Family Christmas in San Diego

     Well Ben has been complaining for years that no one comes out and visits him for Christmas, so this year we put on the full court press.  Recapping just a little bit, we all remember that Liam was due to arrive the end of September.  So Debbie and I planned our Journey to See America 2016, to arrive in San Diego shortly before Liam.  After stops in Cleveland to visit the Lagasse Family, and then stops in Utah for some National Park visits around Moab, Ut, and a pilgrimage to Monument Valley to view John Wayne movie locations, we arrived in SD right on schedule.  MAE arrived a few days before Christmas, intent on working on a tan before returning to NY.  (Sorry about that MAE!)  Yes, the weather failed to cooperate, and she experienced wet, cold San Diego weather.  It's hard to work on a tan without taking off a sweatshirt!

     Debbie seemed to spend most of her free time making Christmas cookies for her brother and son.  As far as she's concerned it's not Christmas until all the cookies are baked and all the presents are wrapped!  I don't think there's anyone around who enjoys this time of year as much as Debbie.   Every once in a while she starts talking about being back in NY for Christmas, and I have to change the subject quickly!  It is different without the snow, but the most important ingredient in a successful Christmas is Family, and in that category we scored big.
     We got a few lights up outside of Big Red, and Debbie had a a nice Christmas tree so Santa had some place to put ALL of MaryAnne's presents!  Actually I think there were a few in their for me too.

 We all attended midnight mass over in Lakeside, and the choir did an exceptional job!  Christmas morning, Debbie and I sat around for MAE to wake up!  Santa had obviously visited, and she wasn't waking up!  "Christmas, An Art Form" had done a tremendous job and everyone remembered to be very careful when opening presents.

      After cleaning up in Big Red, it was time to head over to see how Liam was enjoying his 1st Christmas.  Ben, Joanne, and Jamo had waited patiently for us to arrive, and greeted us with a refreshing mimosa to get the activities rolling.  Everyone scored pretty big this year, but Jamo seemed to be enjoying some of his presents too!  His favorite was a squeaky too that whistled at a pitch that only dogs can hear every time he chomped down on it.  Drove him nuts....for about 15 minutes...till he gained access to that whistle. Then it seemed like a good idea just to eat it.  Time to take that toy away!

     Aunt MaryAnne spent most of the day with her nephew, spoiling him as much as she could. She bought him a noisy crab that crawls around sideways making lots of squawks and squeaks!  It's gonna drive Jamo nuts cause it's activated by movement, so every time he walks by it, it starts squawking.  Ben is going to love that when he's trying to sleep.

Debbie got into the mischief by making MAE a Dallas Cowboys burp cloth.  Ben just loves having that around!!  It was a great day overall, and we finished the day with a nice fire in the back yard.  The temperatures have fallen into the 30's every night, so the fire was a welcomed event.

     When it was all over, the Head Elf rested.  A few dozen Christmas cookies had been baked and enjoyed.  All the presents were wrapped with care.  Time to start working on next year's celebration.

And it looks like Liam has found his thumb.....just like Grammie!!!

    

             

                 So Merry Christmas to everyone and we hope for a Happy and Peaceful New Year.  

                           

San Diego Boat Parade and Rosecrans National Cemetery

     We are certainly enjoying our time here at the Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve.  It is a nice quiet park, except for the occasional barking dog in one of the neighboring trailers.  And this only seems to occur when those terrible pet owners leave their pet unattended for hours at a time inside their RV's.  Don't quite understand why pet owners want to leave their pets in an RV, but that's basically why we don't have one.

     The Christmas season is upon us, even here in the park.  Some campers have really put an effort into decorating their sites, and it really makes for a nice evening walk.   I think Debbie was able to get out a few Christmas cards this year, and she seems to have a stack of presents building up under our little Christmas tree.  Debbie has also been busy with all the baking, and wrapping of Christmas treats.  I decided it was a good time to catch a cold, and I don't tend to respond very well.  It's gonna take me a few days to get back on my feet.  Ben, Joanne, and Liam returned from Atlanta this morning.  They traveled over there to attend Joanne's brother's wedding.  MAE will be flying in tomorrow night to spend Christmas with us, so that should be a pretty good party.  It's been several years since we've all been together this time of year.
     In preparation for Christmas, Debbie and I jumped on the Trolley over in Santee, and rode it down to San Diego Harbor to enjoy the annual Boat Parade.  Seemed like a pretty good idea.  No traffic to fight, and then the search for a parking spot!  The trip down took about 45 minutes, and the train contained quite the cast of characters.   We rode all they way down to Seaport Village, and then it was just a short walk over to the waterfront.  The crowds were not as bad as I had anticipated, but then I heard there was another Christmas event at Petco Park.  U.S.S. Midway, CV-41, ceremoniously guarding the harbor since it's decommission in 1992.

The U.S.S. Midway is a must see if you can visit San Diego.  Together with the Museum, it stands in honor of the nearly 200,000 soldiers and sailors who once served on her.  Today visitors may be lucky enough to observe a reenlistment ceremony which frequently occurs on her flight deck.  There are 29 aircraft onboard Midway, along with a flight simulator.  Visitors should plan on spending 3-4 hours wandering along the hallways of the Midway, and experience life at sea aboard a carrier.

     Debbie and I found some great seats along the pier at Seaport Village, and soon we could see the masts of great sailing vessels coming down the harbor toward us.  Some were lavishly decorated for Christmas, while others seemed to have just a simple message.  Most carried lots of Christmas revelers onboard, who must have been a little frigid, as the temperature in the harbor dropped into the low 40's.  People of San Diego are just not prepared for temps like that, but I sat there quite comfortable in my new Park Ranger coat.  As you can see, a few boats got a little carried away with the decorations, and I would bet there was a significant amount of alcohol involved. The parade lasted nearly an hour and everyone on the pier with us seemed to be enjoying the show.  Afterwards, it was a leisurely walk back to the trolley station, and a very comfortable journey back to Santee.
     A few days later we were on our next foray down to San Diego to do a little whale watching perched atop of Point Loma.

Point Loma is home to the Cabrillo National Monument and Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.  This area became a National Cemetery in 1934, but U.S. military personnel had been buried there since 1874, when the U.S. was a war with Mexico, and 19 soldiers were killed in the Battle of San Pasqual.
     Making this visit extra special was viewing over 3000 wreath donated to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery by Wreaths Across America.  This non profit organization has been donating wreaths to our National Cemeteries since 1992, to honor and remember those who have sacrificed so much for our country.  Please tap on the link above to see how you can make a contribution to this wonderful organization.

     Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is located on an incredible piece of real estate,  On the south side there are beautiful views of the San Diego Harbor and North Island NAS on one side. The other side presents peaceful views of the Pacific Ocean, The country did a wonderful job dedicating this land as a National Cemetery.  In my opinion, you would have a difficult time finding a better location to honor our military.  

   

     After paying our respects at Fort Rosecrans, we continued further out Pt. Loma, through the ticket booth entering onto National Park Service property.  We showed our America the Beautiful Park Pass, which next year will cost us $10 for our lifetime pass, and headed out to find a comfortable spot overlooking the ocean and see if we could spot some Gray Whales.  Each year between late December and April, Gray Whales make their yearly 11,000 mile migration between their feeding grounds off the coast of Alaska, and breeding grounds along Baja California Sur.

       This time of year they are southbound to the warmer waters of Baja, and if you're lucky, you can easily spot them from shore. We picked up a nice healthy lunch at Subway, and found an empty bench with a perfect view of the ocean.  It was a beautiful sunny day, although a little cool, but we leisurely passed a few hours gazing out in our search for the conspicuous exhale of the Gray Whale.  They can be seen for miles as they break the surface and exhale a huge plume of air and water.  The whale watching excursion boats sat patiently below us just beyond the surf, waiting patiently for a pod to show up.  But today it was not meant to be.  No whales, but a nice afternoon on the coast.

We did spot this sub coming up from the depths a few miles off shore, and that was pretty cool to see.  There are 2 Carriers in San Diego Harbor, and maybe we'll be able to get down and take a look at them.  They are much more impressive than a Navy sub.
     Princess will be arriving in a few days, putting the entire family together for the first time in several years.  Debbie is getting pretty excited!  We are certainly enjoying our time spent visiting Liam and Jamo....oh yea, Joanne and Ben too!  The weather is a little cooler than we would like, but at least there is no threat of snow.  If it gets too cold, we'll move the bus to warmer weather.  Having an RV definitely has its advantages!  We hope everyone is having a great Christmas Season, and I'll see if I can catch this story up just a little bit.
   

17 Mile Drive & Pebble Beach

     As we departed Emeryville for Santee, we again settled on taking CA 1, which runs along the coastline south to below San Luis Obispo.  If you have the opportunity to make this trek, take your time and enjoy the sites along the way.  Our first stop along the way brought us to this marina, filled with fishing and recreational boats. Just a short distance away, we found a small isolated parking lot, filled with surfers enjoying the high surf pounding the coastline.  We took a short break enjoying the beach, and soon noticed a sailboat making its break from the marina.  It appears a little more serious than it was, but it made for an interesting photo.  The waves were magnificent all the way down the coastline, and the California surfing community seemed to be making the most of it.
     A little further down the coast, we discovered the 17 Mile Drive, a scenic drive through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula.  The drive begins after passing through the guarded gate and paying the $10 entrance fee.  Believe me, it's the best $10 you're going to spend.  The 17 Mile Drive hugs much of the California coastline, passing through the 5300 acre Del Monte Forest of Monterey Cyprus Trees, before exploding out along magnificent golf courses named Spyglass Hill and of course Pebble Beach.

                                                                                    The peninsula was originally discovered by Spanish explorers in 1602, and became a tourist destination after the arrival of several railroad barons and the construction of the Hotel Del Monte in 1892.  Today the road is lined with magnificent mansions overlooking an even more magnificent coastline.
     There is plenty of opportunity to stop and enjoy the scenery,  The map provided at the front gate, lists 21 specific v iewpoints, which highlight the bays and scenic vistas located all along the drive.  It's difficult to imagine that at China Rock, this coastline was wrapped with shacks
belonging to Chinese fisherman back in the late 1800's.  Pescadero Point offers views down into Carmel.

                                                                                          The Lone Cypress is one of the top scenic attractions along the 17 Mile Drive, and is often called the official symbol of Pebble Beach.  It's reported to be possibly 250 years old, and amazingly stands alone on a huge piece of granite, overlooking the ocean.  If you look closely you can see 2 steel cables holding it up.

                   
      We continued, following the red line painted down the middle of the road to where the drive ends out at the main gate.  The red line seems to keep the tourists from driving up into the residential areas on the peninsula.  The views continued all along the coast, and the high surf seemed to intensify the line between ocean and land.
   

     Sorry for all the pictures, but it's really the only way I know of, to easily show you the drive we were able to experience.  We're back in Santee enjoying our time with Ben's family, awaiting the arrival of MAE for Christmas.  We hope your Christmas Season is filled with joy and peace.

California Zephyr Journey Winding Up

     Friday was our final day hitching a ride on the California Zephyr.  We had been aboard for 8 days, back and forth across this country, and seen some very impressive sights.  Our journey started in Emeryville, CA, just outside of San Francisco on November 20, 2015.

 Bedroom type accommodations worked just fine for us, since we've taken to a lifestyle of just having the necessities of life.  We made 98 scheduled stops along the way between Emeryville and Albany, NY, and back.  Most were in major cities along the way such as Reno, NV, Denver, CO, Salt Lake City, UT, Omaha, NE.  And some were stops at locations that made you wonder why in earth would we ever stop here, like Winnemucca, NV.  We stopped in Lincoln, NE around 3:00 AM, and I wish I had my camera ready.  The stopping train woke me from a pretty sound sleep, and as I looked out the window, 2 massive coliseums with  a huge red N on the front passed my window.  Memorial Stadium, and Pinnacle Bank Arena, home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football and basketball teams, were  lit up like a Christmas trees. They seem to take their sports programs pretty serious in Nebraska!

     We had about a 20 minute stop in Denver, which Debbie and I used to stretch our legs, and get a glimpse of the train station, also known as the Crawford Hotel.  Absolutely incredible building, all decked out for Christmas.  There were lots of little shops around the perimeter, which I managed to keep Debbie out of saying the train is ready to go!

    The truly unique factor about traveling by rail across the U.S. is the fact that most everybody on the train has an experience to share, and when given the opportunity, will gladly sit and visit for as long as you want.  Amtrak always seats 4 people at the table each meal, so the odds are pretty good you're going to meet someone new each meal.  One couple we met were from Colorado, and gave us a huge tip about hot springs in Golden Co, which just happened to be a stop along the tracks.  As we pulled into Golden CO, we could see the block long hot spring pool across the street from the tracks, along with numerous individuals who seemed to be enjoying the cool weather in the pool.

 As we approached Golden on the way back, the entire Lodge was decorated with Christmas decorations.  Not the best picture, but you get the idea.  To the east, according to our source, was a town call No Name, and in No Name is an RV campground called, what else but, No Name Campground.  So this little factoid was added to our spreadsheet, and should we get the opportunity, we'll be checking it out.
     But what made the trip so special was the fantastic scenery opening up all around us.  Many of the canyons we passed through can only be seen by train or river raft.

 From the comfort of the Viewing Car, we watched magnificent bald eagles perched in trees or fishing along the banks of the Colorado River.  We passed through a 6 mile tunnel at about the 8000 foot level, crossing over the Rockies from Denver.  That was pretty cool traveling through the Rockies for about 10 minutes.  The snow pack was well underway in the Rockies which made for some pretty cool photos.

Both of our layovers in Chicago afforded us the opportunity to get out an check out the downtown area.  Of course that means a visit to see the Christmas decorations in the windows at Macy's.  And who can pass up the opportunity for a "selfie with the elfies!"  

And on the return trip through Chicago, we ventured downtown and located Cloud Gate, located in Millennium Park.

 This is a 110 ton elliptical egg, made from highly polished stainless steel, that reflects the Chicago skyline and sky.  If you can work it right, you can see yourself in the reflection.  MaryAnne visited there last summer, so of course, we had to copy her.

 And then we had to revisit Macy's after finding out that up on the 8th & 9th floors, is the famous Christmas tree.  Around the base of the tree is a restaurant which provides some pretty incredible views of Macy's.
     We made it safely back into San Francisco about 4 1/2 hours behind schedule.  Burlington Northern RR owns the tracks, and Amtrak only rents them, so you quickly figure out who has the priority.  Our delay occurred in Colorado, as we waited for 4 hours for Burlington Northern rearrange a coal car.  That's right....1 coal car!  When the train finally passed us, there were 79 coal cars and 5 engines pushing the load up over the Rockies.  But we had no place that we had to be, so sit back and enjoy the scenery.
     We had an amazing return trip down the California coast.  But that story is for the next blog.  It's time to get out and get ready for the Christmas Season.
     Stay safe everyone!

Thanksgiving in Plattsburgh

     WHOOOOOOP.....WHOOOP.....WHOOP!  Our journey back westbound to California began last night, pulling out of the Amtrak in Albany at 7:05 PM, right on schedule.  Don't quite understand why trains depart 5 past the hour but it seems to happen a lot.  We enjoyed the Christmas lights on the GE plant in Schenectady, and occasionally we hit some lights on a house in an unknown town we're passing by.  I think these town should have a sign somewhere identifying itself to those of us passing by.  I remember CORINTH painted on the high school roof with an arrow pointing to the landing strip out on Eggleston Street, so planes passing by knew where they were, and where the airport was. Today there's not much out there, except the Golden Arches glowing in the dark in most every town. We could see traffic on the NY Thruway headed for Buffalo, and we could see the lights dancing off of the NY Barge Canal that kept us company for a while.  We even caught sight of a green porch light, illuminating good wishes to all our Veterans.

     The only issue we can come up with that detracts from the enjoyment of crisscrossing this country, is the fact that Amtrak hooks this particular train up backwards when it leaves Chicago for Albany or Albany for Chicago.  By that I mean, the sleeping cars are directly behind the engine, and the coach passengers are at the tail of the train enjoying a nice quiet journey.             Those of us paying to sleep, are counting the RR crossings, and the # of train whistles it takes to announce our arrival at the RR crossings!  Ear plugs and melatonin helped tremendously with the whistle, and soon we both drifted off to dreamland.

        We had a great week with MAE in Plattsburgh.  Not sure she was real keen having her peeps move in on her for the week, but after we got the ground rules straightened out, things went quite well.  She didn't wake us in the morning as she headed out for work, which we really appreciated.  We brought down the turkey fryer from home, as Princess wanted to deep fry the guy.  Nothing like mixing boiling oil and alcohol!  But everything went well , and MAE put on a Thanksgiving feast that couldn't be beat!

     On Sunday night we ventured out into the chilling night air, and joined several hundred people down at the Plattsburgh RR station, to welcome in the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train.

For the past 17 years, the Canadian Pacific RR has been decorating it's northbound train, and making stops at several of the towns along the way before entering Canada at Rouses Point.  The goal is to collect food donations along the way, and fill up the area's food banks for the holidays.  That night they filled 3 trucks with donated food stuffs, and CP made a $4500.00 donation to the local JCEO.  

The train had the engine and probably a dozen boxcars all decorated up, and the car in the middle opened up to a band playing Christmas carols.  We had a nice light snowfall going,,,,just enough to get everyone into the Christmas spirit. They also announced that total food donations over the past 17 years totaled more than 3.5
million pounds!  Great job everyone!



      We departed out of Chicago just a little while
 ago, on the California Zephyr.  Again, a 4:05 PM departure time, but right on time.  We do have to credit Amtrak with running their trains on time.  We have 3 days ahead of us, and we'll be providing a few more details about train life in the days ahead.
     Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and a safe journey home.