A New Year! January 2022

Bye-Bye
​
What a treat to wake up on New Year's Day to this little grand-baby!

But we also had to say good-bye to this little cutie (and her parents) on the first day of the year. That's never fun, but we had to head home.

Good Start!

The beginning of the year started with our road trip, from Oregon back to Texas.  We squeezed in 2 family visits, in the first 2 days of January.

We had lunch with my sis and sister-in-law, on the first day. We had dinner with our son and daughter-in-law on the second day. No complaints about that!

Scenery

I soaked up all the scenery, during the 6 days of travel home. 

Luckily the roads were clear of snow on our first day. The windshield was pretty filthy by the time we reached west Texas. I pretended it was snowing.

​More Views from the Car

Being winter, we took the southern route. We stayed in Tucson one night and I snapped a photo of a pretty church, not far from our hotel. 

In the sleepy Texas town of  Van Horn, we spotted this Blue Origin mural. That was sort of amusing, so I snapped a pic from the car.

Best Stop on the Route

But the very best stop on our route was in Riverside, California. We booked one night at the historic Mission Inn Hotel.

Our trip was more about destination than exploration. We were all about getting home. But we made a last minute decision, to enjoy a night at Mission Inn.  

Exploration

This grand hotel was worthy of a being our destination. 

The hotel complex covers an entire city block and gave us lots to explore.

Arriving on January 3rd, we had the added bonus of seeing the Festival of Lights display... without crowds.

Home

​We made it home to Texas by January 6. The next night we had a second mini Christmas, opening the gifts we left behind.

Our holiday trip to Oregon, had been a last minute change in plans. It was a treat to get home and have a little extended celebrating, a week after Christmas.

Christmas for Two

I was in no hurry for the holidays to end. We enjoyed a tiny feast for 2.

And we enjoyed some gifts for two! This wasn't the first time that Don and I gave each other the same gift.

Pitiful and Funny

After traveling in the first week, my focus was "un-decorating" during the second week of January. I wasn't too surprised to se the sea of needles under the tree.

It was a pretty hideous sight. Our fresh tree was not so fresh! It was easier to face the pitiful tree with a camera and sense of humor.

​Good-Bye Tree

I was never so happy to get rid of a tree. There was still water in the stand, but the tree refused to drink while we were gone.

I used my new gift of work gloves, to deal with the removal task. 

Last Weeks

We started January with family and good scenery. Then we arrived home and did little with the rest of the month. 

I was perfectly fine with that. There was time to catch up on some important things. Lounging and Zooms/phone chats with friends. Nice to be home.