Christmas Celebration and back to California

2019 Road Trip to Seattle for Christmas Family Reunion (III)

Garibaldi, Oregon to Everett, Washington - December 23~29, 2019

With some of our younger generation having to go back to work right after Christmas, and my niece having to leave for Hong Kong Christmas Eve for work on Boxing Day, we had to celebrate Christmas on the 23rd. A little earlier than usual but it worked out OK for all of us.

December 23, 2019

The outdoor Christmas tree looked so beautiful!

Some of us decided to make a last minute shopping run at the outlets again this morning. 

While some decided to stay at home for some indoor fun.

Deep frying the turkey for dinner.

Turkey in the fryer.

While waiting for dinner, we munched on all the snacks we could get our hands on.

The guys did most of the cooking this time.

Prime Rib is ready!

And the turkey...

with all the trimmings.

What a feast!

Time for gifts!

We had to say "Goodbye" to Caitlin on Christmas Eve. She had to fly back to Hong Kong for her work. It was nice that she was able to join us for the celebration. 

December 25, 2019

This would be the day that many of our family members will be flying back to southern California. I think the plane tickets were a lot cheaper on this day and the airport less crowded. Good planning!

We had planned on having a dim sum lunch at the restaurant in Edmonds, but it was incredibly busy with a huge crowd waiting. We finally gave up and went to a smaller restaurant called King Noodle House back in Everett.

Food turned out to be decent.

Fried Rice

BBQ Pork Chow Mein

Singapore Rice Noodle

I think this was a beef noodle soup.

One more group photo before leaving for the airport.

As for the three of us, we left Jonny and Ines' house and moved over to ET and AT's in Auburn for a couple of nights before going back to L.A.

That evening, we enjoyed a wonderful authentic Chinese dinner at V Garden at the Great Wall Mall.

A wonderful Christmas dinner with roast duck,

chicken, and other delicious dishes.

December 26, 2019

We spent the day locally just visiting a couple of places and got ready for our long drive back to California.

A cold and dreary day.

December 27, 2019

Auburn, Washington to Roseburg, Oregon

We left Auburn quite early this morning for the long drive back. Traffic was decent with people still enjoying their Christmas vacation. Weather was fine other than being kind of cloudy, but at least it wasn't raining.

We made a couple of stops at the Costco along the 5, to look for the laptop that my brother wanted to get while in Oregon since they don't have sales tax in that state. Unfortunately, none of that was in stock. We also purchased a set of snow chains for the car just in case it is required when we climb the mountains in southern Oregon. It turned out that we did not and even though the sale clerk at Walmart assured us that it could be returned and refunded if the whole thing is not opened. The Walmart here refused to take it back. OK, I guess we will just have to keep it for future use.

While making those stops at Costco, we realized that not all Costco sell the same things and the prices can be very different from store to store. The best one for us was in Roseburg where things seemed to be or bargains. Needless to say, we made some good buys there to bring home.

Burrito Vaquero, Roseburg
After a quick check-in to our motel for the evening, we immediately headed out to find dinner and ended up at the Burrito Vaquero. This is a popular local Mexican restaurant that was recommended online. By now, we were hungry for some good food at this tiny restaurant.

Great chips and salsa.

Everything was delicious and filling and we had enough left overs for breakfast. 

Howard Johnson by Wyndham, Roseburg
I was a little surprised by this motel with the name of Howard Johnson and Wyndham. It was not what I expected and honestly a little disappointed. This is just an older motel in town. One good thing about it is the kitchen but there was no utensils provided. Our room was in the back of the hotel with the parking lot opened to the next small shopping arcade parking. I was a little weary about that. Lo and behold, when we came back from dinner, a homeless man approached us from the other lot and asked about the nightly rate we paid for the room.

The kitchen. 

They tried, I think.

December 28, 2019

Complimentary breakfast in the small breakfast area off the office.

Pastries and cereal.

Juice and coffee.

Front office.

It turned out to be a sunny day. No rain, no snow and we were lucky to be driving down without any need for chains.

Back in California, with Mt. Shasta in full view.

We made a quick stop at the view point just to take some photos.

It was a nice drive through this part of California, especially the Shasta Lake area.

Sundial Bridge, Redding, California

We came through here last year and kind of enjoyed this park so we stopped for another visit. Only this time we came through the north entrance via McConnell Arboretum and Gardens instead of the Turtle Bay Exploration Park side. It was a longer walk to get to the bridge but we had nice weather, so it was OK. This iconic bridge on the Sacramento River is a popular site for locals and there were quite a few visitors there that day.

Sacramento River

The bridge with the glass bottom.

After leaving Redding, we continued our drive to Sacramento where we would spend the night. On the way we stopped at the Rolling Hills Casino for a buffet dinner. We would have stayed here at the hotel for the night but they were sold out. This is usually our stopping point when driving through Fwy 5.

Buffet dinner at Rolling Hills Casino, Corning, California.

Towne Place Suites by Marriott, Sacramento

For our last night on this road trip, I picked this hotel which is a little off midtown. We arrived kind of late but checking in was fine. Our room was right above the front office on the second floor so we could see our car in the parking lot. The suite with a kitchen was nicely set up even though we did not have to use it. A comfortable and clean room for the night.

December 29, 2019

Final leg to get home in just a few hours. We did not have to rush so we had a late breakfast at the hotel before leaving Sacramento. Will spend most of the day on that same old boring stretch of this freeway!

Good breakfast.

Black Bear Diner, Arvin, California

We have enjoyed our meals at the Black Bear Diners in northern California. Now, there is one near Tejon, we figured that we should have an early dinner there before driving the last leg home. 

Not that many people but we had a long wait just for a table.

Not sure what the problem was, there was several groups of people waiting also.

Finally got seated with the menu.

Food was good as usual but service was greatly lacking.

Going up the Tejon Pass.

Snow-capped mountains in Southern California.

Many people stopped their vehicles illegally and played in the snow. As for us, we arrived home safely after this wonderful trip!

Up next, I will be posting my most recent trip to Taiwan in January 2020, before and while this pandemic hit the globe.

"Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."   -- John 20:29