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Portfolio >Christmas 2002
R. Craig Collins >
Web Page Design >
Portfolio >Christmas 2002
Christmas 2002, © R. Craig Collins, 2002/8
| Day | Date | Activity |
| Friday | December 20 | Drive to Amarillo Gas and dinner at Denny's in Wichita Falls; Spend the night at the Red Roof Inn in Amarillo |
| Saturday | December 21 | Drive to Grand Canyon Breakfast at McDonald's in Amarillo; Lunch at the Church Street Cafe in Old Town Albuquerque. Saw a coyote as we drove into the Grand Canyon, then viewed Mather Point at Sunset, and had dinner in the Maswik Lodge. (Click here to see our pictures of Old Town and the Grand Canyon) |
| Sunday | December 22 | Drive to Las Vegas Breakfast in the Lodge, Sunrise at Yaki Point (-7'), Stops in the Gift shop, Yavapai Point, and back to Mather Point. Lunch at the Grand Canyon Railroad station in Williams. Drove over Hoover Dam, and then checked into the Palace Station Hotel in Las Vegas. Dinner at the 5 and Diner on Sahara, then we walked the strip to see the Pyramid and Sphynx at Luxor, the Dancing Waters at the Bellagio, the Eiffel Tower at Paris, the Goldonlas at the Venetian, the Volcano at the Mirage, and the Pirate Ships at Treasure Island. (Click here to see pictures of the Railroad, the Dam, and the strip) |
| Monday | December 23 | Drive to San Francisco After breakfast at Burger King, we headed out west. Disaster navigating Bakersfield, but finally had lunch at a Taco Bell. Then into San Francisco, arriving just at Sunset at the Pickwick. We rode the Cable Car up and down, just for fun, then had dinner at Lori's Diner. We then walked around Union Square, and saw the huge tree in Neiman Marcus, the picture windows at Sak's and Macy's, and strolled through FAO Schwarz. (Click here to see pictures of the hotel and Union Square) |
| Tuesday | December 24 | San Francisco We had breakfast at Latté Express, and then the tour bus picked us up (The tour site). We toured all over San Francisco, from the Seven Sisters to Cliff House, from the Presidio to Fisherman's Wharf, and from Twin Peaks to the Golden Gate Bridge. Then we took the Alcatraz tour, after grabbing snacks at Pier 43. After the tour, we strolled through Pier 39, down Fisherman's Wharf, and picked up some chocolate at Ghirardelli Square. Gracie got something in her contact, so we tried to head back to the hotel, but had a major wait at the Cable Car. Finally, we go back on track, and went to the 7:30 Christmas Eve service at Grace Cathedral. From there, we ate mexican food at Sotano's, and walked back to the hotel. (Click here to see pictures of the City tour and Alcatraz) |
| Wednesday | December 25 | San Francisco After Brunch at Roxanne Cafe, we drove down Lomard street, over the Golden Gate Bride out to the Muir woods, up to Coit Tower, and then down south to do our laundry. We then rode the Cable Car to Chinatown, had dinner at Kan's, bought souveniers, and then retired. (Click here to see pictures of the Muir Woods and Coit Tower) |
| Thursday | December 26 | Drive to Long Beach After breakfast, again at Latté Express, we drove first to Monterey, and visited Cannery Row. We then drove down Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, past Big Sur to the Hearst Castle. After lunch in the visitors center, we toured some of the rooms of Casa Grande, and then headed into a Denny's in Bakersfield for dinner. We then crawled through LA to Longbeach, and checked into the Queen Mary. We roamed the halls for awhile, then bunked down. (Click here to see pictures of the Monterey and Highway 1) |
| Friday | December 27 | Drive to San Diego After breakfast on the Queen, we drove down to Escondido, and had lunch at a Subway. We then went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, and waited in line for hours, but the payoff was sharing a huge slurpy with panda bears on it, and a great monorail ride. From there, we went down to Seaport Village in San Diego, and at at the Pier Café. We strolled the area, and the girls rode the carousel, before we headed out to our hotel. We were greated by a personized gift basket, and the girls fought over the robes and goodies. (Video of the park coming soon) |
| Saturday | December 28 | Drive to El Paso After our room service breakfast (not quite in bed), we headed back east. Lunch at Arby's in Eloy, and a great Mexican Dinner at the Cactus Grill in Deming before we got to GrandmaLyn's home. The we had yet another Christmas before turning in. (Click here to see pictures of the El Paso Christmas, GrandmaLyn, and OJ the cat) |
| Sunday Monday | December 29-30 | El Paso After Chile for lunch, we saw the Renoir exhibit, and got in some some clothes shopping at the mall before we had dinner at Red Lobster. We also got lunch with Justin at Applebee's while in town. Later, we got together with Sunny, Amber, Gidget, and Glenn for a chicken dinner at Mother's; and of course there were more gift's to be opened. (Click here to see pictures of Sunny) |
| Tuesday | December 31 | El Paso We also drove out to Mesilla for Lunch at the Double Eagle, and wandered the square before we drove over Transmountain road on the way back, and played at a park. We had Chinese food at Shun Dong for dinner. Then, the grown ups went to Chelsea Street Pub for some snacks, and to ring in the Eastern New Year. We rang in the Central New Year back at the house with the kids, and slept through the Mountain New Years...oh well |
| Wednesday | January 01 | Drive Home Lunch at a DQ in Odessa, and dinner at Bennigan's in Ft. Worth, before getting back to the real world... |
| Thursday | January 02 | Click here to see pictures of Gracie's Birthday |
| Note | The Original Itenerary |