Memory Lane

I cannot believe it has been almost three months since my last Lunch with Dad post.  Of course dad and I have continued to have our lunches together, and we have celebrated several family milestones since my last post including Mariah's graduation from high school, My sister's birthday, Kory's 22nd birthday, two dance recitals, a second ACL surgery for Mariah, a wonderful visit from my nephew Tony and his beautiful family and I am sure several other important events I will remember later in this post.  Work has increased, so free time for me has decreased significantly.  I am not complaining...work is good...especially in today's current climate, however, it does cut in to my time with dad.  Sometimes I wish I could stop time and tend to those luxury items like spending time with loved ones.  It is really a catch 22 in a sense.  I wonder what the independantly wealthy do with all of the free time? I know what I would do :)  Enough day dreaming.


Dad and I went to Logan's Roadhouse last Friday.  Now that work has leveled out I have carved out that time again to spend with dad.  Dad wasn't sure he was going to make it...it was a scorching 109* in Fresno/Clovis and the heat is hard on him.  He decided to try and weather it (pardon the punn) and so we treked across the city in search of a good steakhouse.  We went to Outback Steakhouse first figuring that this was close and I could take him home when we were finished.  I should have thought ahead and either called or got out of the car myself to check, but...I didn't.  We parked and I helped dad out of the car.  We made our way to the front of the restaurant where we discovered that the restaurant was closed until 4pm.  This might not seem like such a big deal...but the Parkinson's has really taken a toll on my dad's body.  It was all he could do to get back to the car.  I felt terrible.  Why didn't I think to hop out and check before getting him out into the heat!  Lesson learned.  Dad, as always, was a good sport and insisted that we find a place to eat.  We headed to the Riverpark area where everything is open all of the time.  Although I knew it was open...I still went in and checked first before getting my dad out and in the heat again.  We were seated quickly and I believe we were one of two tables in the entire restaurant so the service was quick.

  

Onion Petals

                           Hot Buns

Now, a few weeks ago mom and I drove Marlee to San Francisco so she could catch a 9:50pm flight.  Unfortunately, dad could not go with us as it was just too long of a trip for him to make at this stage in his illness.  Marlee's destination was Cedarville University in Ohio.  Here she would attend Camp Electric, a Christian camp for young people who aspire to be in worship ministries.  We met up with Kory at Pier 39 and had dinner together at a sports cafe before sending Marlee off.  Mom, Kory and I spent the night in a motel on the penninsula.  Sunday we had breakfast at the Milbrae House of Pancakes and then toured our old stomping grounds San Bruno, Millbrae, Burlingame, San Mateo, Brisbane, and Bayshore.  We visited every home I lived in, where my mother worked when I was young, the PG&E sight where so many homes were destroyed in San Bruno, my dad's childhood home, my mom's childhood home, the grammar school where they met among many other memorable locations.  There are so many memories tucked in the streets and corners of these cities that dot the penninsula. 

Having Fun at Pier 39

Captain Kory and Uncle Marlee

 

Kory Potter

                                                                      Brotherly Love
                                                               Saying Goodbye at SFO


While sitting with dad and enjoying our lunch I asked him if my mother had shared with him all of the places we visited while we were in the Bay Area.  Dad said he thought she had, but I decided to share anyway.  In particular...memories of 4-H.  Dad loved his involvement with me in 4-H.  I told him that we visited the farm, but it appeared that most of the animals were gone.  Mostly agriculture lined the farm and a few chickens poked out of the fences when we drove up to the gate. It was my dad's greatest joy to work with the kids in the large animal program helping them get their Steer and lamb ready for show at the San Mateo County Fair.  It was on this old dirt road to the farm where I learned to drive.  Dad would let me drive his truck up and down the road every day.  I told dad that the farm was just a shadow of its former self, but it looked like there was still some life left.  The school my sister attended from K-6th grades was now surrounded by a military compound which dwarfed the school.  It was almost unrecognizable.  The Artichoke Joe's at the end of San Mateo Ave. is now a huge casino and Lullaby Lane is completely gone.  Dad had questions of his own which I tried to answer, but most of them were questions from his memory that dated before I was born, so I told him he would have to ask mom when he saw her later.  Our trip through Brisbane and Bayshore was nostalgic.  I showed Kory where I learned to ride my first two wheeler on the street where my great grandmother Jesssie lived and where my dad spent most of his childhood.  We drove through Brisbane and squeezed down the narrow and windy streets to where my mother grew up, and past the grammar school where dad met mom.  Kory loved every minute of it and we had so much fun sharing it all with him.  It was bittersweet to go back.  So much has changed...run down homes, different buildings, more people and more cars...it's just as well that dad stayed home.  Preserving the memories he has of these areas was a better choice.

Milbrae House of Pancakes

A Family stlye pancake house that locals adore. This restaurant was a favorite of mine growing up. Just a couple of blocks from my High School, we would often frequent this place for lunch and an occasional 4th period extended lunch ;)






                                           

                                       

                                             

Dad's childhood neighborhood just blocks away from the Cow Palace.

Above Pictured: Momma Jessie and Pop's house in Bayshore

Dad's house just two door's up from Ma Jessie's

Dad's cousin Neil's house two blocks over

Bayshore Elementary

With just two tables in the restaurant to serve, we were finished quickly so we decided to grab some ice cream before heading to my house.  Dad was exhausted.  He slept until my mom came to get him after work.  It was so nice to spend time with my dad again.