Packing Stuff! Happy New Year!

If you go look back at our January 2012 posts, you will see our post about "stuff" here: Our Stuff.

The "stuff" we came out with last January in Joyce's garage.  About 12 boxes. Some came in the car.

Needless to say, that after a year in California, we have accumulated a lot more stuff!  We are packing in up and can't believe all of the stuff we are bring back with us.  Its a good thing we sold all the large pieces of furniture, but there is a lot of small stuff including our Amazon and Ebay invemtory.

All of our stuff so far in our garage. Probably about 10 more boxes to go.

We hope to be finished packing this week so we can enjoy out last two weeks in California. Arrangements are falling into place plane ticket secures, and contracts with the trucking company and the auto shipping company are complete  Hopefully all goes according to schedule!

More Christmas Lights!

Christmas lights are a real big deal out here in California.  The good weather and lack of snow provide many opportunities  for homeowners (& boat owners) to decorate their houses (& boats).  The good weather also provides many opportunities for the many spectators to view these lighting displays!  Last night we took Joyce to Huntington Beach to see the "Cruise of Lights".

Flyer for the "Cruise of Lights"

The Huntington Beach Canals

These canals are surrounded by multimillion dollar homes and yachts that are decorated in Christmas lights.  We expected it to be cold since that past few days have been in the low 40's and night and in some places near us it even got into the 30s.  Of course, all the Californians were complaining about the cold weather, we were just fine, I think it was around 45 degrees at the time of the cruise.
The entire event was very well organized.  Parking was provided at a Trader Joe's shopping plaza, and shuttle buses ran to the Yacht club where the cruise boats, which hold from 50-100 people were docked. 

Passengers Getting on the boats

  We had 5:30PM tickets and were the second boat launched into the canals.  Here are some of the sights that we saw.

 In addition to seeing the lights, it was also interesting seeing inside the houses, the decore and the people living there.  The trip lasted about 45 minutes.  Another enjoyable California Christmas tradition explored!

Cleveland National Forest - More Hiking

On Wednesday, we did some more hiking with our friends Mike & San from Redlands.  We cjose the Fisherman's Camp trail in the nearby Cleveland National Forest.  Its on the way to the Tenaja Falls that we visited earlier this year.

View of the Cleveland National forest from the Fisherman's Camp Trail

The trail was not a loop but an in & out 1.7 miles each way.  There was a loop trail but that would have added another 4 miles to the hike and would require hiking uphill along the road on the return trip. We opted not to to that.  The Fisherman's Camp trail was cut into the side of the hills and gently sloped down, meaning we would be climbing uphill on our way back! The hike was very enjoyable and we reach the camp with ease where we rested and had a bite to eat.

Me and Elly at Fisherman's camp.

San at the Camp

After resting we hiked the return trip up the trail to the trail head.  About halfway up the trail, I took a small detour and found where all the "Fairies" live.  There were little statues placed in the side of the hill.  Who put them there? They could not be seen from the trail.  Surely is a mystery!

The fairy village

After we got back to the trail head, we decided to go see if the Tenaja Falls were running since it had rained recently. There was not much water running, but we decided to hike up there anyway, another .7 miles each way.  By the time we got back down to the stream crossing, we were tired which probably caused Elly to slip and hit her chin on a smooth boulder.  She's OK, but there is a bruise and she is a little sore.

After we got back home, rested a little, we were off the see the Christmas lights at Bainbridge Circle again.  This made three trips so far!.  The lights were as spectacular as ever!  Dinner at Elly's favorite restaurant with our friends culminated a great day!  This was the last time we will be seeing our friends before we leave!  We are now starting to say our goodbyes to all the friend we have made out here in California. So Sad.

Dinner at the Mission Inn

Last night, I took Elly out for her birthday.  Her birthday was Sunday, but we couldn't get reservations at Duane's Steakhouse at the Mission Inn in Riverside until last night.  The Mission Inn has a few restaurants, but we have been told that Duane's was the best among them.  There were also a lot of private Christmas parties happening, using up a few of the other dining venues in the Inn.

The decor at Duane's was really elegant and the entire Inn was decorated with Christmas decorations and tons of poinsettias.  Santa was even roaming around the restaurant!  (see my earlier posts about the Mission Inn Lights).

The Entrance into Duane's during normal times

 We were seated in a very private corner near a window that overlooked the courtyard.

Elly at Duane's

Me at Duane's with the Christmas decorations in view.

Elly chose a Spinach Salad for appetizer, while I sampled the Lobster Bisque.  For dinner we chose the "Chateaubriand for Two" which came with a menagerie of vegetables and was sliced at our table!  The steak was the best we have ever had, it just melted in your mouth!  For desert, we shared a chocolate mouse cake and pistachio ice cream.  The overall experience was fantastic and Elly really enjoyed her birthday present.  We are both glad we got to experience dining here before we leave.  There a still a few more things on our "California Bucket List" to do.

Absolutely Amazing!!! (International Update)

(Check the bottom of this post for a video from French TV about this light show)

Back in 2005, there was house that synchronized its Christmas Lights to the Trans Siberian Orchestra.  This video went viral and started a new Christmas sensation!  Here is the video that started it all.

Back then, we all thought that was spectacular!  But it was only 1 house.  How about an entire neighborhood in sync with the music!  Well, here in Murrieta we have the Bainbridge Circle Holiday Extravaganza!  The entire neighborhood, a total of 20 houses now are lit up and syncronized with music that you listen to by tuning to 88.5 FM in your car as you slowly drive by or walk around.  It was absolutely amazing!.  It was better than the Mission Inn Festival of Lights.  They even have a Facebook page here.

Since it was dark out, with lights coming on and off, it was difficult for me to get good pictures or videos, So here are a few that someone else took.

These are the one I took.

Here is a video from 2009 when only 13 houses participated, now there are 20.

It was also on the the local ABC news..

We drove through twice, then parked and walked through the neighborhood.  Then we drove through again. These videos do not do it justice.  It was unbelievable in person!  Here is the video I shot during our last drive through the neighborhood.

They sure do celebrate Christmas BIG out here!

Update from French TV.  Its interesting even if you don't speak a word of French!

 

Lewis Black - Running on Empty - San Manuel Casino

We got tickets a while ago to go see Lewis Black's Running on Empty performance at the San Manuel Casino in Highland,CA.  Last night was his performance. We have watched his irreverent style of humor for years on YouTube and when he appears on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

 Highland is about an hour from where we live and just north of Redlands where our friends live.  There doesn't seem to be much up there, its right next to San Bernadino and backed into the mountains.  Its seems like it's at the end of the civilization here.  But maybe we just didn't go through the nice sections.  We took the back way through Redlands and once we crossed the Santa Ana River the scenery seem to disintegrate.

The Santa Ana River, like all rivers out here, do not have any water in them!  I think it's wishful thinking calling it a "river".  They seem to do that a lot out here, such as Lakeside Avenue with no lake, Lake View Road with no lake to be found, and Beach Street in the middle of a desert! Go figure!

The Santa Ana "River"

The San Manuel Casino was nice, but like all casinos, the main area is a smoking area, and smoke is all you smell!.  You come home with your clothes reeking with smoke.  Talk about second hand smoke!  We signed up for the casino club (it's free) and they put $20 on your club card to gamble with.  Elly and I tried the slot machines and won $47, just enough for dinner and we cashed out.  We had a nice dinner before the show, the food was great.

Stock photo for the San Manuel Casino

At 7:30 we moved to the Auditorium to wait for the show.  John Bowman was the opening act, he was real funny, and he introduced Lewis Black.  Here are a few videos of the "Running on Empty" routine.  Someone else posted them from his Carbondale, IL performance.  What we saw was basically this routine.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

It was very funny, but we like his humor anyway.  The performance lasted a little over an hour, then we gambled the reaming $6.20 left on Elly's card before we left for home.  A very enjoyable day.

Festival of Lights at the Mission Inn

On Saturday we trekked up to Riverside to visit with Joyce and take her to the Festival of Trees and the Festival of Lights.  Both were happening at the same time and only a block away from each other.  But first Joyce wanted to take us to the Patio Store which always turns into a Christmas Store around the holidays.

The Patio Store had about 25 fully decorated Christmas trees, each with a different theme.  The trees were packed with hundreds of ornaments and they were beautiful.  Some of the undecorated trees sell for over $400!

The trees at the Patio Store

Elly & Joyce at the Patio Store

 After viewing all the trees and shopping for ornaments we headed over to the Festival of Trees after stopping for lunch.   The Festival of Trees was held in the Riverside Municipal Audition which look like a church at first glance.  Here is a Google Street view of the auditorium. 

Riverside Auditorium where the Festival of Trees was held

The streets around the auditorium & the Mission Inn were really crowded.  It was next to impossible to find a place to park!  I let Elly & Joyce off in front and parked just around the corner, I got lucky!

There were about 10 trees set up in the auditorium with amateur singers performing on stage when we arrived. It was family day!  The rest of the trees were downstairs, probably about 40 more.  To say the least, I was less than impressed,  I thought the trees at the the Patio Store were much better!

I liked this Wizard of Oz Tree

After we viewed all the tree, we walked next door to the Mission Inn. It was more crowded than the tree festival.  The sidewalks were packed with people and there was a line to get into the Inn itself, but the lights were spectacular!  The entire Inn was decked out in thousands of lights!

 

The Mission Inn lit up.

 Small video of the festival of lights at the Inn.

 
The area just outside the Inn is a open air shopping plaza that was packed with people shopping and just enjoying the evening.  It was difficult to get good pictures due to the crowds, the poor lighting and my cheap camera. We will be going back during the week when it is less crowded and we will be able to see more of the Inn. I will try to take better pictures then.

The crowds in the shopping plaza

One of the cutest sights were the "Cinderella Carriage" rides.  They were horse drawn carriages decorated in Christmas lights.  It looked like fun, maybe next time we will take one of these!
 

Cinderella Carriage Ride

Cinderella Carriage

 Here is a small video I took of the carriages.

After a full night of revelry and merry making we left for home.  Hope to come back soon when it's less crowded.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

The weather doesn't change much out here.  In our minds it feels like late September, cool nights, dry and in the 70's or 80's during the day.  But is almost Thanksgiving!.  Halloween was a big holiday in California, you can read my earlier blog entries.  Thanksgiving doesn't appear too big, but Christmas looks like it will be huge!.  The decorations in the stores started showing up in August, read my earlier post from August on this also.  There are signs on all the lamp posts for companies that will string you Christmas lights. Up in Riverside, they are having two events this weekend that we are planning on attending with Elly's cousins: "The Festival of Trees" is held the weekend after Thanksgiving and the Mission Inn's "Festival of Lights."  The dates overlap so we plan on hitting both this weekend!

Advertisement for the Festival of Trees

2011 Festival of Trees Gala

 The Mission Inn sponsors the Festival of Lights every year.  You can read more about it here at the Mission Inn website.

Mission Inn's advertisement photo for "Festival of Lights"

The Mission Inn decorated in lights

Another ad photo for the "Festival of Lights"

Also around Christmas, Newport Beach holds their Boat Parade where boats and yachts decked out in lights, tour the inner harbor for spectators.    You can read more about it on their website here.

Last Years Boat Parade

 

Another from Last Year

 We are trying to fit this into our schedule around Christmas time.  I am not sure we will be longing for the Christmas snow & cold.  Warm Christmas looks like fun!