My husband and I are back in the San Francisco Bay Area
after celebrating Christmas and New Years in Seattle with our son and daughter-in-law
in their new home. We drove to Seattle, laden with gifts, cold weather
gear, and art supplies, stopping at some of our favorite spots along
Interstate 5—Redding, CA for lunch at Marie Callender’s (a longstanding tradition); and Medford, OR for the night and dinner at Porter’s Restaurant. We
also found a new favorite—Tolly’s Grill and Soda Fountain in Oakland, OR—for tasty
sandwiches and fountain style cream soda.
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| Tolly's in charming Oakland, Oregon |
We experienced cold weather all the way to Seattle, with
temperatures hovering between high twenties and low thirties. I enjoyed seeing
the bare branches against gun-metal gray skies, higher water levels in the
lakes, and snow-capped mountains. We listened to Christmas music playlists, and
to the audio book, Artifact, written by Vaughn Heppner and Logan White, and
narrated by Luke Daniels.
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| Ready to celebrate Christmas! |
It was a pleasure to arrive at the new house, all decorated and
lit up for its first family Christmas! Everything was so festive and fun, with
many welcoming touches for a couple of cold, weary travelers! After unloading the car, we headed for Loretta’s Northwesterner, down the street, for
hamburgers and fish and chips, and great conversation. We needed our strength for the serious cooking
and baking in store for us!
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| Alaskan moose |
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| Relaxing Santa |
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| A couple of cooks |
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| Snow Village retreat |
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One of the great benefits of visiting foodies, is they know
the best places to eat! We dined on everything from old school diner breakfasts, to
crepes, lobster roll, Dim Sum, and Chinese Hot Pot. We visited the Starbucks Roastery& Tasting House on Pike street for a great cup of coffee and a view of the
roasting process, went to Candy Cane Lane to see private homes all lit up for
Christmas, and made shopping runs to
Costco, Uwajimaya, and Safeway for all the ingredients on our list. We cooked
and baked for days!
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| Starbucks tour |
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| Coffee roaster |
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| Seattle skyline |
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| Candy Cane Lane |
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Christmas morning was filled with paper flying,
ingenious stocking stuffers, and fun and thoughtful gifts. We feasted on our
baked goods, and spent a lazy morning together. Friends joined us for Christmas
dinner and great conversation, and their former roommate, now living back East, joined us after Christmas, so we enjoyed getting caught up with him.
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| Baking cookies |
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| Chinese Hot Pot |
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| Christmas cheer |
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| Baked goods breakfast |
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For entertainment we watched the Hobbit
trilogy, and most of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We built an all-paper marble
run (no glue or tape), complete with a gear system. We ventured out into the rain for some walks, and watched La La
Land and Rogue One at the theater. After a busy year, it was also fun to just
relax, read in the morning, watch the rain from the windows, and experience
Seattle in the winter.
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| Cure for a cough - ginger coke |
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| Magnificent Marble Machine |
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A big storm rolled in on New Year’s Day, as my husband and I left
for the San Francisco Bay Area. A dusting of snow on the ground made us a
little concerned for our drive home in the Honda (we both learned to drive in the snow in Alaska and Washington, but it has been years)! It got a little dicey through both
Grant’s Pass and the Shasta area, with the mixed rain and snow, but the road was clear and we made it through safely, and missed the heavy snow fall that came later.
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| Grant's Pass |
Now we are hunkered down in our cozy home to weather the series
of rain storms that is passing through the Bay Area this week. What a welcome
relief after so many years of drought, and what a perfect excuse to focus on
some indoor projects, like reviewing
the pictures taken during our time in the Emerald City, and enjoying the holiday
memories with family and friends. The garden can wait for drier days!
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