December 22, 2009
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Little Thanksgiving Trip 2009
Little Thanksgiving Trip 2009
November 27 – TAKE THE “A” TRAIN
My mom and I went on a tour provided by President Tours Center USA. The bus picked us up from Thailand Plaza at 7:35 AM. After picking up the last group of people at Wat Thai of Los Angeles, off to Bakersfield we went.
Mom and Tassanee
There are two buses on this tour toting 120 people. I didn’t think there would be this many people going on this particular trip but kudos to President Tours. Typically these tours consist only of old people. This time around there was some young people and kids, too. My guess is the Thanksgiving weekend allowing kids to travel with their folks. I was glad to not always being one of or the youngest person on the tour. On board, tour leader Pichian Rojsiriwat handed out little croissants and bottles of water. Personally I was still sleepy from waking up so early so I drifted in and out of sleep.
We arrived in Bakersfield at 10 AM. The buses stopped at Jack in the Box. There it gave us a chance to see if we knew some people. We saw my mom’s friends Somjit, Tassanee, her husband George, and Toi and her husband. We also saw Kim who is the mother of one of my brother’s friends.
At 10:45 AM, we arrived at the Bakersfield Amtrak Station. It was a cool day in the low 60’s. The trees here are pretty attractive as some have leaves in fall colors.
Mom and Somjit
Yours truly
At 1:10 PM, we boarded the train and off we go. Our tour occupied the first two cars. Train rides are relaxing. One gets to sit back and check out the scenery. There were stops at Wasco, Corcoran, Hanford, Fresno, Madera, Merced, and Turlock. Passing through the heart of California means fields everywhere growing all sorts of things. It’s a quick reminder that agriculture is California’s number one source of income. At Fresno, we noticed that it began to rain. My mom and I started to worry because we did not prepare any rain gear. In Merced, it did not rain any more. In Turlock, I noticed that everything was drenched.
All aboard. Tour leader Pichian Rojsiriwat pictured.
Mom
Spacious skies
We enjoyed our “Dirty” Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt potato chips and Root Beer. With clouds and impending precipitation, my mom got to take pictures of a rainbow.
Rainbow
At 5:10 pm we arrived in Modesto. We got off and boarded the buses that dropped us off in Bakersfield. On the bus, we could hear the rain drops get louder and louder. The bus dropped us off at Four Seasons Buffet (not THAT Four Seasons). It’s an Ameri-Chinese buffet. It was not bad. There was a chicken that was particularly good. I enjoyed not one but two frozen yogurt cones.
Mom and I at Modesto Amtrak Station
While we were eating, we learned that Bus 2 did not start. Due to that, Bus 1 had to pick up the people and bring them to the restaurant. Fortunately the driver eventually was able to get Bus 2 running.
At 7:49 PM we arrived at Clarion Inn, our stop for the night. After getting ice and water, I noticed that at the Sunset Lounge in the hotel they had karaoke going. If you know me, it’s one thing that I really enjoy. I got up and sang the following:
Song Artist
Desperado Eagles
Maneater Hall & Oates
I Can See Clearly Now Johnny Nash
There were around 20 people here. They all sang really well. I was impressed. One thing I noticed was that just about all of the songs they sang were country. If it wasn’t country, it was something by Elvis Presley (4 in fact). The KJ, Seve, was really cool. He also sings Elvis songs very well.
November 28 – LAKE TAHOE AND RENO
We left Modesto at 7 AM. At around 9:45 AM the buses stopped somewhere near Placerville for breakfast. I couldn’t really tell where we were because I was asleep before the buses stopped.
Our drive took us through the Eldorado National Forest and the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was a pretty drive as everything was covered with snow. In fact, there was so much snow that at one point all vehicles at a certain checkpoint were stopped. Chains needed to be installed before proceeding. This was a lengthy delay but finally our driver was able to strap them on. This drive scaled over 5,000 feet. There were pine trees everywhere in the forest and mountains. At first they were green but got whiter as we climbed in elevation.
Initial ascent into the Sierra Nevadas via Eldorado National Forest
More snow as we kept ascending
Time to strap on the chains
Sierra Nevada Mountains
At 12:40 PM we arrived in South Lake Tahoe. Half of this city is in California with the other half in Nevada. There is a street that represents the state line. The California portion is filled with little chalets and lodges. The Nevada half is filled with casinos. It’s pretty easy to tell which half you are in. We stopped at Harveys Casino. I charged the camera battery while my mom tried her luck at a slot machine. I grabbed a pound cake, banana nut muffin, and hot chocolate from Starbucks and ate them on the bus.
The buses then took us to Lake Tahoe. This is a scenic mountain lake that spans California and Nevada. Two-thirds of the lake is in California. It is about 22 miles long and 16 miles wide. Despite its location, it never freezes. We got off and took pictures. It was cold and blustery as temperatures were in the low 40’s. Around the lake was sand with remnants of still frozen snow interspersed along with some pine cones and pine needles. This is not a combination I had seen before. We walked out onto a pier where the river boat MS Dixie is docked. Looking around us we could see how clear the water is as we could see the bottom of the lake. There were quite a few ducks nearby. In the distance were mountains which are in California.
Ducks chillin' in Lake Tahoe Rare combination of sand, snow, and pine needles
The waters of Lake Tahoe are really clear
Lake TahoeMy mom did not stay as long because she was cold and returned to bus while I walked around to take more pictures. I was making my way back to the buses when I heard some people shouting in and screaming. Pichian called for me to quickly come over so I ran. Once I got there, the right arm of the driver of Bus 2 (Joseph Blades) somehow got pinned by the body of the bus against the right front tire. All of the men frantically tried to lift the bus to no avail. Our driver (Martin Edior) then got the jack to lift the bus enough to free the driver’s arm. Once freed, Joseph got checked out by the paramedics who arrived after our tour called 911. His arm was numb but fortunately there was no further damage. After some time he regained feeling and was well enough to drive. He was trying to patch the leaking hydraulics at the right front wheel when it gave way and came down on his arm. Martin was able to patch the leaky hydraulics and our tour continued.
We passed through Carson City, Nevada’s capital. Like most US state capitals, it is a small city. I think I will always remember Carson City from the movie Shanghai Noon.
Carson City
We arrived in Reno at 4:35 PM. We took pictures of the famed neon sign that says “Reno: The Biggest Little City in the World”. I took more pictures as my mom once again returned to the bus. It was too cold and windy for her liking.
Me at the famous Reno sign
George and Tassanee
We stayed at Terrible’s Sands Regency Hotel. After unloading our things in our room, we had dinner in the hotel at Fuzio Universal Bistro. It is an Italian restaurant with some fare from other places around the world. My mom enjoyed her spaghetti and meatballs. I had surf and turf with pasta and veggies. The calamari with aioli was also very good. Our meal was $10 off as we each used our $5 coupon.
View of Reno from our room
My mother hit the penny slots as I tried my hand at Three Card Poker. I always bet the minimum on Ante and Pair Plus (in this case $5 each). This way I could maximize the amount of playing time for what I exchanged ($150). After just a couple hands, it was apparent I was on fire. I hit 5 flushes and several pairs. I was also making good folds and made $80 profit. After a while, they changed dealers. On his second hand, he hit a 3-of-a-kind. My good luck had disappeared and so did my money. My mom was finally done with the penny slots. After losing my $80 profit and an additional $95, I decided it was time to quit. I just didn’t feel like blowing all of the $150.
Back in our room, I watched one of my favorite movies, The Incredibles.
November 29 – SACRAMENTO
We had breakfast at Mel’s Diner inside the hotel. I love the nostalgic feel of the place including dropping some quarters to select some classic tunes to listen to. My mom chose Yesterday by the Beatles. I later selected Cupid by Sam Cooke.
At 7:45 AM we left Reno. For this stretch, Pichian rode Bus 2. His aide, Somsri, rode our bus. Because it’s a 2 hour 45 minute ride, she chose to keep people entertained by first asking some trivia questions. Then she asked if anybody wanted sing. My mom is so willing to volunteer me. I refused. However, it was too late. Somsri remembered my mom and me when we toured together in Japan. She also recalled my singing so I went up and took the microphone. Honestly, I typically don’t sing before nightfall but oh well. I sang the following:
Song Artist
Your Song Elton John
Take Me Home Country Roads John Denver
Tequila Sunrise Eagles
Desperado Eagles
Belting out the tunes
At 10:30 AM we arrived at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. Somsri said that Sacramento is known as the City of Trees. I did notice that there were lots of trees. The grounds around the Capitol are full of various trees.
Trees around the California State Capitol
The temperature was in the mid to high 60’s. This is a welcome relief from Lake Tahoe and Reno’s chilly air. We had to pass a metal detector before entering the building. Once inside, we saw that this building is large and beautiful. There is a museum that shows how the office of the governor and other officials used to look back then. There are also paintings of governors past and present. The stairs are covered by an attractive blue carpet.
The view above
Inside the rotunda in the middle of this building
What the governor's office used to look like back then
Tassanee and mom
Mom and I with statue of Queen Isabella and Christopher Columbus
The highlight was seeing the state assembly chamber. This is where the discussions take place. Each table has a laptop. There were also the podiums where the bigwigs preside. This room is grand and artistic.
Assembly Chamber
Since it took a while to get through the metal detector, our time was very limited. We only saw the half the building and did not get to the Senate half of the building. Basically this building consists of two halves. One half is the congregation place for the state senators and the other half the assemblymen.
Outside I snapped several photos of the building’s exterior. It is white with a dome in the middle which is not different from the US Capitol building in Washington. There is a big Christmas tree being decorated as we were walking by.
We took off from Sacramento at 11:30 AM en route back to Los Angeles. With every other Tom, Dick, and Harry also returning to Los Angeles, it was a slow, long, arduous journey. Pichian, who returned to this bus, tried to pass the time by giving out trinkets to people who could answer his riddles or singing a song. I remembered one riddle so I got one key chain. I then got another one by singing Elvis Presley’s It’s Now or Never. Pichian is a big Elvis fan so this fit the bill. After no more singing volunteers, he popped in the classic cowboy flick The Magnificent Seven.
At 2:15 PM, the bus stopped at a Carl’s Jr. in Santa Nella. It was great to grab some grub, use the restroom, and just stretch.
The journey continued. It was still very slow. We all began to wonder when we will ever get to Los Angeles. Pichian was hoping to get to Los Angeles at 7 PM but at the rate we were trudging along, it wasn’t going to happen.
At 5:20 PM the bus stopped in Lost Hills for a quick rest break. My mom and I went to a Pilot Travel Center to use the restroom, pick up some chips, and Gatorade. At this point, any break from sitting in that bus was a welcome one. I also knew that it would be the last one before the stretch run back to Los Angeles.
When we passed the Grapevine, the I-5 turned into a parking lot. We did not move at all for quite a long time. Bus 2, which had passed us, told us that there was an accident which is causing the delay.
At 9 PM, we finally got to our Hollywood drop off location. My brother Van and his wife Konie picked us up. We had dinner and then went home. I was very happy to get home. I don’t want to ride another bus for a long time. It felt great to crash onto my bed.
This trip was overall a relaxing one. Lake Tahoe was beautiful. I wished we could have taken a boat out on it and spent the night at South Lake Tahoe. I also wished we could have spent more time at the California State Assembly. It was quite a majestic building to behold both inside and out.
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