original chrome, white wall tires, and toll bridges

once when i was in college i was driving home from chico state and didn't have a single dime to my name in my car. i pulled up to the toll window and was all, "um hi, is there anyway i can work off the $3 toll and be on my merry way?" and the toll guy was all, "yeah, we don't do that...name and address here, sign your first born child away to the state of california, and send us a check for $3 plus a processing fee after you get the stub in the mail." and then the little arm went up, and i drove home to half moon bay. and that when i was all, "that was easy." and about three months later i got a stub in the mail.

...

one day we took a break from the sun and boards and drove home to the bay,

squeaking by the toll across the san mateo bridge with a dollar to spare,

to eat pizza and salad with my grandparents and aunt.

this of course was after we spent three and a half hours in traffic,

where upon sean and i decided that even though northern california will always be home,

and the fog in the ocean air is still just as delicious as ever,

that we could not live here again after all.

pity. 

because oh how good that foggy air smelled when we were sitting in traffic exiting on el camino real.

with our windows rolled down.

flowers and fog.

i can almost smell it now.

enough to make a person want to move back home.

{above: right here, this is where it started smelling like flowers and fog. heaven.}

...

while the women talked about children and weather inside,

the men went over tools and cars in the garage.

by the end of our luncheon

grandpa brought us all outside to show off the Schwinn he is restoring for my sister Kelsey.

my OH my it was SUCH a pretty bike.

the sparkly green handles had us all entranced.

at least chase and me:)

also, there's a bell.

i know.

magic.

above: i love this picture of their hands so much. 

so so so much.

precious.

grandpa told us stories of how he bought the bike in tahoe,

and all about how it was dated somewhere between 1960-1965

with its ORIGINAL chrome.

i knooooooow.

to die for.

then he showed us the fanciest little trick it does.

how you push some pin when you're riding the bike,

and the generator uses the friction of the tire to light up with front and back lights.

you know, for safe riding in the dark and such.

and we all talked about how great this was going to be for my sister in the foggy mists of el granada on her way to the harbor, and work, and such.

at which point i just HAD to take her for a spin,

which is exactly what i didn't get to do because

a. grandpa said i really shouldn't without a helmet.

and

b. my little legs just weren't long enough.

which was exactly the first thing my sister said to me 

when i sent her the pics and my rave reviews of this emerald beauty.

above: grandpa dick shows us how the generator works 

to turn on the front and rear lights.

why don't they make bikes like this anymore???

then grandpa and i stood in the garage while sean rounded up the kids and the toys,

and he told me about how he can't find white wall tires for his mustang anymore,

because they don't make that size in those whites,

and what a predicament it is.

really, i totally agree.

then we loaded everyone up in the car, at which point they all told us they were hungry {you know, after we just spent the last two hours feeding them}, honked three times and drove away.

a movie later, 2 of the kids fell asleep at 5:30pm {45 minutes before we got home},

after we stuffed them full of chocolate milkshakes and fries from in and out.

i still can't figure out why they didn't want dinner when we got home that night...wait...

they ran up and down the dock for about 45 minutes straight when we got out of the car,

and i just basically yelled at people when they were about to fall into the water through the rails,

and stared at that fine piece of meat at the end of the dock.

mmmm mmmm mmmm.

what a lovely day.