Clang, Clang, Clang Went the Trolley--- Day 2

Day 2 we headed up to San Francisco for a fun day full of adventure on the trolley, in Chinatown, and visiting my cousin and her family. By going to Chinatown it was fun to share with Mom a little bit of what it was like in daily life in Taiwan and have her try some fun adventurous food :)

Kyle helped Mom style her hair after her shower. 

Waiting for the trolley in San Fran. 

That's my Mommy!

Mom was entertained by the street performers. 

K was thirsty and went into Burger King while we were waiting in line for the trolley. 

Such an intense face. 

Two birds kissing. 

Chinese snacks!

A sign for where we went to lunch--yum, yum!

Waiting for the deliciousness to come. 

Our first plate, potstickers- so good (and I even used/liked the dipping sauce that came with it). 

Mom was a little at loss with the chopsticks and because we were in the center of Chinatown they didn't really provide normal silverware so she had to make due with her hands. 

Each one of those windows had a lit wreath- so pretty. I've also decided that they must have a whole storage unit just for decorations for their store. 

Dinner at my cousin Edna and John's house

The twins were so funny, they weren't paying attention when I took the first picture but the moment they realized I had a camera they wanted to pose for me. 

Kisses goodnight

Little Red Caboose---Day 1

Mom and I took a mini vacation a couple of weeks ago. We went to California to visit Kyle (lots of fun!). We were looking for ways to save a bit of money (to make it possible for me to go) and we found a super duper cheap way---ride the train! Mom had never ridden the train before and it had been long enough since I did it last time that I was excited to do it again (:D) Wednesday we packed and cleaned the house as much as possible and then we drove up to Libbey's. Lib took us to the Amtrak/Greyhound/UTA station where we checked in, got our tickets and waited for our train to pull into the station. The train left Salt Lake at 11:30pm, our first mission--sleep. With Mom sprawled out on one seat and I on the other we got some form of sleep. Most of our riding from Salt Lake to Emeryville, CA was spent trying to do homework, knitting, reading, snacking, and much sleeping. We arrived to Emeryville an hour early (yahoo!), with the early arrival I was a bit afraid that we would have a long wait for the bus that we would be taking to San Francisco, but as the bus was contracted through Amtrak it was there waiting for us. Our bus took us to a Caltrain station and then we caught the Caltrain to Palo Alto (where Kyle lives) and then we finally found Kyle as he pulled up in his trusty car (which I have named Goldie--no connection to the car color).  

A beautiful Christmas tree that we saw down by Pier 39 when driving by in the bus. 

Mama struggling to stay awake (reading a book in hopes that it would help :D)

Leaving the Amtrak the station. 

What happens when I'm left to take my own picture :)

Palm trees in December...crazy!

This guy cracked me up...he pulled up beside the bus and was just dancing like crazy (and he wasn't a young guy either).

And people say that I travel heavy...I was told that there was a luggage limit and I"m pretty sure that this lady was not following that. 

The first sight of our host. 

We went to dinner at this yummy Mediterranean wrap place for dinner- Kyle got a delicious soup that we also sampled. 

A shot of mine...I believe that I got lamb. 

Mom and hers

For dessert we also went to a French bakery (delish!) and as we were walking back towards the car I had to go to the bathroom really, really bad! We stumbled upon this little building on the corner, just beside the street and it said bathroom. It cost $.50, of course I had to try it out :)

It was quite an experience, not everyday in the US that you get to pay to use the bathroom. I can't say that I want to do it again but it was still fun to try it out.