adventures

We've settled into Merced, but a nasty little virus has taken turns torturing Justin, and now me. I'll spare you the details, but it's pretty incapacitating, though relatively short-lived. Juma hasn't been bothered by it (knock on wood), and we haven't spread anything to Lance's kids, whom Juma plays with every day.

Other than that, we've had a couple adventures. One is swimming lessons for Juma. This for the kid who cries, or at least panics, every time he has to take bath. He just cannot stand to get his head, especially his face, wet. And swimming lessons involve actually going under water. The teacher, the same one who taught Juma's Aunt Andria many years ago, is nice enough to take it easy on him, but push him just enough.

Our other adventure began when Justin read in the local paper that the city bus rides are to be free of charge, to help keep down smog levels. Feeling all environmentally friendly, we decided to take the bus to the farmer's market downtown. It was a great idea, except that Rick (Juma's grandpa) had to ride in a wheelchair; Justin is still in his walking boot for his bum ankle, and Juma is five and really good at complaining. Oh, and it was about 90 degrees by 10am. The bus stop was only a few blocks away, though, so we made it all right.

The bus ride itself took us on a 30 minute tour of Merced ("And on your right, you'll see the really crappy Walmart; avoid it at all costs...There's the high school where Justin played some pretty great practical jokes; ask him about it sometime...Don't miss the Merced Mall on your left; dubbed the Most Pathetic Mall by people who grew up here...").

The farmer's market featured some great local fruits and vegetables, and we loaded up on white peaches, pluots (combo of plums and apricots), tomatoes, nectarines, and plums. Then we had to wait until the next bus would come by...30 minutes later. We spend the time at a nearby cafe, drinking cold drinks and chatting. We almost missed the bus as it came by again, but the driver was nice enough to stop for us.

So our 15 minutes at the farmer's market took up all morning, and with the heat, we were drained the rest of the day. But, hey, we saved on gas.