#2: T minus 30 hours and counting...

One day left before we lift off. So far the plan is intact, just barely. Our close call came as we were driving back from Manhattan Beach on Sunday after Emily and Joe completed the Hermosa to Manhattan Pier to Pier swim. Joe called his great grandmother to thank her for something. Apparently my blog kickoff email wasn't as clear as I thought because about 30 seconds into the conversation my grandmother asked Joe, "So when are you and your dad leaving on your trip together?" Oops.

Joe might be really good at playing along, I don't know, but he sure had me convinced when he passed the phone over to me with the look of total confusion on his face. Afterward, I shamelessly threw my grandmother under the bus by telling Joe it was she who was utterly confused about our upcoming family vacation to Lake Tahoe. Later that day to stave off a potential light bulb moment I offered up to Joe - "Maybe we should have you fly up a couple weeks early to Santa Clara (to stay with my parents before Tahoe)...". While that generated an onslaught of "Can I go to Grandma's?" requests, I think I threw him off the scent. I was even toying with the idea of roping a compliant friend of Joe's into a sleepover the night before we left, just to leave no stone unturned, but that plan came with too many strings attached (not to mention the fact that there would be some really bewildered neighborhood kid would wake up asking "Where's Joe?", forcing Emily to respond, "Oh, he flew to Boston with his dad. Would you like eggs or pancakes?").

The forecast for all 3 1/2 days is for partial rain, so we'll have to come prepared (As an aside, I once intentionally sought out a day at Disneyland when there was a rain forecast under the correct assumption that it would be less crowded, though it came, not surprisingly, with some rain). So armed with our waterproof windbreakers and travel umbrella, we're ready to conquer revolutionary Boston.

And while this revolution will not be televised, we may come close. Below is a quick test run of a how-to-ride-a-tricycle-video-and-nearly-make-your-daugher-cry. There are millions of potential applications. My plan is to video capture Joe's reaction to when I wake him up at 5:15 AM and tell him that he's got 15 minutes before we leave for the airport, and then post it before we take off. Gentlemen, synchronize your in-boxes!