Vacation in Chicago

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope that all of you have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Surprises

For the first time in our traveling history, we crossed paths with two of our road colleagues. Our regions are typically separated by hundreds of miles. These past couple of days, however, the four of us were in San Francisco!

A Place Called America

After taking the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to downtown San Francisco, we walked to Chinatown. San Francisco is known for having the largest Chinatown outside of Asia. Somehow we missed the turn for the tourist part of Chinatown and we found ourselves in the thick of, well, China. I felt like I had tumbled off the plane into Asia, except jet lag wasn't an issue. We had stumbled upon the marketplace of Chinatown. Unfamiliar vegetables were being tossed between store fronts and fish (and toads) lined aquariums. Much to my dismay, I even witnessed a huge fish being clobbered to death with a chunk of lumber.

We maneuvered through the packed streets with hopes of finding the Fortune Cookie Factory. Of the twelve people we asked, no one spoke English or seemed to understand what we needed. Finally we conversed with someone in Spanish (how unusual!) and received accurate directions. After turning down a small, dark, alley, we found the factory (or closet-like shop). I am happy to say, however, that they were indeed making fortune cookies by hand. I am forever amazed by how many cultures can be experienced right here in America.

Sweet Tea

Most of you are aware that in January I will move to a new region of the United States, as well as switch co-workers. Today I found out that I will be in the South! I have never been down South and I am excited to see what new adventures await. Our regions are very general, however, so I am not sure exactly which states I will be visiting.

Dazzling Sights

On the drive from Orange County to Bakersfield this morning we drove through mountains covered with snow! This is my first sighting of snow for the winter. There was only about a half inch on the mountains, but it was quite the sight. I'm passing through Bakersfield for a couple of nights on the way up to San Francisco. Bakersfield is two hours north of LA.

Southern California

Today marked my last official day off in Southern California. The rest of our days off will be in San Francisco before we switch regions. Given this situation, I have been trying to take advantage of the weather and location. I spent the day biking along the coast. It was warm and sunny with a slight ocean breeze...perfect for a bike ride. There is a bike path that connects a couple of the main beaches such as Newport Beach & Huntington Beach.

Desert?

I have never seen so much rain in the desert! Yesterday I drove from Las Vegas to southern LA. It rained the entire trip! In my life experience, it is not too unusual to drive in and out of storms. However, yesterday there was not a moment in the drive that it was not raining. This was my first experience with rain in the desert. The five hour drive turned into seven hours due to all of the accidents on the highway. I am excited for a sunny and dry day today!

Tonight we are working at a Christmas parade on the other end of town. Apparently we are supposed to decorate the WB, so that is the endeavor for the afternoon.