¡Sí, Se Puede!

¡Sí, Se Puede!  Yes, we can!

After our visit to Lake Mead NRA last month, I was only one unit short of achieving the National Park Travelers Club Bronze Master Traveler Award for 2022. The closest place we could easily drive for a passport stamp to satisfy the requirement was César E. Chávez National Monument in Keene, CA, about two hours away. 

So on my first day of Christmas vacation, my true love came with me on an impromptu road trip!

Switching Sides

After the game last night, we came back to the Cal for a late dinner at Market Street Cafe. Since they start serving their oxtail soup after 9:00PM, folks were already lined up around the corner into the casino. By the time we got seated, it was almost 10:30PM, but R's oxtail soup and my chili rice came to the table pretty fast. Needless to say, neither one of us was hungry this morning. 

So we skipped breakfast, checked out, and hit the road back to California. But instead of going home, we headed straight for the big rivalry game between #7 USC and #16 UCLA at the Rose Bowl, with a quick stop at Freddy's in Victorville for lunch.

We're Loyal to You, Illinois

Flatbread fold-ups with spicy pork and teriyaki chicken

Because the first game of the Continental Tire Main Event at T-Mobile Arena didn't tip off until late in the afternoon, we took it easy this morning. After sharing a small breakfast across the bridge at Aloha Specialities, we both had some luck at the blackjack tables. Yay!

Having pre-paid for event parking at Park MGM, we decided to take advantage of it and drive down to the arena a bit early. We took the tram over to The Shops at Crystals and walked the rest of the way to the Cosmopolitan for a late lunch. Since we didn't have time (or reservations) for Momofuku, we opted for its walk-up cousin, Bāng Bar, instead. Yum!

Body of Water

When it was announced in July that the Illinois men's basketball team was going to play two games in Las Vegas in November, we circled the dates on our calendar. Even better was that their first match-up was against UCLA! But what totally sealed the deal for a road trip to Vegas was the realization that I only needed passport stamps from a few more units in order to qualify for the Bronze Master Traveler Award from the National Park Travelers Club (NPTC). Oh, the lengths I will go to for some ink on a piece of paper...

Out of Office

Washington Monument from Constitution Gardens

After being home for only a week, I found myself on another plane early Sunday morning, this time to the East Coast. I was traveling with two of my colleagues from work to a scientific conference in Frederick, Maryland. We landed at Dulles around 4:00PM, but by the time we retrieved our luggage and picked up the rental car it was already after 5:00PM.

I had no problem convincing my friends to take a quick field trip into Washington, DC straight from the airport, especially since I was the one driving the car! The last time I visited DC was in late September/early October 2010. We pulled the boys out of school to see the nation's capital together with another family - what a fun trip! But that was pre-blog, so I don't have any details posted online.

Up in the Air

After saying our goodbyes to RH and C this morning, we headed over to R's cousin's house for breakfast. The navigation app sent us on some small, local roads, but the drive through the forest was quite pretty. We had gotten to see Y, C, and the kids back in July at the family reunion, but it was nice to be together again, quick visit or not. 

Be Like Water

Since we didn't walk back for biscuits and gravy at the Stehekin Pastry Company on our last day there, C made us her delicious version for breakfast this morning! What a treat! 

Our agenda for today was to visit a couple places in Seattle. RH, having been baptized into the crazy way we travel, was still willing to tag along with us, but C couldn't go because she had other things she needed to get done today. 

On our way into the city, we stopped by the salmon hatchery in Issaquah. After seeing them in the wild, it was fun to get a closer look at the chinook and coho through the windows of the fish ladder.

Nidoto Nai Yoni

Since it was almost 90 miles to the state capital, we checked out of Lake Quinault Lodge and were on our way well before 8:00AM this morning. It was quite foggy, so we decided to stick to US-101 through Aberdeen instead of the small, winding roads that the navigation apps were trying to kill us on. As we drove, R looked up online reviews of breakfast places along the way - Phoebe's Pastry Café in Olympia got our business because it was open (some places weren't) and pretty close to the capitol. I had a yummy breakfast burrito, and R's bacon and tomato quiche was quite good, too (no pics, sorry!)

Into the Woods

170 miles

This morning we checked out of Lake Crescent Lodge and made our way towards the western side of the Olympic Peninsula. We passed through the small town of Forks, but since we haven't read the books nor watched any of the "Twilight" movies, we didn't stop to look around for any vampires or werewolves. The movies weren't actually filmed in this area, but that hasn't stopped them from capitalizing on "Twihard" tourism.

Chasing Waterfalls

Would have been nice to have this map this morning!

Early this morning we rolled out of bed, threw yesterday's clothes back on, and headed out the door to hike up to Marymere Falls first thing. We only had directions from the trailhead at Storm King Ranger Station, so we probably added some extra distance to the 1.8-mile roundtrip hike wandering around the area trying to figure out if we were going the right way. Sadly I left my Fitbit behind in the room, so I didn't get any credit for the steps! 😭

Memories Deceive Me

I used to scrapbook, as the cabinet full of supplies and tools still in my house would attest. Maybe one day I'll go back to it and catch up on the projects I've been meaning to complete. But at least I can stay reasonably up-to-date on this blog. Even if no one outside of our family ever reads it, I'll keep posting entries because I enjoy writing about our travels. It's important to me to have a record of what we saw and what we did because I'm sure that I won't remember the details as clearly later on. 

May 1996

Case in point: Our first stop today was Deception Pass. R asked if we had come here during our trip to Washington in 1996 because it seemed familiar. 

I said, "Nope."

Bzzzzzt! Wrong answer. 🤦

This Little Piggy

Boarding the Chelan

Since our itinerary for today was a day trip to explore San Juan Island, we grabbed an early breakfast this morning and were on our way to the ferry terminal in Anacortes by 7:30AM.  

The drive was a little foggy, but we made it in about a half hour. We found a parking spot (paid $13 at the kiosk) and then waited to board the ferry as walk-on passengers for the 8:30AM sailing. The ride over to San Juan Island took about an hour. We were treated to lovely views of the other islands we passed along the way.

Stamping Shutout

Since everything we had yesterday from the Stehekin Pastry Company was so good, there was some serious discussion about returning for breakfast again this morning. However, with no transportation, we would have had to hoof it 2 miles there and 2 miles back before our ferry departure at 10:40AM. The timing seemed a little tight, so sadly I can't provide a report on their biscuits and gravy. 

I guess we'll just have to come back!

So, with time to enjoy a leisurely last morning in Stehekin, we walked along the lakeshore, and I took a few more photos... 

A River Runs Through It

I'm not usually a morning person, but somehow I rarely have a problem getting up when we're on vacation. Maybe it's because I hate the thought of wasting daylight when there is so much to see and do wherever we happen to be traveling. 

This morning was no exception. I walked along the lake in the hopes of getting some good photos. The sky was still a little hazy, but with very little wind, the lake was like a mirror.

Off the Grid

55 miles by car, then 32 miles by ferry

Since we thought that our food options might be limited later today, we wanted to make sure that we at least started off with full bellies this morning. The Holiday Inn Express served the typical hotel hot breakfast items - biscuits and gravy, oatmeal, eggs, and pancakes. Sufficient to accomplish the goal!

After checking out, the four of us drove to Chelan and stopped first at the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Ranger Station so that I could get the passport stamps for Lake Chelan National Recreation Area and North Cascades National Park. But sadly, the office was CLOSED - boo!

Empty Nesters

Son #1 has flown the coop, working a full-time job and living in his own apartment. Son #2 is back at school for his junior year at UCLA. What are two empty nesters to do?! Go on vacation, of course!

Back in May, I started researching a couple different options. One possibility was going to New England or Acadia National Park for some fall color. But finding a cheap airfare ($178 roundtrip) to Seattle sealed the deal for a road trip thru the Pacific Northwest!

Da Bulls

Starting with the 2nd family reunion in 1998, we have traditionally ended the weekend with Sunday brunch at the Garden Court Buffet at Main Street Station. Since there are limited venues where our big family can easily gather in one place, this is always a nice way to say our goodbyes until next time. 

Afterwards, we checked R's dad out of his room, then drove him and R's cousin B to the airport for their flight back to Chicago. From there, the four of us went straight over to UNLV for a whole day of NBA Summer League games. Because we nearly froze to death in the arena last year, we came prepared with jackets and hoodies this time.

Generations

Because Main Street Station had removed their tournament slot machines, our usual Saturday morning activity was changed to a family blackjack tournament at the Cal instead.

Since we only had three dealers, the participants were split between two rounds. Everyone received a stack of chips, and each table was dealt a set number of hands. The players with highest chip totals at the end of either round would split the pot of entry fees.

Even though my streak of bad luck continued, I liked the change. This was much more fun than mindlessly pushing a button for 20 minutes!

Family Fun

The Friday of a reunion weekend means bowling. For our previous reunions, we've been to the lanes at Sam's Town, Sunset Station, Orleans, and Gold Coast. This year's event was back at the Orleans.

Since I was ready to join the ranks of the spectators, I didn't sign up to participate. But I ended up bowling anyway, having been drafted to replace an injured cousin. Oof.

We were a smaller group this year, but it was still fun to have another opportunity to be together and catch up with the family!

Happy Family

We were supposed to have a family reunion in July 2020, but that didn't happen for obvious reasons. It's been 4 years since the last big gathering, although our family has had several opportunities to see cousins in between. Needless to say, we definitely have been looking forward to a fun weekend in Vegas with our ʻohana!

Since we weren't really comfortable with the idea of R's dad flying alone, we were grateful that R's cousin B could accompany him from Chicago. We hit the road early this morning so that we could pick the two of them up directly from the airport. But we left ourselves enough time for a quick pit stop in Victorville for Steak 'n Shake, of course.

Do-Over

Monday, April 4

After taking R's dad back to his place, we started the trek downstate to see my parents. But first, a stop at Trader Joe's to pick up some groceries for my mom. In Pontiac, we made a second stop at Wally's because we saw Mike Chen feature their brisket sandwich on his YouTube channel. I think Wally's must be the Illinois version of a Buc-ee's travel center/convenience store, although this one was kind of underwhelming, IMO. One day we'll have to road trip somewhere where there are Buc-ee's to compare. 

The Nonagenarian

Saturday, April 2

It's April in Chicago, so that means spring weather, right?

If by "spring weather," you mean cold, wet, and possible snow, then you'd be right!

After we landed at O'Hare, we picked up the rental car and hit the drive-thru at the Steak 'n Shake nearby, since they still don't have dine-in seating. (Note to self: next time we are only going to the Oakton location, since this one has been repeatedly subpar.)

After dumping off our stuff in the hotel room, R and I went to Party City in Niles to pick up some decorations for R's dad's 90th birthday open house. Unfortunately the temperature changes between the store, outside in the car, and back in the hotel room were not kind to the balloons. The ideal gas law, PV = nRT, works in real life because one of them popped. Boo.

Exploring Cabrillo

From Mission Bay, it was just a short drive to Point Loma and historic Liberty Station. Formerly known as the Naval Training Center (NTC), after its closure in 1997, Liberty Station was transformed into a shopping, dining, arts and entertainment hub. 

When we were here in 2018 for a campus tour of UCSD for J, we had a late lunch at Liberty Public Market. R and I came back again today to see what else we could try.

My Heart Will Go On

CANOE DAY! 

We were up early this morning to grab breakfast. The hotel was actually serving hot items in the breakfast area, so that was a nice change from the previous COVID precautions in place.

After loading up our stuff in the car, we checked out and headed over to De Anza Cove for the morning festivities.

Nerd Olympics

Will it float?

R and I drove down to San Diego today to watch M and J participate in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Pacific Southwest Symposium (PSWS). 

Engineering students from ASCE chapters throughout the region gather to showcase their technical skills and compete against other schools in events like Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge. There are also non-technical events such as basketball. Guess who's participating in that one?! 

M is one of the project leads for UCLA Concrete Canoe. And since they haven't held an in-person conference for the past two years due to the pandemic, we wanted to see him paddle in his final year.