July 23, 2007

• We're back!

  We had a terrific time!  Thanks to the Waybourns for allowing us to share Dan's Marine recruit graduation with them.  ;^)

  On Wednesday we arrived in San Diego, got our rent car, which turned out to be a brand new Chrysler Sebring convertible instead of the Jeep Liberty Don had requested, and checked into the La Quinta suite in which we were staying in San Diego.  We headed out to explore a bit, choosing the Old Town Quarter of the city, which is the original part of San Diego.  We ran into a problem, however, when Don accidentally backed into a dumpster, damaging the Sebring's right taillight and scuffing the bumper.  Oops!  And he hadn't opted for the rental company's insurance, so while Dmitry and I wandered around the square, Don spent 45 minutes on the phone with our insurance company, alerting them to the mishap.  The good news was that our liability covered the damage, though it wouldn't cover any loss-of-use charges.  The rental place was closed by then, so the problem was shelved until the next day, and we went to eat dinner at one of the Mexican (what else?) restaurants on the square.  Dmitry had a shrimp burrito, of all the appalling things, but liked it. 

  The next morning we were up at a frightfully early hour, having been warned that it's best to arrive at the base very early, as the traffic to get in backs up all the way to the freeway due to the intense security measures.  No kidding!  When we arrived at the security checkpoint, we were ordered (nicely) to get out of the car, leaving the doors open - including the hood and trunk - and the key in the ignition, then move over to the barricade while the car's searched.  This was done for every single vehicle that arrived.  We got there way early, but were glad to miss the inevitable line that was going to be created.  After watching the platoons practice on the parade deck, we went to have coffee, then perused the Marine museum.  The Waybourns were staying on base, so they showed up later in the morning, and finally it was time for our first glimpse of Dan since April, as the recruits took their final run:

  

  After this run there was a film and such in the theatre, which Laura attended while I went to find batteries for my Flip Video, which wouldn't turn on.  Just bought the darn thing on May 1st, and it'd been working fine, but all of a sudden it wouldn't turn on!  Batteries didn't help.  Most frustrating.  Fortunately the Canon S3 takes videos nicely, too.  Soon we were in the stands and here came the platoons, including 1015, which was Dan's.  The LORD was gracious and placed him up front for us, to our intense pleasure; here he is right after having received his emblem for his cover (hat to the rest of us):

  

  Dan getting reacquainted with Lucas:

  

  I love this photo of Laura!  Doesn't "Happy Mama!" just shine from it?

  

  The Waybourns kindly allowed Dmitry to hang with them on Thursday afternoon and evening, so Don could deal with the rent car situation.  Believe it or not, Thrifty marked it as "no damage" and swapped it for the desired Jeep Liberty!  It's my belief they did this because Don had been so proactive, contacting his insurance company and having everything ready for Thrifty when he got there.  Most likely this made a pleasant change from the norm.  In any event, they shrugged off the damage as "minor" and "easily fixed", so our insurance isn't having to pay for it.  Yippee!

  Don did, however, go ahead and pop for the rental company's insurance for the Jeep.  Said he did not want to have to call Farmer's again. 

  While Dmitry had a picnic in the park for supper with Dan and his family, Don and I wandered around Little Italy, eating a lovely dinner at one of the local Italian restaurants. Tell you what, the flora in Southern California is simply gorgeous! 

  

  We met up with the Waybourns over on Coronado, where Dmitry and Joe had a great time splashing in the surf, and getting wet and sandy:

  

  This was Dmitry's first time at the ocean, and he liked it better than he'd expected.  Do you know, though, there are goofballs who go night surfing?  Fact!  We saw a few of them out there.  That doesn't seem terribly intelligent to me.

  The next morning we were back at the Marine base for the Official Graduation Ceremony, which was very nice though we all agreed we preferred the emblem ceremony of the previous day.  Friday's was long, with speeches, etc.  After liberty was announced, we gathered for a few pictures before the families went their separate ways, the Waybourns hitting the road back home, and us driving north to Los Angeles.  Here's a photo of Dmitry and Lucas; Lucas was determined Dmitry should wear Joe's cowboy hat:

  

  Dmitry and Dan, together at last:

  

  Laura kindly snapped a photo of us with Dan:

  

  On our way up to LA we stopped at San Juan Capistrano, where again the beautiful plant life of the area was displayed:

  

  Friday night we managed to find the Russia Restaurant (that's its name) in the Hollywood area, having had some difficulty due to traffic because of a Dodgers' game going on.  It was a very nice restaurant with a great trio singing Russian songs.

  

  On Saturday we visited the La Brea tar pits, one of Don's favorite things to see in Los Angeles:

  

  That afternoon we went to Long Beach to see the Queen Mary, where Dmitry took this photo of Don and me:

  

  We didn't go onto it, but next to the Queen Mary is a Russian submarine, the Scorpion:

  

  While waiting for our flight at the San Diego airport on Sunday, we were all surprised to see an ad with someone who could easily be Dmitry's stunt double, were he ever to need one:

  

  Whoever that is isn't identical, but there's a strong likeness.

  It was a great trip, but we're glad to be home.  

  Especially Dmitry, who forgot to bring his phone's charger, and who played both his DS and my DS lite to the point their batteries died on the flight home.  

  • 11:53 am
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