Christmas with family

My niece Dorothy, Jennefer, and I visited my little sister and her family in Atascadero for Christmas! Here's a watercolor-filter of a photo I took in San Luis Obispo, shortly after we arrived, and were already out and about, in search of coffee and Christmas gifts. The miniature palm tree provided a stark contrast to the snow and ice we had left behind in Denver.

My little dog Mandy was a well-behaved traveler, as usual. She curled up in her pet carrier at my feet, and slept through most of the trip. She also used her pet carrier as her home away from home, throughout our visit.

Bob's big pre-Christmas present to all of us, was an afternoon zip-lining adventure in Santa Margarita! It was pouring rain in the morning, and we all expected it to be canceled, but they said they were going, rain or shine, so we showed up, wearing the best clothes we could find, for rain and mud. They were ready for us, with waterproof boots and jackets to borrow. The group before us came back soaked to the bone and shivering, but the rain stopped and the sun came out, just as our shuttle bus left the office for the adventure site. The bus driver gave us a wonderful tour of the central California hills, and we wended our way through the vineyards and cow pastures. We all had a wonderful zip-lining adventure! The worst weather we saw, was a bit of fog and mist, which I thought made it even more fun. There were several (I think six) separate zip-lines. We zipped down the first line, then hiked up to the next launching station, and rode down that one, and so on, until we got to the last station, where the bus picked us up again, and took us back to the office.

Several of us went to see the new Star Wars movie, "Return Of Skywalker." Everyone had their own opinion. I enjoyed it a lot, but I learned a long time ago, to suspend my disbelief, if I want to enjoy a Star Wars movie.

Jennefer and I stopped at the Que Pasa Mexican Cafe by the theater, for a nice warm dinner after the show. When Bob and Dorothy found out we were there, they jumped back in their car, and came back from the house to join us. We enjoyed the fun holiday decorations and our family's company! 

Marissa and Brighton hosted a delicious Christmas Eve dinner at the house they bought late last year, just a mile or so from where they had been renting. They had done an amazing job, of getting it ready for themselves, and for their traditional family dinner. I was so caught up in enjoying the evening, that I didn't take any pictures of their perfectly-furnished and decorated home, oops!

We spent a wonderful Christmas morning with sister's family at her house! My niece Dorothy came with us from Colorado, my two nephews Brighton and Tyler were there with their wives Marissa and Annalisa, Marissa's mom Jodi, my grand-niece Alice!

Jennefer and others helped Mikele prepare an amazing Christmas dinner. Even her cat Misha poked her head into the event.

On the day after Christmas, Bob took the three of us Coloradans to "The Great American Melodrama" in Oceano, which has gotten to be a fun holiday tradition for us. They always have done a serious version of "A Christmas Carol," but they also do several other skits, that are usually very humorous and enjoyable. We all enjoyed it! I was coughing a little during the show, and realized that my throat was a little ticklish. I was hoping it was just something in the air, but alas, it was the harbinger of another of my traditional post-holiday colds. Bob bought us dinner at Old Juan's Cantina, a Mexican place nearby in Oceano, which we had never tried, and enjoyed quite a lot. We had a bit of an adventure getting there and back on highway 101, as CalTrans had closed the I-5 highway that day, due to heavy snow in the Grapevine Hill area, and a lot of that traffic had moved over to 101, and brought it almost to a stop. My Waze driving app helped me find some very effective routes to avoid a lot of that traffic.

On our last day there, we woke up to find the previously sparsely-populated parking lot full of cars, several of them running, in the cold moist early morning. I realized that some of those people jammed up on highway 101 the day before, had finally decided to spend the night in Atascadero, on their way to/from their various post-holiday destinations. It felt a little like the moment just before the Le Mans car race, with the puffs of steam coming out of a bunch of cars, and people scurrying around the parking lot, throwing their last few possessions into their cars, in preparation for jumping back onto the highway for the last part of their race (oops, I mean journey) home.

We met a few of the family, for one last delicious breakfast at our favorite place there, "Country Touch Cafe," before hitting the road for the airport. Just driving the short distance from the motel to the restaurant was interesting, with the 30 degree 100 percent humidity generating thick fog all along El Camino Real through the middle of town. It was burning off quickly, so this photo doesn't really do it justice.

We had an uneventful flight home, with Mandy being her usual calm traveler self. We were a little surprised, to see so much snow on the southern Sierra mountains, but it all made sense, when we remembered the news stories about everyone's holiday adventures on the highways.