Christmas trip

The Christmas driving trip to California with my niece went well. It took two 10-hour days on the road, each way. We took I-70 west to I-15 into California on the way out, and I-80 east to I-25 on the way back. It was a big adventure, with sub-freezing temperatures, ice and snow on the roads, several places where chains were required, and one night of heavy snow and near zero visibility, but we got where we were going, which is the most important part. I was glad to have my all-wheel-drive Honda CR-V with all weather tires, so we never had to put on chains. We saw lots of cars spun out into snowdrifts along the road in Nevada and Utah, and realized we were doing something right, or were very lucky, since it never happened to us.

My dog Mandy was a perfect little road traveler as usual. It was really nice, to have her along, and to easily find a pet-friendly hotel at the halfway point each way.

Of course, we had to stop for lunch at the In-N-Out Burger in Barstow, since it is Dorothy's favorite burger place, and I love it too. It's become our regular stop after entering California, when we travel that way.

We spent two weeks at my little sister's house and enjoyed lots of fun activities, including walks in the rain, shopping and eating out together, Marissa's weekly yoga class, and of course Christmas eve dinner at Brighton and Marissa's place.

Brighton and Marissa took Dorothy and me and Mandy for a walk on the coast in San Simeon, to see where they plan to have their wedding next year. It's a beautiful location.

On the way back, we drove up Highway 101 to San Francisco, and met Kristan's brother John and Michelle for lunch at Dorothy's favorite Chinese place, Bow Hon. After lunch, we all went for a short walk around the City, and John gave us a running commentary with some of the history of the area. I really enjoyed that!

We continued on to Vallejo, and visited for a few hours with my  high school girlfriend Kris. She retired from her job at the Alameda County emergency medical services a few years ago, and now is a foster mom for wayward dogs on their way to adoption. We stayed with my old friends Ken and Freddie in Lincoln near Sacramento two nights, before hitting the road for the long trip east over the snowy Sierras, through Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming, to Colorado.