Happy New Years from On The Road
Dec. 31st, 2011 11:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liralenWe're on the road for home after a four day visit with my parents in San Diego. It's been a good visit, and a Christmas after Christmas as well as a chance to experience an all-night drive again for the first time in a few decades.
Yes. It was a 16-hour drive from Colorado through to San Diego, we headed East along I-70, and then went south on I-15 through Nevada and into California, and there was something surreal about driving through LA at 2 am and having the freeways be so sparsely populated. Just zooming through, and while there were people, we just ghosted through the mountains and into the flat plains of light in all directions. By then it just seemed silly to stop and try and sleep in the middle of the city, so I pushed through and we arrived at my parents' house at 4 am. They let us in, thankfully, and we slept in until noon and had a second Christmas that evening.
The second Christmas was really really good and fun for everyone that was involved, and I ended up with a Kindle Touch from my sister. She also gave my mother an iPad. I actually really liked the Kindle a lot, been reading
One interesting thing was that I bought my sister two books from Amazon, which they'd told me were damaged in shipment, so they'd sent another set of books. Both actually arrived so I now have a copy of the Milk Bar book by David Chang, and Blumenthal at Home, which is just gorgeous. Mom and Dad and Kathy all liked the calendars we made, and we also got to give them gift certificates to stuff they liked. Mom also got her pears for her birthday and the New Year, and John got Snuff. We always like Terry Pratchett.
The days went quickly, which multiple trips to the beach, a good trip to the Zoo, the usual visit to In and Out, Frye's (with Jet this time for his first visit to the electronics Mecca, he loved it, no doubts there), and Trader Joe's. We went to Ching's on Convoy for a lovely Chinese dinner one night with eight different dishes. We also went to Convoy to meet up with an old classmate of mine from high school and his two teenage kids. We met at the Imperial Mandarin for dim sum, and really stuffed ourselves on lovely Cantonese style food. There was plenty of it.
The pictures are of the dinner at Ching's. They also do a Mandarin-style breakfast there too, that we'll have to do some other trip as we ate constantly. *laughs* It was really good, though.
The Zoo was very crowded, but also really good, as we've been there often enough that we really don't have a lot that we have to see, but a lot that we can appreciate when we get to it. I think my favorite bit was getting to see the pandas yet again. I really loved that. On the most part we just wandered where the crowds weren't so thick, and got to spend a lot of good time in the aviary just watching the birds and the water and the plants. The white egrets were actually landing outside the netting, nesting all about the Zoo with all the ample food and water and all that, so that they were in a sense free-loading as were the common ducks. There was even a great blue heron that was just perched sleepily on a sign watching everyone walking along.
Yes, I do like the big birds. *laughs*
The best part, however, was just learning how to play Mah Jong with my parents. They aren't avid players, but did have a set and a table, so we set everything up in the livingroom and Jet and John got to sit with them and just play. John and Jet got ot learn how the Chinese numeric system is written in characters, and Mom had a great time trying to get Jet to pronounce the numbers correctly. *laughs* Jet started recognizing all the characters for the cardinal directions really quickly! That was impressive. I loved just sitting with everyone and learning the game in action, as I've read the instructions but it's different when the play is live.
So.. now we're on our way back, and stopped in Tucson to see the place as John never has. *laughs* Probably going to check out the cactus tomorrow and take it easy on the way back. We got into hotel before dinner, had a frantic but tasty dinner at Olive Garden (they were just packed), and celebrated the East Coast dropping of the ball at 10 pm here, with TJ's sparkling blueberry juice and a kiss for and from each of us.
Happy Happy New Year!
Yes. It was a 16-hour drive from Colorado through to San Diego, we headed East along I-70, and then went south on I-15 through Nevada and into California, and there was something surreal about driving through LA at 2 am and having the freeways be so sparsely populated. Just zooming through, and while there were people, we just ghosted through the mountains and into the flat plains of light in all directions. By then it just seemed silly to stop and try and sleep in the middle of the city, so I pushed through and we arrived at my parents' house at 4 am. They let us in, thankfully, and we slept in until noon and had a second Christmas that evening.
One interesting thing was that I bought my sister two books from Amazon, which they'd told me were damaged in shipment, so they'd sent another set of books. Both actually arrived so I now have a copy of the Milk Bar book by David Chang, and Blumenthal at Home, which is just gorgeous. Mom and Dad and Kathy all liked the calendars we made, and we also got to give them gift certificates to stuff they liked. Mom also got her pears for her birthday and the New Year, and John got Snuff. We always like Terry Pratchett.
The pictures are of the dinner at Ching's. They also do a Mandarin-style breakfast there too, that we'll have to do some other trip as we ate constantly. *laughs* It was really good, though.
Yes, I do like the big birds. *laughs*
The best part, however, was just learning how to play Mah Jong with my parents. They aren't avid players, but did have a set and a table, so we set everything up in the livingroom and Jet and John got to sit with them and just play. John and Jet got ot learn how the Chinese numeric system is written in characters, and Mom had a great time trying to get Jet to pronounce the numbers correctly. *laughs* Jet started recognizing all the characters for the cardinal directions really quickly! That was impressive. I loved just sitting with everyone and learning the game in action, as I've read the instructions but it's different when the play is live.
So.. now we're on our way back, and stopped in Tucson to see the place as John never has. *laughs* Probably going to check out the cactus tomorrow and take it easy on the way back. We got into hotel before dinner, had a frantic but tasty dinner at Olive Garden (they were just packed), and celebrated the East Coast dropping of the ball at 10 pm here, with TJ's sparkling blueberry juice and a kiss for and from each of us.
Happy Happy New Year!
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no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 06:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 06:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 09:06 am (UTC)Happy Hogswa... err... New Year!
no subject
Date: 2012-01-03 04:06 am (UTC)Happy Hogswatch, too! *giggles*
And we're now going through the part of the country you used to live in... *happy sighs* And I have a perfectly ugly postcard for you! *laughs*
no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 11:55 am (UTC)Your trip sounds like you had such a great time. It's been way too many years since I've seen San Diego. My very first "real, formal" date was to Grant's Tomb. We lived in Imperial Beach for quite a few years.
If you're ever in the mood to drive south
and bring an external hard drive with you, you're more than welcome to check out my "library". *grins*There's a group of ladies who play Mah Jong where I work. They always look like they're having so much fun. Someday I'd love to sit in to learn. Is it hard?
no subject
Date: 2012-01-03 04:48 am (UTC)It isn't all that hard! A lot like gin rummy, if you know the characters for 1-9, though I heard the betting and scoring what you get is harder than the play itself. It is fun to learn, especially with a table full of newbies. *laughs* Harder when keeping up with a tableful of sharks, I'll bet, but... might be fun, too!
*grins* Yes, I hope your New Year is good!
no subject
Date: 2012-01-03 04:53 am (UTC)You're more than welcome to come down any time you feel like a long drive. I'm happy to share whatever I have on all my hard drives and server. *grins*
no subject
Date: 2012-01-18 12:12 am (UTC)It's nice to know there's a *wealth* of reading to be had... Thank you!!
no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 04:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-03 04:49 am (UTC)