Day 38

A Day at the Beach, sort of.......

Yes, there is a beach out there. This is the view from the Santa Monica pier.

Just a wee foggy.

The far end of the pier is the official end of Rt 66. Bruce and I have now traveled its length, from Chicago to here, though rarely on the actual route. That may make a good trip in the future.

First things first, lunch. At the SMP Fish House. 

Mmmmmm

Not surprising no one had the Lobster. I think Matthew would have accused us of cannibalism after bonding with every body in the tanks. But the MahiMahi taco's were a real hit and my clam chowder was perfect on this chilly, foggy day.

And just to make  the day even more special Aunty Erin joined us.

Lookin' good, Hollywood!

Next, with bellies nice and full we all went on the monster Ferris wheel.

Some of us really enjoyed it...

others not so much

and still others just took it in stride.

But the view couldn't be beat.

OK, so that was a bit tame for some, so how about the bumper cars!

Funny how none of the little kids would pick on the big  guy except for his own son.

They were whaling the tar out of each other.

In the mean time PopPop and RE decided a turn on the roller coaster was in order. LOL

And on a full stomach? Not me. I had been looking forward to the Carousel.

But ended up watching the kids on it instead.

It was wonderful, a work of art. I love Merry-Go-Rounds.

Celeste rode on mommy's lap and still thought she would never get out alive, Matt was flying around with both hands in the air. Next time I think we will put him on the roller coaster too.

The ice cream compliments of Aunty E was a great way to finish up the pier.

Another good day. 

Lets just go home now.

Day 36 and 37

Hot Times in the Summer Sun........

Yeah I know, I'm cheating. I could do 2 seperate posts but they would be pretty short.

The last 2 days have been pretty laid back and homey.

Matthew is in school. Celeste is in Nursery school. Tom and RE are working and Pop Pop and I are tired.

We did walk to the mall where this very familiar shot was taken.

Snuck a few candid shots of Matthew at dance class.

Tried to convince Celeste that the battery dying in the phone was not the universes way of trying to single her out just to piss her off.

Went swimming with friends at the neighborhood pool.

Where Celeste wore herself out working her way into the big pool.

It didn't last long.
Matthew got over an earlier incident that caused blood and tears and major drama and once again is going down the big slide into the pool. Good work PopPop.

Tomorrow should be a little more exciting.

Day 35

A  Tiny Dancer.....

Our other spot of sunshine.

The little Princess, note the wand in one hand and a loyal subject in the other.

Who comes in handy for beating her brother the cat and the dog.

A fashion plate who hasn't even tried a new dress on before she is off shopping for the next.

Who is the cutting edge in todays fashion/

Our 2 year old whirlwind wearing her very first silver necklace from Aunt Terry

With a pony charm of course.

Already an electronic wizard who will steal your phone so fast it will make your head spin.

Her powers of concentration are amazing when she is trying to master a new trick.

And she is a joy to watch when she masters it.

Our 2 year old Princess, Celeste

Day 34

Homeward Bound.......

Why do trains have to leave soo early in the morning?

No body really likes getting up at 5 AM, do they?

What would be wrong with a nice 9 or 10 o'clock

train.

Its not like we are going thru the mountains,

And a few hours of video games while we pass thru

More oranges

And yup, you guesses it. A guy can only take so many hours of oranges.

And then we were in Bakersfield where everything looked baked. And we switched over to a bus going past,,,,,,

MORE ORANGES!!

Thank heavens we finally made it to San Bernardino, where Mom was happy to see us all and take us home.

A short but sweet great first vacation with the Grands. We all had so much fun I just know we will do it again. Next time we will

But that would be another story.

Day 33

We'll be Comin' Round the Mountain.......

With the Rocky Mountains behind us we now approach the Nevada - California Sierra's.

But first we have to wake up. 

OK, but only if we can go get breakfast.

What do you mean, we have to wait for our # to be called.

Don't these people know we are on a Great Adventure 

and have thing to do, places to go and people to see?

Now this is more like it. Towering mountains,

Raging Rivers

Neat looking little cowboy towns,

And great big windows where a boy can take movies with his tablet to share with his family when he gets home.

Sharing with Grandma Me and Pop Pop is pretty cool

But who are these Donner people the guides keep talking about and 

why were they throwing a party?

This is Trukee where the snow gets so deep on the mountain that they have to put plows on big engines and keep them running thru the passes. In the old days this is where they would stop to hook up extra engines to pull the trains over the mountains.

 
And then there's lunch on the train. Angus burgers and hot dogs.
Mmmmm

After lunch is always a great time for a little Star Wars battling.
Too much sight seeing could make for a long day.

Good ole Pop Pop, always ready for a good battle.

Next stop Old Town Sacramento, how is this for a cool hotel?

A real, retired river boat. Now safely tied to the docks and guaranteed not to float away in the middle of the night.

Lots of room for sleeping, but the absolute coolest part of the whole thing is the...
Bathroom!

Look at this cool toilet!
It was so cool we almost didn't get around to going out into Old Town.

That would have been too bad as there were soooo many rubber tomahawk and toy shops to be examined, in detail, repeatedly, and compared and.......
you get the drift,

And this is it. The end all and be all of souvenirs for a 7 year old boy with money to spend. A genuine all wood rubber band gun.
Wanda and I would rather have bling.
oh well, different strokes.....

Dinner on the boat was nice. The food was good and watching the river go by was even nicer. Afterwards we went to our rooms to make sure we were packed for our 5AM wake up call. The train was calling.
We will be ready.

Day 32

Matthew!.......

Our last morning with Rich and Del in Idaho Falls. It has been a terrific visit. Just as comfortable and laid back as when we lived here.

Time spent on the Lido Deck has always been some of the best times and  still is.

So up early on Sunday morning and off to breakfast at the North Highway Cafe. A delightful little old timey greasy spoon.

One of those must try places when visiting the Falls area. Reading the posters with old jokes hand printed on them that have been submitted for competition. Watching the old guys who have been sitting on the same stools for so many Sundays that they are now a custom fit to each other. And eating favorites like HiWay Goo.

2 slices of toast covered by 2 fried eggs and smothered in sausage gravy.

Mmmmm.

Or the pancakes the size of a dinner plate, order the small size and you just get 1 instead 3.

Good old American Cooking.

Chaa-ching  another 5 pounds.

Sure glad we had reservations on the Slash bus leaving Idaho Falls and heading for Salt Lake City, Utah.

Arriving at Salt Lake Airport at 4 PM we had nearly 3 hours to fritter away waiting for today's Big Event!

Thank heavens for electronics. Time just flies when you have e-mail to check and Face Book to update, to say nothing of my favorite invention, Kindle.

Looking back time just flew by, but at the time it seemed that I was checking my watch every 3.72 minutes.

And then he was here! Having taken his very first solo flight and ready to join The Grand Adventure!

He looked fairly calm coming off of the plane,, and down right tickled when he saw that I really had shown up to meet him. Though one of his first comments was "where's Pop Pop?"

Since TSA would only allow one of us to go thru security to meet him Pop Pop got stuck guarding the ever expanding pile of luggage. But boy were the two boys glad to see each other.

Note the matching Mexican Dress Shirts.

Great minds thinking alike. 

OK, check. Matthew is here, now we have to keep him entertained in Salt Lake City on a Sunday night until the train pulls out at 11:30 PM

Of course Wanda came to the rescue with the suggestion that we take the baby train (light rail) to the outdoor Gateway Mall for a pizza dinner under the stars.

What a smart idea. And what could possibly top a pizza better than Frozen Yogurt for dessert.

Time appropriately wasted off we go to the Real train station.

Matthew was quite surprised to learn that Wanda and his best friend Walnut had known each other for years and had a lot of catching up to do. So they both climbed into the newly acquired train bag and we all got in line for boarding.

As exciting as this has been, it has also been a really long day.

So it was nice to arrive in our Family Sleeper and find that there was sleeping space

all set up for 5 people.

Bruce and I called the big bunk on the bottom. Matthew called top bunk right above us, but no! There was no electrical outlet for his tablet! Top bunk over the table? Felt pretty good but still no outlet. Oops! Train has pulled out of the station and what?  No window? Unsat! Move to the lower bunk with window, sans outlet.

And this bunk is just right. 

Good night my little Goldielocks, tomorrow the adventure continues, for all of us.