Christmas in America! I thought it was the first time, but then I remembered we celebrated Christmas in New York last year. That was an adventure on itself. We spent a month on the east coast due to covid before flying back to Europe.
However, this year was fantastic! We were invited by the Irvin family in Simi Valley. Their son Tyler is Tom’s English tutor and he became a friend. We already visited him earlier this year when we climbed the Hollywood hill with his girlfriend.
We had to be there on Saturday at 10:45 AM. It’s a 3 hour drive from Fresno, so we left pretty early that morning. Although the traffic was light at that time, we faced a dense fog for a couple of hours. But when we finally got through the Coastal Mountains the sun had dissolved the fog and the temperature increased from 50°F to 77°C (for the Dutch: 10°C to 25°C). For a lot of people this won’t give a Christmas feeling, but we couldn’t care less 😎
We were right on time and after gathering with the family we drove to Long Beach where Tyler’s godmother Kathleen lives. Before visiting her, we lunched at Super Mex. Tom and I shared a plate (always share when you aren’t starved) with two enchiladas. They were really good.
After that, the family split up and we went to the world famous Joe Jost’s with Tyler. It’s what they call a “dive bar”: a bit nasty, smudgy and chaotic bar. But we had a good time there. The bar was packed with happy people. The walls are covered with photos from all over the world where people wearing a Joe Jost’s T-shirt. From Sydney to Paris and from Seattle to Peru, it was nice to explore the whole interior while enjoying a couple of beers. On the other side of the wall a lot of women were “pinned up” 😲
At the end of the afternoon we went to Kathleen and her family. The family and friends were very hospitable and kind. We didn’t know that Kathleen had cooked several Mexican dishes, so we enjoyed another enchilada. Later in the evening everyone gathered around the Christmas tree and presents were exchanged.
We already had booked a hotel in Simi Valley, so after we came back from Long Beach, we spent the night there in Motel 6: really a “dive hotel” 😂
We agreed upon meeting on Christmas day at 3 PM, so we had all morning to spend some time with the two of us. Finding a breakfast place to eat on Christmas day turned out to be more difficult than expected, but we finally found Black Beer Diner that was open. The complete interior exists of wood and bears 🐻
After heaving a “bear-good” meal (Dutch pun intended 😁), we decided to walk a little trail to the Paradise Fall in Wildwood Regional Park. It was a nice walk down to a valley and the fall was beautiful. The sun was already burning so our way back to the car was pretty tough. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the trail and the iced latte at Starbucks tasted even better.
Because we had some hours left, we decided to drive to the Pacific Coast. The famous Route 1: the Pacific Coastal Highway. One of the most beautiful highways in de world. We drove along the coast for a while, enjoyed the views of the massive rocks on the left and the blue ocean on the right.
We left the area by taking the CA-23 up to Thousand Oaks. This road turned out to be a real motorcycle way. A lot of nice curves and stunning views. With the car, however, it could be considered a Six Flags rollercoaster ride 😂
But we finally reached our hotel without losing our stomach contents 🤢
The afternoon and evening we spent at the Irvins residence. We had fabulous smoked prime rib and ham accompanied with fresh green beans and asparagus. Also, Tom and I had mac-n-cheese for the first time. Pretty bad for your vessels, but it was really delicious!
All family and friends gathered around the tree and presents were being exchanged. It was wonderful to see the sense of togetherness between everyone.
After that we played Pictionary. We made 4 teams of 3 members, Tom and I were both on a different team. That was pretty exciting because all words are of course in English. But luckily, Tom and I were allowed to use our iPhones for translations. And we both did a great job. Everyone was so proud of the Dutch guys, so that compliment is in the pocket!
On Monday we had breakfast at Jerry’s: a local coffee shop with good food. This breakfast was worth the cheating 😋
The omelet covered by home made Mexican chili was fabulous.
After this nourishing meal, we went to the West Hollywood area in LA and walk along the Melrose Avenue. It’s such a nice area full of art and design. Especially the murals were stunning. We both liked the rural style of those neighborhoods. It’s so funny to see expensive shops like Prada alternated with a spiritual hand reading studio.
After browsing West Hollywood we drove back to the Central Valley.
And now we’re back in Fresno again. At first, we wanted to celebrate New Years Eve in San Francisco, but the weather forecast seems to be pretty bad with a lot of rain in the Bay area. So we decided to stay in Fresno and reserve a table in a fine dining restaurant instead. We’re looking forward to it 😋
Bedankt voor de updates, erg leuk om jullie te volgen. Groeten vanuit een druilerig Zwolle 🙂