Winter Holiday 2021

 Our Winter Holiday in 2021 was set for December 28 - January 1 at Lake Tahoe, California.  This location was chosen by Rachael and Kevin since it was their year to select the site.  Liz and I had just spent Christmas in Riverside with d and Zhouyi so we were already in California with our Toyota 4Runner.  We began the drive from Riverside to Lake Tahoe at 5:00 in the morning on Dec 28.  In normal weather this would be about a 7.5 hour drive.  However, this was not normal weather.  By December  27, the day before we left, it had already snowed 193.7 inches (over 16 ft) in Lake Tahoe during the month.  It snowed an additional 20 inches between Dec 27 and 31, making this the snowiest December on record at Lake Tahoe.

We drove up the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains on HWY 395 through Bishop, CA without any problems.  However, as we went further north into the Mono Lake area we began to encounter travel warnings that required either chains or 4WD with snow tires to proceed.  We had 4WD with good tires so we continued until we reached Mono City.  At that point the highway patrol had closed the road and diverted all traffic east into Nevada.  We drove on snow-packed roads making a big loop through several small towns like Hawthorne and Yerington until we were able to join up with Hwy 395 again near Topaz Lake.  We stopped to shop and eat at a Walmart in Gardnerville, NV.   The poor road conditions and detour had slowed our travel substantially so we didn't arrive at the Walmart until about 4 PM.  

At this point we were about 20 miles from our Airbnb venue in Lake Tahoe but we were at the base of the Sierra mountains and had a long and slippery climb ahead of us.  There were two highways to get up to Tahoe from Gardnerville but both of them were backed up for miles with stuck traffic.  We decided to try our luck on Hwy 207 which was the shortest of the two.  That highway had a series of switchbacks going up the mountain and we could see the car lights barely moving all the way up the mountain.  The road had been plowed but is was very snow-packed and icy.  At 5:00 we left the Walmart and drove up Hwy 207 as far as we could and soon came to a stop.  From that point the traffic was inching along for the next 15 miles.

After inching along for 3 hours, at 8:00 PM we finally pulled into the driveway of our venue.  Fortunately the driveway had been plowed, but the snow had been pushed against the front porch and garage doors of the house.  We located some snow shovels and dug a path from the driveway to the front door and were able to get in the house.  The next job was to dig out the garage doors so we could get two cars in.  We needed the garage because each family was bringing a car which means we needed to clear space for 5 cars.  

Next we focused on getting all the kids to the venue.  d and Zhouyi came the same route that we did but left a few hours later.  We were able to give them advice about the best way to come avoiding road closures and getting tire chains before trying to climb the mountain.  They were next to arrive at about 9:00.  Topher and My flew into Reno with their family and we suggested that they take the Hwy 50 route up to Tahoe.  This turned out to be bad advice because they go stuck in traffic along the lake after they had climbed the mountain to Tahoe.  They finally arrive about 10:00.  The Keetons and McLaughlins both flew into Sacramento.  Trying to get to Tahoe from the west was a nightmare.  Hwy 50 going to Tahoe had roadblocks that stopped all cars that didn't have chains so they had to find chains which were in very short supply because of the storm.  The road was treacherous and the traffic was terrible, so after they installed their chains it was stop and go.  The McLaughlins finally arrived about 1:00 AM but the Keetons were still on the road.  Finally, at about 3:00 AM the Keetons arrived completely exhausted.  One of the chains had poked a hole in their tire so they had to put on the spare (donut tire) on the side of the icy road.  Just getting everyone to the Tahoe venue was a major accomplishment and an experience none of us will forget.

During the next three days we did everything in the snow.  The kids and grandkids went skiing at Heavenly Resort and found a tubing hill nearby.  We also dug out the hot tub that was on the back patio of the venue.  The snow was so deep that the hot tub was completely buried and we couldn't even find it.  After we finally located it we were able to dig it out enough to get the cover half open and amazingly it was still hot.

We finally found the hot tub

Dug a path to the hot tub

Cleared off enough snow to get the 
hot tub half open

Quentin dressed to go outside

d grabbing a bite to eat

Loading up to go skiing

Quentin and snow piled up against the window

John and Kathryn

View of the grill from the outside deck

Meila and Quentin

Euan and Beau playing video games

Reayen lost a tooth

Grandkids at the bottom of the venue driveway

John pulling grandkids on the tubing hill

On January 1, everyone left Lake Tahoe to return home.  Fortunately, by that time the roads were clear so we didn't have a repeat of the arrival experience.  We checked out of the Airbnb and drove the Las Vegas for the night.  Liz and I had picked up a bug around Christmas time and had been feeling the effects for the whole week so we were anxious to get home.  We stopped one more night at Albuquerque and arrived home on January 3.  We had another surprise waiting at home when we discovered water on the floor under the carpet of the family room.  After removing the paneling from the wall to expose the plumbing I was able to finally trace the leak to the dishwasher.  We ended up replacing the dishwasher and the family room carpet as well as hiring a plumber to come and repair the hole I made in a cold water pipe.  It was good to be home!

Christmas 2021

 This year we chose to spend Christmas in Riverside, CA with d & Zhouyi and family.  We began our trip on Saturday, Dec 18, driving the 4Runner.  We took the southern route through El Paso, TX and got to Las Cruces, NM where we stayed in an Airbnb the first night.  In the room at the Airbnb was a portable fireplace/heater that we really loved.  When we got back home we got one just like it.

Portable fireplace/heater that we loved

We drove a long day the next day and arrived at Riverside that evening.  Over the next few days we did Christmas season activities such as baking cookies, making gingerbread houses, and visiting Christmas displays and lights.  

Grandma making cookies
with Meila and Euan

Meila with Santa Clause

Christmas displays at the Mission Inn

Meila with her gingerbread house

While Grandma spent her time doing cookies with the grandkids, d and I worked on a project  to put in a spiral staircase to provide access to the upper floor.  This area had once been a large finished room but had been closed off from the downstairs in a previous remodel.  We created an access through the wall and upper rafters for the spiral staircase.  d then installed the staircase to reach the access point.  He subsequently contracted out the work to finish the upstairs into an office and a large rec room.  The end results were amazing!

Spiral staircase kit the d installed

Finished staircase

We spent Christmas Day opening presents, eating and playing.  On Dec 27 we drove to the San Diego Zoo and enjoyed some holiday time with the animals.

Christmas morning

Christmas after the presents are opened

Grandparents with Grandkids at San Diego Zoo

On December 28 we ended our time in Riverside and began our journey to Lake Tahoe where our family Winter Holiday was planned.  We had a great time with d's family and will never forget our first Christmas with them in their new Riverside house.

2021 Dayton Sibling Reunion

 When Mom Dayton was alive she made an effort to gather her kids and their spouses at least every other year.  After she passed away in 2019 the kids decided to continue that tradition so in 2021 Liz and I volunteered to host a sibling reunion Dallas.  All the Dayton siblings and spouses were invited and 3 couples were able to make the trip....Ruth and Rick Mooney, Ron and Anita Dayton, and Mary and Steve Bullock.  They arrived at our house on Nov 10, 2021.

On Nov 11 we drove into downtown Dallas and visited the Grassy Knoll...the site where President Kennedy was shot in 1963.  They have some nice memorial plaques and descriptions of the event.  Next we went the George W Bush Presidential Library which is located on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas.  Lastly we went to the Dallas Arboretum that featured a special Christmas display with gazebos depicting the 12 days of Christmas.

Reading the marker at the Grassy Knoll
where JFK was assassinated

George Bush Library

Oval Office
Steve Bullock as President

12 Days of Christmas Gazebo at
Dallas Arboretum

Group Shot at the Arboretum
Lee, Liz, Rick, Ruth, Mary, Steve, Ron, Anita

Ruth with her good friend

That evening we ate at Abuelos, our favorite Mexican restaurant in Dallas.  The next day we drove to Grapevine, TX to see the Parr Park Rock Trail.  This is a walking trail that is lined with painted rocks that have pictures and messages on them.  Rock painting became very popular during the Covid pandemic. 

The sign reads "Parr Park Rock Art Trail"

This one is very funny

Very cute

Walking the Rock Art Trail

Next stop was the Gaylord Hotel which has an amazing Christmas display inside its huge covered atrium.  It's a place with many photo opportunities as you can see below.

Just the siblings

Just the in-laws

This day we stopped at Hat Creek Burger Company for lunch and then went to Nebraska Furniture Mart, a huge furniture store that is a unique experience just browsing.  On the way home that evening we stopped for dinner at Spring Creek Barbeque, best place to get Texas barbeque.

The last day we had together was Saturday, Nov 13.  We used this day to see some local sites around Allen, McKinney and Plano.  In the afternoon we set up a zoom call with all the absent siblings and spouses (Claudia, Mark and Cynthia, and Bruce and Becky).  This was a sweet moment to catch up with our siblings that were not there.

Bridge at the Old Stone Dam in Allen

Park in Plano with flags to commemorate Veterans Day

Zoom Call - siblings at our house

Zoom call set up

Bruce & Becky, Claudia, & Mark on the Zoom 

After the Zoom call we all drove to Celebration Park in Allen where we met up with the Porter family (Mary's daughter Allison & her family).  It was really good to see all of them and to have some family close by in Texas.

Ryan and Aly Porter

Catching up with the nieces and nephews

Catching up with the next generation

The last evening we had food delivered and ate at home around the dining room table remembering stories from our childhood days.  Afterward, with Ron playing the piano, we sang some of the favorite Christmas carols that we all grew up with.  It was a great moment to remember.

Siblings singing Christmas carols around the piano

The last evening was a wonderful ending to a sibling reunion that I think our Mother would have viewed with pleasure and satisfaction.  We all enjoyed the experience so much that we agreed to do it again in 2023.....at Mary's new house in North Carolina.