We’re on the Road Again
It’s been a while since we traveled south to SoCal to visit our relatives and friends. We drove this time instead of flying, lots of miles, lots of things to see.
The drive down was fine, lots of gas stops because we decided to drive the Tacoma instead of the Prius, but we just wanted to take the truck on a long trip to check it out. My wife did the night driving (I hate driving at night), so we were in Red Bluff before it was my turn to drive. Most of the really scenic parts of the drive (southern Oregon, Shasta Lake, etc.) were done, so it was time to set the cruise control and enjoy the ride. We like audio books and were listening to a Harlen Coben novel, No Second Chance. The miles rolled on, and before we knew it we were driving up the Grapevine in southern California. A sky full of dark clouds and some brief rain were a surprise coming in, but the following days were very nice, sunny, and not too warm.
We Arrived OK
We arrived too early to check in so we had lunch with our sister-in-law, Mex food of course, at a placed where we had eaten before called Cocina in Santa Clarita. One of our brother-in-laws joined us and our nephew and his friend. I got to try a new local craft beer that was good, which was a bonus.
Off to the hotel, we got our stuff unloaded and up to our suite. We upgraded to a bigger two-room suite this trip, very nice, on an outside corner of the hotel. We highly recommend Embassy Suites, nice amenities, including a full breakfast every morning. We’ve stayed there so many times, kind of feels like a second home. Later that first day we went over to JJ’s in Santa Clarita, one of our favorite spots, for dinner and drinks and to say hi to some folks we hadn’t seen in over a year.
The Rest of the Story
I’ll give you a quick recap of the rest of our time in SoCal and let the pictures tell you more.
Enjoying the sunny weather, relaxing at the hotel, some time in the pool and the hot tub. Bernie did some gym time, nothing major mainly just stretching and some PT for my knee. Bernie also got in two very nice runs (and didn’t get lost) on the streets around the hotel and on the trails. They have a great trail system for getting out and enjoying the outdoors. Some of the other places (besides JJ’s) where we ate were Chi Chis (Italian), Chilis, and Mimis, a great soup and sandwich restaurant. The beach pictures were taken in Santa Monica, where we had a mother’s day breakfast for our sister-in-law at Shutters, another very cool place to eat in SoCal. It was great fun to get together with our relatives and friends that we hadn’t seen in over a year.
We’re back on the road tomorrow to go home. More pictures to come.
Looking for a Rufous 
Leave a comment