Big A, Little A: Road Trip to UC Davis

Vegas injured some ligaments in her right leg, and ultimately required major surgery to correct her leg. We decided to go to the UC Davis Veterinary hospital for their highly regarded reputation and because it is our alma matter. Also, because I had just come off a crazy work project, I decided it would be a perfect opportunity to have a special day with Amelia in Davis.

We drove up first thing Wednesday morning to bring Vegas to her consultation appointment. We were in the area a bit early, so we stopped but the outlets on the way in. Always a fun road stop. It was incredible to see how much the campus has grown - and it makes me feel OLD! The hospital was enormous, and we were in only one wing of one building. It was a treat to see all the animals waiting - even though Vegas is an 80lb dog, she was considered for the "small animal" clinic (they treat horses and the like in the large animal clinic).

We had a lovely Vet student, Melania, do the intake, and a very caring, detail-oriented surgery resident Dr. Mark, perform the surgery with the faculty surgeon. We never met the faculty surgeon, but I was pleased with Dr. Mark alone. Vegas stayed the night to have X-rays taken, and her surgery was Thursday, with us returning to pick her up on Friday. We have nothing but rave reviews for the center and the care we were given.

Once we dropped Vegas off, Amelia and I went to Bernardo's for lunch - I had one of my favorite dishes - Thai Noodle Salad- and Amelia had the largest grilled cheese sandwich with fries and a Shirley Temple. (I did say it was a special day, right?). During lunch, another diner had a health scare so we witnessed several firetrucks, EMTs and other local medical personnel do their thing. It was quite a show.

After lunch Amelia and I strolled onto campus. We were lucky with a gorgeous spring day so a ton of students were out enjoying the weather and there was a lot to look at. I tried to stop by the SSH building to see if one of my old favorite Econ professors had office hours - I was disappointed to see he is no longer at the school. We headed to the bookstore so we could get her a new UCD cheerleader outfit - her old one is a 2T and just about ready for Audrey! Of course in the front was a random vendor selling outrageous hair clips (almost like fascinators). Amelia had fun shopping and starting collecting all the bows she wanted to get (she had about 15 by the time I realized what she was doing). The vendor saw her and said she could pick 4 for $5, so I could not say no. She had a blast shopping. We found her the cheer outfit and then took a detour through the newly remodeled Memorial Union (Coffee House). It was incredible. Ahh, to be a college student again!!!

We grabbed an ice cream from the CoHo and sat outside on the Quad in the sun to watch all the students. Amelia was mesmerized with all the people - eating, talking, and playing frisbee (those Aggies...). I even taught her that you have to take a minute to lay on your back in the grass, stretch out, close your eyes and take in the sun.

Although we wish it were under better circumstances, it was quite a special day for us!

Amelia with Vegas in the reception area