Current Mood: Roasted!
We have been a part of the EDS family for almost 10 years. Adrian has been working there since Jan. 2001 and I worked there briefly for a year (2004-2005). So it was kind of sad to see the company being bought out by HP. Once the full conversion set in this year we have seen many changes. Not all good but not all bad either. One of the changes was there are bigger and better company picnics.
This year was the first year we got to attend one. We RSVP'd months ago and looked forward to the big day. It is a family event so we knew there would be LOTS for Mia to do and experience. We couldn't wait.
So the big day finally came, but like anything ... you cannot plan on everything being perfect. Unfortunately, summer has set in and we are in the mist of its very first heat wave of the year. Excessive heat warnings have been sent across So. California (Especially in the desert areas like Riverside) for the week. Everyday the temp has been climbing and climbing reaching near 110 here!! YIKES!!! So what does that mean for the picnic plans???? Well Adrian and I both figured San Diego couldn't possibly be as hot as Riverside and we had been tracking the weather on the Internet for a couple of days. The Internet said the heat should peak at 90 in Escondido (the city where the picnic was being held). Not to great but not to bad, definitely do-able we thought. Well were we in for a surprise of our lives....
Adrian came home from work in the morning and only got 3 hours of sleep. We figured the picnic started at 11am so the earlier we got there the better, at least beat the peek of the heat. So we all got ready and zoomed off to Escondido (about a 45 mins drive south of us). While driving there we kept a close eye on the car temp gauge. It kept climbing and climbing and by the time we reached the picnic grounds (11:30) it was already 99!!! YIKES!!!
Since the picnic was for ALL HP employees (not just certain contracts) the turn out was HUGE! We stepped out of the AC'd car and stepped right into a wall of HEAT!!!! It was BAD!!!! Right away I knew it would be a challenge for me. I usually don't do to well with excessive heat as it is, but being pregnant makes it more difficult and dangerous. I refused to turn around and go home, we made it this far and it was something we had been planning for, for such a long time. So we got Mia out of the car. Right away her poor little cheeks turned red and she started to sweat. It was soooo not 99 it felt more like 100+!!!! A shuttle came by and asked if we would like a ride to the picnic grounds but being the stubborn person I am, I refused to use it (DUMB IDEA!) so we started the trek, up hill mind you, and in the sun! Finally we reached the picnic grounds. I was huffing and puffing and my head was spinning. My cold water was quickly turning warm in my hand and we looked for shade ASAP!
We found a nice place to sit under some trees next to a family. They saw how I looked, which probably was pretty bad, and insisted I sit down. I am so big now it is obvious that I am pregnant. So I sat on the bench, trying to catch my breath but it wasn't easy since ever breath I took I inhaled a ton of stuffy HOT air. My head spun more and I began to feel woozy. I finally admitted to Adrian that I wouldn't be able to last long and that he needed to hurry up and get some food for himself. The heat instantly killed my appetite so I sat on the bench and watched Mia who was roasting in her stroller. Poor baby never has been exposed to such extreme heat and didn't know what to do. Eventually Dada came back with some food and cold water. I tried my best to cool down but was not successful.
Adrian then took Mia with him to look around and grab some more food (I asked him to find me some BBQ veggies that we read about). When he came back a short while later he described the picnic. There were a TON of jumpers, games with prizes for little kids and all sorts of neat stuff. Mia wanted to jump in the jumpers but he didn't let her since he needed to get back to me. He also brought me a little roasted zucchini and I ate that. It didn't make me feel any better and thats when I finally threw in the towel and told him I had to go.
We wanted Mia to enjoy the picnic and I didn't want to spoil that so we agreed that I would be dropped off at a nearby Fry's Electronic store (we picked Fry's because they have a nice cool cafe inside to hang out in) and Adrian and Mia would come back.
The heat kept getting worse and soon I knew I couldn't make it back to the car. Luckily the shuttle came around so we hitched a ride with them. At first Mia didn't want to leave or get into the van but after she felt the cool AC inside she laid right down and didn't move! She was roasted too!!! They drove us to our car and we couldn't get Mia out of the van for nothing!!!! She screamed and cried and refused to get out. So Dada had to force her out, along with the stroller and myself.
We quickly went to the car and loaded it up fast... the heat grew worse. We saw a family who parked next to us loading up their things just as fast. The Dad looked at us and said "The heat got to you guys too?" We laughed and said ya, we both had pulled up at the same time and now where leaving at the same time. We weren't the only ones, we started to notice alot of people leaving... it was just too HOT!
Once we got back on the road and blasted our AC we looked at the temp. 105!!!! and it kept climbing! YIKES! It got up to 108 by the time we left Escondido, it was insane!!! So off to San Marcos (a few freeway exits down) we went to go to Fry's. I asked Adrian if he was still going back with Mia and he said No way!!! After the walk back to the car and all the heat he said it wouldn't be a good idea. Especially to have Mia in the direct sun, bouncing in a jumper and playing games. It was a shame we had to leave but we had to do what was best.
Once we hit San Marcos there was a drastic change in temp. It was only 98 there and noticeably cooler.. well still hot but not like the picnic area. We ran inside, my head still spinning, and sat in their cooled cafe. Adrian bought me some cool water, I put my feet up and rested. I slowly started to cool off while Adrian took Mia around the store to burn off some energy. I rested a bit and when they came back I bought a sandwich and Mia ate a banana and bread. We all felt better and spent a good 2 hours there resting. It took that long to finally recover!!! Mia seemed to do good, she enjoyed being at Fry's and especially liked their big fish aquarium.
Soon it was time to go back home so we bought a few things and headed out. Right away the heat wall hit us so we ran to the car again and drove home. Once we hit our area it was 105 and it was about 4pm, still so HOT! Once we got home we ran inside the house, cranked up the AC and flopped on the couch! I shared an ice cream with Mia and that helped cool us off a bit.
Phew what a day! Never again am I going anywhere outside when there is an excessive heat warning... they aren't kidding!!! Its a shame we couldn't enjoy the picnic more but we still had our own little family adventure and it was fun... well once we got out of the heat that is. Hopefully next year they will have it sooner than summer... so we don't all get roasted like my BBQ zucchini was!
