Sacramento Trip

Our visit to Sacramento, and the Capitol was both fascinating and exhausting. But, I am so glad I had the opportunity to go because for a few minutes that morning we thought I wouldn’t be able to make the trip. It turned out the bus was not equipped for a wheelchair, nor could I maneuver my walker through the tiny aisle even if I were able to board the bus’ narrow steps. If I were physically fit and adept at using crutches, maybe it would have been possible. It was an obstacle that I just couldn’t overcome, with or without help. Silly us, the principal and I just assumed that a chartered bus would be equipped for the handicapped. How quickly one learns and greatly appreciates how difficult life can be for those with physical limitations. My post surgical recovery has been a very humbling, frustrating and such an eye-opening experience.

After several minutes of brain storming, a parent volunteered to drive me in her mini-van, as we followed the bus. It turns out neither of us was particularly keen on riding a bus full of 15 loud and crazy teens, so it was a blessing and a great solution to the problem. We had never met before, and it turns out that we had an incredible amount in common, that made the fascinating conversation flow and the five hour drive just fly by! Kathy is a retired law enforcement officer with 20 years with her agency and get this….we were both long-term hostage negotiators for our departments! What an amazing woman, and an awesome contact for our current negotiation team, as she’s agreed to come speak with them during an upcoming training session! Networking at its finest and a new friend too!

The kids had the most fun doing what teens love to do….shopping at the mall, going to the movies, swimming, eating and playing video games in the rooms. Every time I turned around, I had to hand out a 20 dollar bill for something Ab needed or wanted. That was on top of the spending money she earned by selling raffle tickets for a beautiful donated quilt! Yikes, what an expensive trip!

Of course, I did my share of some serious shopping as well! I purchased a few things for our new game room, such as a black and white wooden Tic-Tac-Toe board, an acrylic box containing conversation starter questions for the coffeetable, and a black photo frame that holds multiple 4x6 photos at different depths! I also treated myself to a beautiful lab-created emerald ring as my Mother’s day gift!

Speaking of expenses, Ab will be buying me a pretty new cell phone for Mother’s Day, since she left mine at the Hard Rock Café on Thursday night! Grrrrr! And, nobody found it or turned it in at the restaurant! So, Friday morning I borrowed a cell phone and spent about an hour and a half in automation land, trying to reach a live person at Cingular to suspend my phone activity until I could get a replacement.  Double GRRRR!

Finally, I reached a live person who said they couldn’t help me because even though my AT&T account was bought out by Cingular, I hadn’t "migrated to Cingular as yet!" 

What the hell?

She gave me the number for the "Unmigrated"  where I was once again in an automated loop of craziness and ready to scream! The mission was eventually accomplished, hopefully right before multiple calls were placed to some busboy’s Motherland.

Anyway, here’s one photo from our trip of the Capitol at dusk! I just love this one, which was snapped from the moving van as we were leaving downtown that evening.

I will be back later with more stories of our little vacation after Ab and I migrate over to the Cingular store here in town!