That's my new nephew, David! Isn't he cute?

Brian and I planned a trip to Hercules this weekend to see the baby (which was due the week before), but when we got there it still hadn't come out. I was happy about that, though, because it gave me the chance to see my sister pregnant. Also, I got to see for the first time how contractions can affect expectant mothers, and now I don't understand why more people don't adopt. Unfortunately, they started getting really strong halfway through Desperate Housewives so we had to leave the room and find another TV in the hospital before the end of the commercial break (we did!).

I was sad that I didn't get to see any friends in the Bay Area, but how do you make dates when your sister can go into labor at any second?

On Sunday, after Rosie went to the hospital, my dad went to visit first and then my mom. Brian and I were home, leisurely getting ready to go next, when we realized that my parents left us in the house without a car. I took the opportunity to give Brian a walking tour of Hercules, from the Swim Center to the Taco Bell.

Oh, and all you Herculeans out there need to be aware that they have destroyed the best parts of Refugio Valley Park, the concrete slide and the sliding pole. Seeing that broke my heart because those two structures played a huge role in my childhood. Even though I'm pretty sure that being forced to go down that pole when I was five is what caused my severe fear of heights, I'm really sad that I'll never get to go down it again. And the concrete slide was often the only fun and excitement to be found in all of Hercules. You'd sit on a piece of cardboard and fly down into a pile of sand. Now they've covered the slide with flower beds. Let's see if I can find a picture of how it used to be. Nope, but here's one of the park's famous gazebo.