. she made me feel very much at home. quan tuo & i then went for a drive around glendora & the surrounds. so pretty out there! wish some of those mountain roads were open though. we come back & we go through many photo albums (i have been wanting to see a photo of him as a kid & there were lots of them in various sports attire among other things). they were fun. i find it funny & unavoidable that other people he had dated were in the photos, the ex's. i am sure if we were picture people, my ex's would be sprinkled along the way too. i have quite a lot of photos i never even thought of showing quan tuo but maybe it's time. anyhoo, his mom made us dinner & his dad came home so we sit down to a yummy chicken dinner & talk. then we open the present i sent them which i think grandpa enjoyed most of all. it was a book of books - a coffee table book full of gorgeous photos. this sparked a story from his dad so it was nice to sit there & listen. i love stories. then quan tuo & i were treated to spidey 3 which we wanted to watch with his mom & dad but they were both tired. the movie was ok, the storyline lackluster, the action fast but i will never watch another spidey since they killed off james franco! funny to see a movie in another state, most big movie houses are the same everywhere but the kids were different as it was a friday night. also we got to drive there & back, another difference. we retire early after a lovely much-needed shower to quan tuo's childhood room revamped. it was very comfortable & i actually slept well. i realize now that despite the fact that i have a difficult time sleeping anywhere other than my own bed (save hotels), if quan tuo is around, i can definitely sleep, pretty well in fact. funny.

saturday
up fairly early though later than planned. off to see grandma at the rehabilation place from her recent surgery. she's a spitfire! she was so happy to see quan tuo & was a bit sad that we were late (man, i am always late) & it was great to listen to her talk about her family, her recovery, how she is feeling about everything. she has a great spirit. we brought her flowers that she asked we bring home to her place. his grandparent's place is fantastic! high the mountain (now across from hollywood hills), with 2 wrap around balconies, lots of gorgeous light & plants, it was such a treat! even checked out the library & the woodworks shop as well as what was previously the dark room now upstairs bathroom with excellent erotic wallpaper! i can see why quan tuo stayed with them when he first got back to the area. in fact since he is grandma's favourite, i would move to LA just to live in that house! great bamboo growing in the front & of course nick the cat was entertaining too! once we tore ourselves away, we hit manhattan beach!
first off it was empty, which surprised me! we picked up some tacos & lunched on the beach then we sat about a bit then we did all the kung fu we knew that didn't involve too much kicking (as sand ended up in the eyes!). our first romp on the beach together & it was good times. we both even got a bit of colour & YES i finally wore one of my new bikinis. the water sadly was cold but it was nice & windy keeping us cool while the sun & activity warmed us. we had to get back around 7 since we were going out for mother's day dinner at red lobster so quick shower first! we met quan tuo's brother's girlfriend who was really nice! [i also just met his brother then] & we drove with them to the restaurant. there was quite a wait so we all went next door to a bar & talked. they are very candid people & i really appreciate that. at dinner we had a nice time, casual & relaxed. his mom told us about her theory about choosing a younger man & i tell you i really appreciated the candor! plus the truth to it. apparently the men were younger than the women at the table all around. it was good fun & i had a few drinks.

sunday
quan tuo left super early to golf with his brother. i woke up a couple of hours later since i had a movie date with his dad. his mom for mother's day actually wanted some time at home to do her work so we were all glad to oblige. while his dad got ready, i had a chance to talk with his mom & it was really nice getting to know her a bit. his dad & i saw LUCKY YOU which i liked. we had great conversations to, there (as we had the place all to ourselves) & back. i ask a lot of questions & he was very tolerant of my inquisitiveness. also hello matinee prices! he wouldn't let me pay for the film so i got the popcorn & treats. we all met back at the house then quan tuo & i headed off to the beach again! this time to newport beach/balboa island (ala arrested development) which was more crowded but no where near what i would expect to see at east coast beaches. in my other bikini we lay about, took photos, played frisbee, stretched. it was so nice & yes more colour [quan tuo's hairs are all blonde now, teehee]! it was so warm out & the ocean breeze was wonderful. we drove around balboa island & i could not help but make more AD commentary. so pretty out there. then we head back to the house & stop by the grocer & a japanese restaurant where we had a refreshing tall beer & sake. quan tou made kroeze tacos for his family & true to the style, the cook doesn't get to eat til the end. i helped by prepping, refreshing drinks & not asking too many questions about the survivor finale we were watching. the food was delicious & a little different from the kroeze tacos i have had previously at home. now i know all the secret ingredients. everyone enjoyed the tacos & vino. we also broke them in to fried green tea ice cream! after dinner, somewhere in the 2 hour show, quan tuo & i took a walk around the hood. the trees out there are gorgeous & it was lovely. also we walked around in the middle of the street! his bro & his gf finished the clean-up we started & i know he was pleased how much his mom appreciated the dinner.

monday
got up on the early side for our afternoon flight. grabbed some breakfast in the hood & then went to his mom's school (she teaches 3rd grade) to meet everyone. i haven't heard the word girlfriend thrown around so much before! but hey, i guess it's a qualifier, yes? we met all the aids & other teachers. mostly his mom wanted them to know her other son does exist. we then had a Q&A session with the kids who had questions about NYC. it was funny, they were great kids & very inquisitive though mostly about sports. they were all very cute. his mom was happy! she's talking about coming out in april 2008. it's been a long time since they were last in the e coast so that would be great. we got back to the house, packed the last of our gear then headed off to the airport with his dad. i just watched the beautiful trees along the way, finally finding out what those great purple trees were - wisteria! the flight back was long with a dallas stop over & a thunderstorm to boot. it was excellent seeing lightning from the plane.
the boyos were home by the time we got home & i missed them ever so! we spent the day yesterday with lots of nap, eating & vino, the borat movie & mucho couch time. guess there was some jetlag afterall!

it is so great to know that quan tuo & i travel really well together. i would have loved to drive but i have no problems with him driving since we drive similarly. it was so fabulous to be on the road to the beaches or to visit his grandparents. mostly i really just loved being there with him. i wanted him to have a good visit too.

we need to get away more often.