Summer Journey

We had a really fun trip out West this year.  We accomplished missions, experienced surprises, and enjoyed the hot but arid weather of the West.

It all started by a very early personal limousine ride (thanks, Da) to the bus stop, followed by an hour bus ride a 5-hour plane ride.

In Los Angeles, we rented a minivan at the rental place, where these two patient siblings keep an eye on each other.

It took over an hour in the afternoon LA rush hour traffic to reach the resort home in Corona.  We were fortunate to have the Huang family join us for a couple of days.  Here the two youngest folks enjoy the iPad activities in one of the three very comfortable living rooms.

The very next day, we journeyed to the church Mormon Battalion Historic Site and ...

rode on the wagon and ...

posed with the soldiers and ...

of course, panned for gold and ...

were inducted as honorary members of the battalion.  You have got to see this visitor center.  It is cool.

The majestic unique beautiful San Diego Temple was a site to view and ...

to pose for pictures.

When we arrived in Utah, we spent some time at our our little grandson's house.  He delighted us with his delightful smiles and touchdown gestures.  Go, Blake!

A stretch of four generations is depicted in this historic photo of great grandfather holding his great grandson.

Finally, we are almost to enjoy the Korean barbecue.  Thanks, Henry!

And the other side of the dinner table.

The volunteer chefs prepared the sizzling barbecue right before your eyes.  It was better than the Japanese Ichiban grills and the Gaupo's quesadillas.

On another auspicious day, Jessica took us and her cousins to the Monte L. Bean Museum, the world's best free college animal museum.

Inside, the kids tried the death defying insert-your-hand-inside-the-hippo's-mouth trick.  Oooh, careful!

Aunt Janae looks so excited to hold nephew Blake down the slide.  Well, actually, Blake was a little heavy for her.

Inside the museum, Blake was let loose and ran around everywhere as a free and happy spirit.  At one time, we were fortunate to catch him on film reading the museum literature in squatting position.  What a precocious toddler!

Back at home, one of Blake's favorite activities was the expert organization of shoes.  He single-handedly transported the shoes one a a time from the floor to his vehicle's trunk.  When the trunk filled up, he would reverse the process and move the shoes one at at time back to the floor.  This he did dutifully for the better part of the afternoon.  What a persistent builder!

One of the highlights of this trip was also to meet with old friends.  We paid a special visit to our dear friends, the Horrocks, whom we first met in Missouri, later met again in Utah, and most recently crossed paths with their son in Australia.  What a small world!

Later on the same day, we paid a historic visit to the home of President and Sister Malan Jackson, the first mission president in Taiwan in 1971.  He has touched our lives in many instances.  For example, he gave my father a Book of Mormon.  He knew my father-in-law both as leaders of the church then.

We also held a mini-Branch reunion at the home of the Chou's (thanks, Felipe and Petra).  We met our dear friends, the Anderson's who helped out our branch in many ways during their short stay in our branch.

Blake is stealing the show again, this time with a cute friend from the King family.

Here is a close-up of the cute interested friends.

This photos of the Smith children was especially challenging but gratifying to finally capture on film.

 At this branch reunion, here is our group at the beginning of the evening.  The backyard was just right for the occasion.  It was very cool and relaxing.

 At the end of the evening, we posed with the Smith and Chou families before bidding farewell.

Later at another family reunion activity at Provo Canyon, Megan proudly demonstrates her exquisitely charred jumbo marshmallow, which would be inserted later into a jumbo Smores.  Hmmm!

Adjacent to the barbecue site was a small clear and cold stream, which the kids loved to wade and walk in.

Meanwhile, the cuisine over the fire consisted of corn, chicken, hot dogs, and of course, squid!  Yummy!

The three cousin siblings congregate for a strategic preparation for the battle of the water guns.  It was boys versus girls.  Guess who won?

That evening after a family dinner at the Green Panda of beef noodles, we gathered for another Family Tree gathering.  Uncle Daniel through a lively PowerPoint presentation shared with us his pilgrimage back to China, in which he found through some miracles the genealogies of his forefathers.

On our final evening in Utah, we enjoyed a special Family Home Evening (thanks, Henry).

Later on, Mom dances with Blake.

On our drive back to California, we stopped for dinner in Chinatown in Las Vegas.  I did not know there was a Chinatown in Las Vegas, but it's true.

Through Grandma's benevolence, we spent a once-in-a-lifetime experience in Las Vegas on the strip.  On our stroll outside, we discovered a live macrocosm swarming with folks of all ages and types and doing all sorts of things.

We stayed in the Bally Hotel.

Here we are in the lounge of Caesar's Palace.

When we returned to California, we found ourselves largely without internet service.  So, we were wont to take the bus to the Norco Library nearby, where we enjoyed abundant internet service.  Heavenly!

We had an opportunity to help Grandpa mow the grass and rake the grass and clean up the yard.

We also completed a tour of eleven model homes for a new neighborhood about to be built.  Nice to dream sometimes.

I finish this visually stimulating photo trek with some photos of the resort home we we were lucky to reside in for a few days.  Here is one of the four lavish bedrooms and ...

one of the three spacious living rooms, this one with the kitchen next to it.

The art in the home was magnificent.  Here is one of our favorite, the two swans.

The architecture of the house was representative of that of Southern California.

Thus ended our 21-day journey.  Suffice it to say that we thoroughly enjoyed the trip, despite its bumps and bruises.  During these three weeks, we held several family reunion activities and spent some very nice famly-bonding time, visited old friends including the Montgomery Branch friends, and spent time in San Diego and Las Vegas.  It's good to be back home in Maryland after such a long fun trip.