use real butter

No matter how good a trip was, it is always a great feeling to come home. I have red welt marks on my right shoulder from the weight of my duffle bags which were packed to the hilt with goodies. One bag was full of Trader Joe’s goodies (having lived within 6 miles of 6 TJ stores in Pasadena, we can’t seem to do without very easily) and the other had my clothes and lots of Asian food stuffs. Despite all of the food items I carried home, the most precious things I brought back were good memories from the visit.

cupertino is apple country… apple, how i love thee

On Grandma’s birthday, we drove her to one of her favorite senior centers to sign up (it is re-opening soon). Elena and I walked around while the employees chattered away with Grandma, her friend, and my mom. It’s quite a nice set up for seniors, but what caught my eye the most was the Group Therapy Room.

yeah right, it’s the majong room!

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I was pretty tired last night when we got into our hotel and then I spent quite some time fighting with the wireless connection. I had to email my photos to Jeremy in Colorado so he could load them to my server for me. Good thing that he 1) stays up late working and 2) is awesome in general. Reports are that we are due for snow in the mountains and Miss Kaweah is a little forlorn without me there.

Typically when I visit Grandma, it is with Jeremy. I spend a lot of time translating from Chinese to English and it gets tiring for my brain to work in two languages like that - especially when Jeremy drives and Grandma gives directions and I am the middle step. It’s even crazier because Grandma takes public transportation - she doesn’t drive anymore (hasn’t for many years, and it’s probably good for everyone’s safety!) - so we’ll be at a stoplight in the rightmost of 6 lanes when she suddenly pipes up in Chinese, “Oh, turn left here.” And I’m like, “Ummmm… Jeremy, I have news for you…” He’s used to it by now and he never complains.

There have only been a handful of times that I have visited Grandma without Jeremy. I’ve coordinated visits with my sister, mom, aunt. Several years ago after Grandma had her pacemaker put in, my mom and her sisters took turns to come out and stay with her. When Mom’s turn came, my sister and I flew out too - but it was a surprise for Grandma and there was much laughter and joking. Kris always made me laugh. She made everyone laugh. The last time I saw her before she died was over Chinese New Year - we were visiting Grandma together. Good memories.

testing a flash solution on elena

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Now it comes down to it… we are on the final segment of our trip. But wait, I haven’t told you about the rest of the middle section of our adventures! Again, this will be quick because I am running on fumes here. You might have guessed by now that vacation is the equivalent of being sleep-deprived for me (big surprise!), but I prefer it that way :)

Wednesday activities: Shot sunrise on Mono Lake. Drove to Mammoth Lakes and caught shuttle to Agnew Meadows. Backpacked in to Thousand Island Lake. Explored Thousand Island Lake.

sunrise over tufa

morning wildlife at mono lake

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