Thursday, December 31, 2009

What We Did On Our Christmas Vacation



Helllloooooooo!

Yes, I know it's been a long time, (if anyone noticed) but like so many of you, I was off doing the Christmas holidays with family. I hope your Christmas or holiday was wonderful.

This year, for the first time EVER, we were not at home for Christmas. No waking up to our little tree packed with presents. No, this time we hit the road to meet our daughter, grandson (for his first Christmas!) and son-in-law and at his family's digs in New Mexico!




We drove (very unlike us!) and managed to get our other grown son, (Brian) to come along. It was a blast! So I thought (for part one of this post)  I'd give you a taste of what we saw along our way. These amazing windmills cover several hillsides of Southern California. Like for miles. They're 100 feet tall and generate a lot of power for us, apparently.

(Please inform So.Cal Edison. Thank you.)




The desert is so beautiful. So stark. So serene. We passed these giant boulders poised atop one another as if someone was playing Lincoln logs with them and lost interest. (Please ignore the reflection in the window. No, that's not actually a GPS holder in the sky.)

For those who've ever been to Disneyland, (or Disney World), don't they remind you of Thunder Mountain? Maybe the designers drove through  these parts and thought, 'Hmmm. Wouldn't they make a terrific rollar coaster ride?'

We stopped for the night at my sister, Anne's house on the way out. She lives in beautiful Arizona and has all kinds of fun stuff to entertain us. Thank you, Anne! We had so much fun.

There were mule-drawn wagon-rides to see the Christmas lights!







How fun was that?

These two stood patiently as we all oogled them.

"Try to ignore them, Wilber. They're tourists...."



And beautiful light displays.

Then, there were Anne's horses, who were much more friendly....

Here's me and Smokey getting reaquainted.




He was kind enough to let  us city slickers ride him.


That's me, giving Smokey's mom, Hershey, mixed signals with my knees: Run! What? NO!

Hershey: "Make up your mind, will ya?!"

Here's my honey, David,  and Anne.



Please take note of the posture difference. The wild flailing arms  glee on one side, the relaxed 'this is fun' posture on the other. Yes, those horses were patient with us. Paticularly Smokey, the calm one. We all got to ride and it was wonderful.
Then, my son got to do this:



That's right, baby. He drove Ann's hubby's vintage tractor! He was set for the trip after that. He couldn't stop grinning.

And because I know you have trees to dismantle, parades to watch and hours to kill doing more important things, that's all for now.

Part duex of our BIG CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE to come next!

Happy New Year! To all of you.
I hope (and I  sincerely mean this) that 2010 is a MUCH better year for all of us! See you in the new year!
Love & Hugs
B


17 comments:

Sarah Sullivan said...

Oh oh oh oh how fun..giggle love the horse pics..am so freaking jealous! But ooooo how fun. Love the pictures of everyone...the one of Brian on the tractor...Loooove it!! Can't wait to see the next pictures! Happy New Year hon!! So thrilled you have joined me here!
I just love that!!
Hugs and love you, Sarah

Vanessa McGrady said...

You are welcome! We love wind power, and the photo looks great. Thanks for mentioning it!

Have a peaceful and fun new year.

Vanessa @ Southern California Edison (www.sce.com/renewables)

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

Looks like you had a wonderful trip Barbara - lots of fun at your sister's place. I have just found her again after getting her blog mixed up with another of a similar name. I felt the ambiance was not quite the same as my first visit to her blog - and am so glad to have figured out what I was doing. Now I get to visit the 3 of you - and you are ALL such delights.

Look forward to la deuxieme partie of your adventure, which I am hoping includes pics of daughter and grandson.

Hope you have a cozy new year's eve and that 2010 is full of health and prosperity for you and yours.

Snap said...

What fun! Looking forward to part deux and Happy New Year back at ya!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Looks like a fun trip! I look forward to reading about the rest of it. Best wishes for 2010!

A Palmer said...

We were so glad you could stop by and visit twice! Loved sharing Winterhaven with you and our horsies. I'm glad your whole trip was so good. A huge thanks for the Shutterfly book of my Havasupai hike. I will treasure it forever! Hugs.

clairedulalune said...

Hi Barbara it sounds like you all had fun! Can't wait to hear the second instalment! Have a brilliant New Year!

Chatty Crone said...

Oh my gosh I missed you, but now I see what you were doing. Love the start of your story and can't wait to read and 'see' the next part. So you left California and drove to Arizona to see your sister and she had horses you all rode and the tractor. How great is that? And then you are driving on to New Mexico? One cool trip.

Sandie

Renee said...

Barbara you are beautiful. You look like a young girl and not a grandma at all.

xoxoxo

Silver said...

Renee is right. I would not have believed that if I haven't had a tip from her!! ;)

Very lovely pictures and a wonderful time to spend a family vacation.

~Silver
Reflections

Barbara said...

Sarah,
We definitely missed you, thought of you and wished you were with us!
xoxo B

Barbara said...

Vannessa,
Wow! Who knew So.Cal Edison was listening?? Thanks for dropping by and glad you enjoyed the photos!

Barbara said...

Bonnie, Glad you rediscovered Anne's blog. She's inspiring. Hope your holidays were wonderful.

Barbara said...

Snap, Debra and Claire--Thanks! It's so fun to share this with you. So glad to be blogging again over my little break. I need to do this more often. I miss you all!

Barbara said...

Chatty,
Aw, thanks hon. I have so missed you and all my blogging friends here, too. So sorry I've been so remiss. I will be better in 2010. That's a goal. :p) See part two to follow!

Barbara said...

Anne, what can I say? You made our Christmas trip so memorable and of course, I totally loved seeing you again. (not to mention the massage we snagged!) Thanks so much for the great time. I'm burning my candle...:p)

Barbara said...

Dear Renee and Silver, Oh my gosh, you're too kind. No seriously. I must have had a lot of makeup on that day.....:p) But thank you! I will allow that thought to cheer me when I head back for work tomorrow. ;p)

And Silver, So nice to meet you! Thanks for stopping by!