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Location: Northern California

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

 

It's a Wiggly World


View from a beach towel
Originally uploaded by marytsao.
We have been having the most gorgeous weather here lately. Today I took the kids to Oakland to see The Wiggles at the Paramount Theater, and the thermostat on the bank across the street read 78 degrees. The weather, combined with daylight savings, has catapulted us into spring. It's been wonderful. We've resumed our nightly apres-dinner walks and I've been waking up with sore calf muscles; a good sign for sure.

The kids and I have been keeping busy. On Saturday, Emily and I went to see Disney On Ice at the Cow Palace. I tried to explain to her that this was the place where I saw AC/DC and Ozzy Osbourne back in the day, but she didn't seem to care. What she did care about was the show she was watching and the performers, especially Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. ("Mommy, what's that girl's name again?") She also was enthralled by the storyline, which was about The Incredibles on a trip to Disneyland. Pictures from our mother-daughter outing are here.

Yesterday we jammed through our chores and headed to the coast to enjoy the sunny day at San Gregorio State Beach. It was a little tricky getting down to the beach because it's still so early in the season, but the kids and I made it over the rocks and enjoyed several beautiful hours basking in the sun. I still can't get over how idyllic the experience was. As long as you go prepared (sunscreen, hats, towels, extra clothes, magazine, food, drinks -- all in a waterproof bag big enough to carry everything to leave hands free for holding), a warm, sunny day at the beach with kids is pretty damn cool. Pictures from the beach are here.

The Wiggles concert today was surreal for a number of reasons. Here I was once again going to a concert at the Paramount, but this time instead of seeing Tori Amos or James Brown or Elvis Costello, I was there to see four guys who sing about mashed bananas and dancing monkeys. And if you think the crowd at a rock concert is rowdy, you haven't been to a kids concert. It's chaos, pure and simple and many times unrestrained. I'll never forget the sight of one extremely pregnant mom running after her toddler, who was chasing Captain Feathersword down the aisle. There were several moments during the set when my thoughts turned to psychedelic drugs, except I'm not sure the show would have been a "good trip" or not. Pictures from The Wiggles are here.

After the show I asked Emily which show she had liked better, The Wiggles or Disney On Ice, and she replied, "Disney On Ice." So there. Both kids are excited about seeing the Diego Live show that Nick Jr. already is advertising here even though it won't be in our area until the fall.

Me? I would love to see Prince at the Orpheum in San Francisco, but I have a feeling that tickets will sell out quickly and be extraordinarily expensive through a broker. It's not a good sign that I can't even find information on how to get tickets online even though I saw an ad in the paper that he's playing... No wonder I'm at the Paramount to see The Wiggles! It's the only show with available tickets!

Oh, and the funniest thing I heard today was a dad (who reminded me of myself) talking to his completely uninterested toddler son, "Wow, look at this ceiling! This is called Art Deco!"