Mt Shasta in the distance....the story is told somewhat back to front....
We just got home last night from our travel to southern California. We left at 4:30am and were crossing the Siskiyou summit at 2pm! We ate ONE time, at the In & Out in Redding, I've grown fonder of their burgers this trip. Of course we had snacks in the car and plenty of bottled water. We stopped in Medford to visit my dad and his wife Sharon, in Central Point to visit friends (who served us some great Peet's coffee!) and in Eugene, for Kenzie to switch out suitcase and clothes. We were fairly rummy by the time we hit the road from Eugene to home, but I'm proud to say I drove it safely and soundly. Ran into a small patch of snow on one bridge, south of Jefferson, and some fog (in the San Joaquin valley and the Willamette valley). Followed a UO Ducks truck going north...something to do with the athletics department.
Our growing collection of 'smokers' and nutcrackers from Germany
Our time with the Gauthier family was great! We drove down all in one go, on Sunday Dec 20th, stopping in Eugene to pick up Kenzie, stopping in at my brother's house to drop off/pick up gifts, stopping at dad's in Medford for the same. We arrived at Sherree and Fred's house in Bakersfield at 1:30am. Dave did 99.9% of the driving. The next day we visited mom, got some groceries, visited Jay at his office, went to Jay and Robin's house for a bit, ate delicious homemade soup with Fred and Sherree (yes, I would love the recipe!) then finished the day with Richard and Kathy. Stayed the night in Lindsay's room, then headed out to Riverside the next day to visit Jack and Faye.
It was snowing over the Tehachapi mountains, but the Mojave desert was clear and beautiful. I tried to photograph the Joshua Trees from the moving car.
Drove through a sandstorm on the way to Palm Springs and the tram.
Looking back down the valley...on the way up Mt San Jacinto!
It was 22 degrees, windy and had 1-2 feet of snow at the top.
Spent the night in Corona at a hotel. Ate dinner at a Pollo Loco at 9pm.
Visited Jack and Faye at their home on Grassy Trail Drive. Both are LOOKING GOOD!!!
Drove by the house on Grand street that Dave grew up in, retraced the route he walked to kindergarten (1 mile along a busy road) by himself.
Our next stop was the Farmer's Market in LA, but because we overshot it we had a lovely detour through Beverly Hills, and a drive along Sunset Blvd. Eventually made it back to Farmer's Market and The Grove.
interesting mannequins...................Santa and his sleigh and reindeer light up the sky at The Grove
We ate a little, decided to see a movie (The Blindside) and then have more to eat at the Farmer's Market (fish tacos for me! YUMMO!) before driving back to Bakersfield.
On a lark, we thought 'let's go to the Rosebowl!'...ok, well, it was further away than we realized, but there was no point turning around after 15 miles. At 9:30pm I took a photo of Kenzie making the O with her hands, under the Rosebowl neon sign at the front of the stadium. A car pulled around (the only other car besides us) and the people inside shouted "GO DUCKS" at her! LOL! (or did they shout "go bucks"?)
Kathy's table set for breakfast
Richard's famous waffles baking
Brook and Grampa Jack sharing a moment together
Brook, Amanda, David, Morgan in the mirror
Dave raising a toast!
The warmish days of winter in the southern San Joaquin Valley!
It was a great trip and good to be with family!!!
2 comments:
Hi Diane! The photo titled "Dave raising toast" reminds me of a Norman Rockwell painting! In answere to your question about the photo behind my titile, I went over to Kathy's today. It's one of hers!
Hey sweetie, You got some great photos. I never saw you with a camera in your hand. I love the lighting in the one you took in my dining room. I might have to still a few. l.o.l. My only regret is that I didn't take any pictures myself. What was I thinking?
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