An excess of helpfulness

Sim has an air bed that we use when we travel.  It has sides that are slightly higher than the bed itself, and a pump that fills it quickly.  It also acquired a leak sometime in our recent travels, which meant that, although it started the night full, it was pretty squishy by morning.

Michael checked with the front desk to see if they had a bike tire patch kit.  No.  Duct tape?  No.  Packaging tape?  No.  They had Scotch tape, but that wasn’t remotely helpful.

Michael mentioned that we should check at a drug store.  The next day, he walked the mile to his conference from our hotel, leaving us to do some sightseeing.  That morning, we went to La Jolla to see the harbor seals (more on that in another post) and then picked up Gran at the airport. 

That afternoon, we went shopping to get a couple of things that I’d forgotten to pack.  Since I’d done most of the packing while I was also packing to go to the funeral, and then the last few things in the few short hours I was home and not sleeping between trips, a couple of things had fallen through the cracks.  Like pajamas for the girls. 

I realized at the mall that there was a drug store there.  Great!  A drug store!  We went to see about their stock.  Patch kit?  No.  Duct tape?  Not for sale.  Did we want just a piece of it?  I pictured myself carefully trying to take a piece of duct tape back to the hotel without getting it all stuck to itself or something else.  No.  I explained why I wanted the patch kit, and the man kindly told me where to find the bike store.  It was a few blocks away, and we hadn’t explored downtown yet, so I decided we’d walk over.

Walking a few blocks is somewhat faster without a stroller and a 4-year-old who doesn’t particularly understand why anyone moves quickly ever.  BUT we got to the bike store and purchased our $3.99 patch kit.  Victory!

We made our slow way back to the car, then back to the hotel. 

When Michael got back to the hotel that evening, he came in a bit winded and said, “I’m kind of tired.  Today I walked to and from the conference and then a mile to a bike shop and a mile back, but I got a patch kit!”

We had gone to the same bike store.  We had bought the same patch kit.  We now have 12 – wait! no!  11, because Michael used one on the air mattress! – patches for Sim’s air mattress.  Just in case.