Picnic Day is UC Davis’ annual open house and one of the largest student-run events in the country. Yet, it took us nearly 5 years living here in Davis before we finally ventured a visit. We arrived on campus early Saturday morning, where Westley got to climb aboard a fire truck and shake hands with fire fighters before we made our way to the entomology exhibits, learned about mosquito control, tasted honey samples, and created some maggot art. The campus was much busier by the time we returned from his dance lesson in Davis. We split up to wait in line for food trucks, and enjoyed a smoked lamb sandwich from Smokin’ Ewe, popcorn chicken and taro milk tea from Quickly, and churro sundae from Cowtown Creamery on Hutchinson Field as the dog frisbee contests were underway. The sun was beating hard on us as we made our way past the Silo to the Cole animal facilities, but we reached the petting zoo and showed our support for animal research. On Sunday, after 99 Ranch and Yum Buffet, we returned to the Vacaville RH Outlet to purchase a new cowhide rug for our living room. I was glad the rug fit in my car, as the 5-year-old bimmer has been a source of angst for me with another windshield replacement and navigation system issues requiring a pricey repair that didn’t even fix the problem. I felt better after Westley helped me vacuum and clean the car, but I’m again reminded of the cost of car ownership in California.

After my birthday extravaganza in Marin back in January, Melody felt that it would be tough to surpass. So she instead agreed to treat our prior getaway as a joint celebration and keep things more laid back for her own 40th. After imaging some monkeys while she enjoyed a lazy morning reading on the couch, we drove to Napa for Hog Island oysters, Oxbow Merchant cheese, Three Twins ice-cream, Kara’s cupcakes, and Model Bakery treats. We had little time to extend the love as I was off to Las Vegas the next morning to attend VBS7. This was my first time attending the glitzy conference which caters to a younger generation of retinal surgeons, featuring live surgeries, audience participation, and live tweets. I had fun moderating a session, but felt underdressed for the Austin Powers-themed reception and was bewildered by a closing lecture on medical ethics by the former dean of USC. The short overnight trip left me little time to check out the city except for some Popeyes at the airport before my flight home. Before her Napa retreat, Melody had dropped Westley off with Pam’s family. His full day of movies, Funderland, light-saber battles, and brief cousin rivalry left him zonked out by the time I arrived, and made for an easy hand-off as I drove him home for bed.

The episodes of spring rain last month made for an impressive show of flora and fauna. Last weekend, we took Westley to UC Davis’ own Jepson Prairie Preserve for a Wildflowers & Critters docent tour through grasslands that featured “eggs & butter” wildflowers and vernal pools filled with fairy shrimps and frogs. Back home, we also took the opportunity to plant some tomato plants and herbs in our new planter, as well as the aloe plant that my lab technician Iris gave me. Unfortunately, the blooming flora also brought my allergies back in full force, which I had to battle with a daily regimen of Zyrtec, Flonase, and Patanol. The humidity also led to mosquito infestations returning to our front and rear porches, requiring more rounds of bifenthrin spraying. Melody’s new chicken pho recipe thankfully soothed our souls, and we were able to enjoy the warm noodles in our new backyard. For this 3-day weekend, we journeyed to Elk Grove for soup dumplings, scoped outdoor furniture at Scandinavian Designs and the RH outlet in Vacaville, and took Westley to our cousin Pamela’s place to get acquainted. Because we both have out-of-town conferences this week which overlapped by a day, and neither of our in-laws were available for childcare, we turned to our extended family for help. It took only a few slices of take-out pizza and the promise of watching the Cars movie to convince him to hang out with their family next weekend.