Life With Axel

The Western Railway Museum

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:01:40 -0800

As Axel’s fascination with trains has grown, we’ve been accommodating in ways that probably mark us as enfranchised only-parents. Turns out there are a lot of places that you can take a child who is into trains.

He and Amy have ridden from Oakland to Sacramento to visit the railroad museum there, and they dropped me off at the station once so I could catch a train down to San Jose. When we go to the Sunday market at Jack London Square, trains go by pretty much the entire time.

But there are places that speak to a more profound interest in trains. The Golden State Model Railroad Museum in Point Richmond for instance. Where some train enthusiasts have reconstructed big stretches of vintage California rail systems. The trains run only three days a week, from noon to five. We haven’t been able to make it back since we dropped by with 10 minutes to spare one day. What we saw in that 10 minutes was enough to make my hearts go out to their wives - train widows all.

Their website tipped us off to the Western Railway Museum though, and we made plans to meet Axel’s Grandma and her husband Carl there the day after Thanksgiving. Within minutes of arriving we’d taken a look at a few old trolley cars and made the “All Aboard” for our 5-mile ride on car 63 of the old Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad Company.

We made our way through rolling farmland near the Suisun delta, flanked on one side by enormous wind turbines. Axel beamed the entire time, except when we reached the mid-way point of the trip. After a short break, we were told to get back on board the train. Axel, knowing that this meant the ride was about to come full circle, hollered mightily until we let him hold our tickets.

Christmas Gifts Arriving Early

Mon, 1 Dec 2008 15:02:08 -0800

A few Christmas gifts arrived early for Axel. My Aunt Paula, by way of my Grandma, sent these green monster feet slippers. We had Axel sit next to his stuffed Monster wearing his monster feet. They are also very fetching with his green pajamas.

Axel’s grandma Cricket sent this very cool Eric Carle Advent Calendar. It’s pretty high concept for a two year old. Each of the items behind the doors can be hung on the tree or placed in a package depending.

Axel was quick to remove the lids from all the packages, which makes it easy for him to place things inside them. He only reluctantly hangs things on the tree. He was also quick to rip the 17th open, along with a good swath of the paper next to it.

Making a List

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:55:16 -0800

A November with no blog updates and most of a December too. I blame Facebook mostly, where I’ve posted a few batches of Axel photos and Twittered a hundred or so observations of varying degrees of wit. A surprising number of you are there. I’m not sold on my ability to be both here and there, but while Axel naps and Amy apportions Christmas confections into brightly colored boxes and bags, I’m giving it a whirl.

Amid reports of fatalities, mob scenes, and ominous concerns that Americans would not be shopping, we headed into the city to take Axel to the Union Square tree lighting. Along the way we stopped at Macy’s to take in the whirring automatons, puppies, and kittens. This year’s theme, “Believe” has a perhaps unexpected poignancy. I left Amy and Axel to manage the crowds pressing in for a look. Leaning up against a planter on O’Farrell street, I watched a dad stumble away from the store in a wide-eyed daze.

Window-watching didn’t last long, and even with a chaotic trip through Macy’s to get Axel to a toilet, we found ourselves on the steps of Union Square with about 30 minutes to spare. As a family, we’re not good waiters... but this is one of those things you do with your toddler.

It was more like 45 minutes before the lights actually came on. As we waited, the store-windows along Geary filled up with increasing numbers of spectators. The sidewalks filled with people and then the street. Closed to traffic. Axel passed the time by climbing back and forth between us, and kissing Amy.

When the lights on the tree were turned on, we managed one blurry photo and headed for home. Following another family through the crowd as we headed for Montgomery street BART. Even though it probably wasn’t, It felt a little desperate. One friend said they thought they were going to die. Another described being moved by the crowd, her feet not touching the ground. Emergency vehicles were in high demand throughout, and we past a handful of them during the walk to BART.

Axel’s Cat Goes to Work

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:34:27 -0700

The other morning Axel decided I should take his cat to work with me. The cat was a gift from my best friend’s oldest son (6 at the time I think), and looks like a cross between a cat and an alien. Because the book we got about sleep training suggested that we should encourage a bond between Axel and stuffed animal, we tried diligently to get him to bond with it. A few months after we quit trying a connection emerged. He takes the cat with him to day care to help with naps.

When I found him in my Timbuk2 bag, I told Amy that I’d send pictures of the cat in my office. Amy and Axel have an inside joke that when I go to work I watch boats, which of course from time to time I do. Here’s the cat watching a boat:

My work persona is a pretty serious one. I’ve loosened up some over the last couple of years, but I still closed the blinds of my office rather than risk being seen taking photos of the stuffed cat. Here he is using my mouse:

Inaugural Marin Triathlon

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 21:38:14 -0700

Amy’s triathlon season hasn’t gone quite the way she expected. There was a nagging injury that kept her from running for weeks, there was our lengthy summer vacation, and there’s also this thing called life. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Amy got a race bike this year, she wakes up at 5:30AM most mornings to attend a swim class, and is in better shape than just about anyone we know.

Embracing the modest race goal of having fun, we piled into the car at 6:00am and made for Mcnear’s Beach park in San Rafael. Amy’s childhood friend Lindsey and I had prepared ourselves for the early start by drinking absinthe the night before. There were some tense moments on the way until we spotted a Peet’s coffee a couple of miles away from the race start.

My MO for spectating Olympic Distance triathlons is pretty established at this point. Axel and I cheer Amy off on her swim leg and then head over toward the transition area where the elites are usually heading from the swim leg to the bike leg. Once Amy has done the same, I’ll try to get Axel to sleep by pushing him in his stroller to an advantageous photo spot. If it’s hot he usually sleeps. If it’s cold he tends not to. Once the Elite guys have transitioned from bike to run, I’ll meander toward the transition/finish line to see them win and mill around the finish and then catch Amy as she transitions to her run.

Having been a competitive athlete for a while, I’m constantly amazed by how accessible these pros are to casual fans. I once sat at a picnic table pushing Axel back and forth in his stroller, while one table over Becky Lavelle (an alternate for this year’s Olympic team) chatted with a couple of other pro circuit types. They talked about who was tearing up the course, who wasn’t. All very interesting, and the sort of thing that Amy oddly enough never gets to hear.

This race was different though. Lindsey was with us, which made things a lot easier and more fun. A colleague of mine was also racing, and was trading text messages with his wife about how things were out on the course. Axel didn’t sleep until we were walking back to the car. He played with Lindsey’s camera while I waited for Amy to come down a telegenic stretch of sun-dappled hill.

The race also heavily touted it’s green credentials. I was impressed by the peanut-oil powered generator for the race announcer. I was impressed by the finisher’s medals and other prizes that were made from recycled bike parts. Amy was considerably less impressed with the requirement for racer’s to pick up their race packets in advance. For locals this meant a Friday afternoon trek to Marin. I didn’t have a whole lot of time for the race organizer’s enthusiasm about sourcing all of their food from within a 250 mile radius. Folks in the bay area can eat a meal sourced within a 50 mile radius without even trying.

It was the first time we’d stayed through the results for a triathlon. That colleague of mine took first in his age group. In a season that never really got on track for Amy, she did well. My job at future races will be to tell her how many people in her age group have gone by in front of her. It’s the least I can do.