Day Thirteen

My computer is not keeping up with the time changes but I think the time is almost 7 AM and we are just going in for breakfast and then leaving for Dallas. Time hasn't meant much on this holiday so I suppose the time change back from DST won't matter to us. This morning was the earliest we have started out a day.

The weather was gorgeous again today and quite warm, 24 C. The scenery approaching Dallas looks similar to Ontario but the city itself is very bright and clean. Arriving on a Saturday was a great opportunity to be downtown without much traffic and parking was so simple. Our first stop was to look at the bronze cattle in the park downtown. We also saw lots of real ones, mostly with long horns, today. We even saw several dozen people riding horses down a path parallel to, and close by the throughway north of the city.

Neiman Marcus was terrific. It reminded me very much of Creeds when it was on Bloor or even Morgans or Holts. I couldn't even afford to buy a Christmas bauble for the tree. There were some super children's things. If my lucky quarter had been successful in Vegas Molly and I could have had matching cashmere pants and sweaters and Molly could have have even had a hat to match hers. I could have mortgaged the house and done most of my Christmas shopping and everyone would have loved their gifts! Tony was talking to his friend John Lebel's son who told him they call it 'Needless Markup' and I would tend to agree but things are displayed so nicely that you don't even want to see the price tags.

The city is nicely laid out with lots of one way streets and the architecture is spectacular. After our trip to Neiman Marcus we crossed the street and had a delicious Italian meal. We are missing Halloween but will make up for it by bringing out all the Christmas decorations this year. I have to add a photo of the bumble bee that I received from Meredith today. I hope Molly likes all the ghosts and goblins tonight.

Day Twelve

When Tony opened the door this morning he sounded surprised as he practically bumped into a Mexican man at our door trying to sell silver jewellery in little plastic bags. I didn't see it but Tony thought it was very poor quality.

Today was a driving day. We left Gallup and went through Albuquerque and on to Amarillo where we turned south toward Dallas. We saw the wonderful red sandstone cliffs, buttes and the high staked plains along with deep gulches and pretty dry country. There was a noticeable difference in the scenery and the prosperity between New Mexico and the panhandle of Texas.

It was a bit disconcerting to read the signs at the rest stop in northern Texas! Tonight we are at a motel in Childress. We just came back from a wonderful buffet at a nearby restaurant where Tony discovered how delicious catfish can be. Tomorrow we are hoping to briefly explore Dallas. We are having a great time but do miss our grandchildren and their parents. We will catch up with the CT ones on the way home.

Day Eleven

Yesterday we wandered around all kinds of casinos, etc. and travelled up and down the Strip on the Deuce, a double decker bus with hop on and off privileges for $7 for 24 hours. We went to watch the Volcano last night at the Mirage. Last time we were there it wasn't operating because it was being repaired so it was great to finally see it. Of course the water at the Bellagio is sensational no matter how often you see it. We stopped at a couple of slot machines on the way back to our room. Our room was super; on the casino level with a balcony overlooking the pool. It also had a palm tree which was interesting to touch. This morning when we were checking out they were just about to tape a couple of episodes of "Lets Make a Deal" with Wayne Brady. The first episode was with the audience dressed in Halloween costumes.

We headed out of Las Vegas and went by the Hoover Dam and noticed much progress since we last saw it. The scenery along the way was interesting and could have been a western movie set much of the way until we came across snow at the sides of the road and on the mountains. We are in Gallup, New Mexico tonight. We just came back from dinner at the restaurant next door and the waitress said she had about three inches of snow on her car this morning that fell sometime between two AM and seven AM. Tomorrow we will be heading east and already we have lost an hour with the time change today with another couple before we get home.

As we were driving along yesterday we could see dust swirling to the north of us. It looked like the dust left behind when a truck drives fast up a dirt road. As it moved closer to the highway we realized it was just a little mini tornado type wind. It gathered up all the tumbleweed in its path and by the time it reached the highway it was just ahead of us and we all had to slow down while it crossed. Crossing the pavement slowed it down and by the time I could stop watching long enough to take a photo it was almost over. It was quite amazing.

Days Nine and Ten

We left Long Beach yesterday morning and drove to Las Vegas with a couple of stops for gas and coffee. Starting about half-way it was so dry and dusty. The shrubs and trees were all desert types and many cacti. It looked like fog but was actually dust almost obscuring the mountains. It was impossible to find wifi in Las Vegas last night but we finally found it down on Fremont Street at the Krispy Kreme store. It is available for $12.99 at the casinos for a 24 hour period but to record our 'exciting' adventures I thought it was a bit too costly! We checked into the Tropicana again since our familiarity with the area is helpful and helps us avoid disputes over directions because all the casinos are on such a large scale that once you get inside you completely lose your sense of direction.

Last night we went to Dirk Arthur's Xtreme Magic show which was very good. A very small audience which is indicative of the entire place I think. After the show we went to an Italian restaurant in the hotel for dinner. We haven't lost our children's entire inheritance yet but we certainly haven't increased it either. I think tomorrow morning my lucky quarter will work!

We are going for a prime rib dinner in a few minutes.

Day Eight

Last night we had Japanese for dinner because the propane ran out and wasn't available on Sunday so the steaks returned to the freezer. It was fun to all eat together and to see how much sushi Lana could eat. Sandra has so many amazing things in her kitchen that I have never seen before including drawer dishwashers. The kids are all so cute and so excited to be together and I think have every toy they own out and they do have lots of toys. The sound of choking was the first sounds of the morning when Quinn had swallowed a lego piece. I guess after the initial shock of realizing he had swallowed it he was able to wash it down with yogurt.

Lorna had to leave to go back to Honduras last night because after she left on Friday her maid stole her car and loaded the Graces' two dogs and seven people into Lorna's five person vehicle and managed to roll it over on a mountainous road and she, her daughter, her fiancé's daughter and one dog were all killed. Her mother and another daughter and two others survived. The maid had had four hours of driving instruction and been told she couldn't drive Lorna's car. They have a driver who had refused to take Lorna's car without permission when she was away. Lorna and Vida don't even drive down there with all their experience. Now Lorna has to go back and make the stolen car report, etc. and is missing her holiday in Hawaii. Sandra has gone to work for a couple of hours this morning but then they will all be leaving to go to the airport. The dogs are going to doggie daycare and we are staying here.

Tony and Vida have gone to In 'n Out to pick up lunch for all of us.

Tony and I drove Sandra and the two boys out to LA airport and then we drove back all along the coast through residential areas and hundreds of apartment buildings. There were lots of people on the beaches and surfers at some spots. Of course it was another day of perfect weather. I find it a bit warm but I also probably have heavier clothes than LA residents wear.

We came back tonight and are pretty well organized so we will probably leave early tomorrow to go to Las Vegas.

Day Seven

We left Poway this morning after saying goodbye to Terry and Richard. It was so nice to see them again and it was also so nice to visit with John and Helen in Livermore. It is fun to get to know my cousins better.

We stopped in to say hello to Bill Hanson in Rancho Bernardo. He still looks good and seems to be getting along very well. I know he misses Corrie because she was such a lively interesting person who we always loved to have come to our house for a visit. The last time was the Thanksgiving after my mother died when Corrie brought Bill up to meet us. He was her second husband that she married after Charlie, her first one had died.

We arrived at Sandra's and found a note on the door with a phone number so we went over to have coffee and dessert until they arrived home a few minutes later. Vida and Lana were with Sandra and a little later Sean and Donovan came back from a hike. At the moment Sean has gone to look for propane and he will pick up Lorna and Quinn from the airport so we will all have dinner together.

Day Six

Today is another day of perfect weather in Poway. The days start out misty or dull and by nine the sun is shining and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Today we went over to visit Pat and Jim Nantais and had lunch on their patio. They have lime trees, lemon trees, mineolas, and palm trees. It is right across the road from the Rancho Bernardo Winery which is a really super place.

Pat and Jim are having an anniversary party there next month and it would be nice to be able to attend but by then we should be back home again.

Terry made dinner for us and we visited and then Richard arrived home. He works long hours but it is nice for Terry to have him living there. He has yet to visit Canada but hopefully he will one of these days so he can see where his parents came from originally. The older three kids, Linda, Jim and Debbie were born in Canada but Charlie and Richard were born in Boston. They moved to California on March 18th or 19th, 1978, the day after Linda's wedding.

Tomorrow we are stopping in to see Bill Hanson, my mother's best friend Corrie's husband. He still lives in Rancho Bernardo in the same house where my mother visited Corrie. After that we are heading for Sandra's house and the Honduras Graces will be there too.

Day Five

After breakfast this morning we went over to the mall to Starbucks where it took forever to get connected to their wifi. By the time we finished there it was time to go to lunch so we went to the Greek restaurant, Daphnes next door. We went back to Terry's after she and Tony picked up a few groceries and I checked out our route for the next few days. Linda came over after work and we all went to Denny's for dinner and then back to Terry's for dessert. By then Richard was home and we all visited.

Day Four in California

It was another perfect day in Livermore without a cloud in the sky. While Helen was at a retirees luncheon we took John to the Railroad Cafe for lunch. It was a great menu and we all had a super meal. When Helen came home we went over to Stoneridge Mall and looked in the shops. Super clothes were on display and the Christmas decorations were already out.

John and Helen took us to the Cattlemen for dinner and it was so good. The best steaks we have had in years and the salad was so good. When Tony and I ordered blue cheese dressing we were asked if we wanted it crumbly or not and we did so it came in individual sauce boats, two each. One was filled with crumbled blue cheese and the other with blue cheese dressing.

Tomorrow we are on our way to San Diego and probably won't be online again until we get to Long Beach on Sunday or Monday. Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Day Three in California

Today was a beautiful day in Livermore and we just relaxed and talked with John and Helen most of the day. Tony and John went over to the copy shop to copy some pages to go into the family tree envelopes. John had a super picture of Aunt Nell with Charlie that they copied for me. It was nice to just sit around and relax and not have to go anywhere.

This morning after breakfast Tony thought we had a late start but in reality it was very early and we left about eight o'clock. We drove down Rte #5 until we came to Fortuna where we went west to the coast by way of a very windy narrow road. At ten-fifteen we reached route #1 which went south through Fort Bragg. Sometimes it rained and other times it was sunny but it was a very interesting drive along the Redwood highway. Some of the redwoods are so high and big that it makes regular trees look like bushes. There were also lots of eucalyptus trees along the way. At Albion we had seen enough ocean and curvy roads so we turned inland on route #128. In some places there were no trees but usually it was very heavily forested until we got to wine country. We drove down the scenic route where there were vineyards as far as the eye could see for miles and miles. There were vineyards with wine tasting all along the route. By the time we finished driving down past Napa we encountered lots of rush hour traffic. We took ages to cross a big bridge north of San Francisco but there was a beautiful rainbow both ends of which were visible for such long time. We finally arrived at the Meredith's place about seven-thirty. We talked with John and Helen until eleven-thirty and are now very happy to be ensconced in a very comfortable bed in a beautiful blue bedroom.

Day One in California

We came down the coast road in southern Oregon this morning and crossed over the border into California around noon. There was a check point at the border with at least three lanes with uniformed officials to make sure we weren't bringing in organic produce -apples were okay that we bought at a grocery store but if they had come from somewhere else they would have to be destroyed.

The Redwood Highway along the coast is beautiful but mainly two lanes so it is quite slow. The redwood trees are huge and again the foliage is right out to the sides of the road. The branches of the trees and the trunks are covered with moss and in some places it is hanging moss. We kept coming through either fog or clouds so I guess it is very humid. We did see a palm tree yesterday in Oregon and then we saw a few more today. There are some small bushes close to the ground that look like the top of palms.

We stopped at a field that was full of elk. They seemed used to people and stared at us as hard as we were staring at them. Earlier in the day we saw a few tiny grey deer feeding beside the road. These are really the only live animals we have seen for three weeks. We did see lots of inanimate bears in a town that was having an art festival of decorated bears.

We have checked into a hotel and are just about to go out for dinner.