“HI, MOM. CAN YOU TAKE THE TWO BOYS THIS WEEKEND? It’s our 17th anniversary.”

“Sure, Kristi. We’d be happy to. I’ll come get them.”

And thus began a whirlwind weekend at our house. Tyler 12 and Jack 10 were coming to town.

I suppose the older we get, the more babysitting could become, “You kids go in the yard and find something to do. I’m taking a nap. Don’t kill anything.”

However, for now we use their arrivals as a reason to get up off our empty-nest behinds and go have some fun. We tend to cocoon when not visited. We settle into quiet evenings at home, fiddling about the house until our favorite show comes on. Kids invigorate us.

Now came the challenge of entertaining two prepubescent boys for three days. These two boys in particular need constant stimulation. They are active with active parents. Staying home would make us all crazy.

“What do we want to do?” We had a week to plan.

We decided to go to Berkeley for Friday. It’s easier, closer, cheaper than San Francisco and we all love it there. We’ve taken the boys many times, always to a new part of town, Telegraph, or College Avenue, the Rose Garden, Grizzly Peak, Indian Rocks, or campus. Tyler liked the Nobel Laureate parking lot. He wants to park his Tesla there someday, he informs everyone.

This trip we wanted to take them to a unique restaurant and maybe see an unfamiliar art movie. Brow them up. Enculturate them. So we parked at Shattuck.

We came around the corner straight onto the Games of Berkeley store. That’s a sure-fire winner with any kid, so we went inside and split up. The boys could each spend ten bucks. Nana’s rule. Papa doesn’t have any rules.

Jack got a metal model of a Ferris Wheel. Tyler got five pins with funny sayings on them for his school backpack. Darn if I can remember any of them now. I bought a refrigerator magnet that says, “Cheer Up! Old age doesn’t last that long.” Sue got the bill. And she got to carry the bag. Guys.

For the special meal we ate New Orleans cuisine at Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen. It was good, almost as good at the Cajun food you get at The Workshop in Benicia.

After eating we stood outside, in strolling distance to three multiplex theaters. The marquees were ablaze with new-release titles, “Boxtrolls,” “Maze Runner.” What movie did the boys want to see after we closely checked all our options? “Chef.”

“Chef,” written, directed and staring Jon Favreau, is a foodie movie about a creative chef who loses his job in a strict restaurant and opens a food truck. It is funny, friendly, happy, with no bad guys, and food is one of the stars.

He drives his food truck from Florida to California, stopping in New Orleans. At one scene an actor mentions deep frying your hush puppies. “Papa, I just had my first hush puppies,” whispered Jack excitedly. I got two laughs out of that line.

Later an actor mentioned Po’ Boy sandwiches. “Papa, I just had an oyster Po’ Boy,” said Tyler. Walking out of the theater, wishing we were still hungry, Tyler asked, “Did you plan all this, Papa?
The food and the movie?” I’m innocent. It was just a nice harmonic convergence. Now they want beignets. On their next visit to town we’ll go see Danny Glassmaker.

Serendipity helped with Saturday. While hunting for smoker welders one week prior, I pulled into the Radio-car raceway on Broadway at the Napa Valley RC. I surveyed the indoor mud track, examined the rental cars, and got prices. Two Christmases ago, Jack received an RC car from his dad, but it was so powerful all Jack could successfully do with it was crash it into walls and break it. Maybe some practice would help.

So we went to the track on Saturday morning. Got there at opening and raced alone.

It cost $60 for two cars for two hours, with unlimited repairs, battery replacements, and a backup car if yours gets totally thrashed. It was a sweetheart deal for these guys, who treated the finger-trigger accelerator like the trigger of a shotgun, full throttle at every pull. They didn’t dig the word “ease.”

Here was our morning first hour: Zoom. Bam. Tumble and roll. “Go get it.” Zip, zap, over the barricades. “Go get it.” Wham, slam, thank you, Sam. Up against the wall. Hung up on the railing. These boys’ cars were spinning all over the place, and the mechanic had the governor on. Instead of standing on the controllers’ platform, they raced from the center of the track so they could right their vehicles, which they got hung up about twice a minute.

The second hour showed progress. Jack discovered that full throttle didn’t work on curves. The boys succeeded in making it all the way around the track. I started timing them. The older Tyler won every lap, so Jack drove off. Tyler’s lap time started at two minutes.

Before we left, he lapped at 29 seconds. To see his face was worth the price of admission.

On Sunday we took on the supreme fall challenge. Hands clasped tightly together, maps at the ready, we entered the enormous Dixon corn maze.

That is another story for another time.

Steve Gibbs teaches at Benicia High School and has written a column for The Herald since 1985.