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Published: December 28th 2022
Snow, train, and alpaca. That was Santa’s message for this holiday season! Y had all hopes of building snow roads with his construction toys. Did he make it?
Sun: Hidden Star FTW! It seems to always end up being a 9am start. But after gas and picking up water, it was more like 9:30 am. Destination: Camino. Fogs started rolling in at Mission Pass and had a thick fog advisory all the way past Sac…crazy! We reached Sac at 11:30 am. Perfect for a pit stop at Mahoroba bakery. Never fails 😄With happy tummies, it was the final stretch! When we finally reached Placerville where we’ll spend d a few nights, the snow seemed impossible. But within a 10-min drive to Camino, spots of snow started to appear and it quickly turned into fields of snow, yay 🙌
Hidden Star was THE place on my list. My colleague told me about Apple Hill which I haven’t even heard of in my decades of living in the Bay Area. It’s like Sonoma of apple ciders. There are many to pick from but this Hidden Star looked, by far, the most kid-friendly adult beverage place on earth! We had a
late lunch on the sunlit bench before Y achieved his snow mission, a dream come true! This trip couldn’t have come at a better time in terms of snow. We had mammoth rain in the Bay Area just last week which probably meant serious snowfall in the Sierras. We got to enjoy it in this nice weather.
Maybe about an hour into building snow roads, I went to grab sunglasses from the car and saw the sandbox with loads and loads of construction toys!! I told Y but he was skeptical. He said he’ll go check it out and come right back. Sure enough, it was all over the moment he put his hands on it. Turns out, this sandbox with all the jumbo construction toys won him over everything else in this place. But this is not your everyday playground. There are, get this, a ladder truck, Cessna, a few big trucks, and a speed boat kids can climb onto!! Of course, there is the standard playground in one corner but it feels like an afterthought. Ha, oh well, the kid’s gonna like what he likes. Cars were still rolling in at 4 pm and Y wanted to
close this place but it was time to go.
It was a long day for all of us. Y passed out at 8 pm and so did the adults shortly after 😅
Mon: Outdoor play and then some I woke up way before 6 am and that was sleeping in for me after hitting the sac so early last night. We spent the next 2 hours reading, eating, and checking out the patio. It was cool to see the puddle with a frozen surface and even frost on the ground. We pulled the trigger and left for the snow at 8:30 am. Pollock Pines is 10 minutes further in from Camino and the snow was that much thicker. Here, the snow was piled up on roofs and outdoor fixtures. Forebay Lake was pretty dead on this Monday morning. The lake was frozen around the edge. This pristine endless snow was heaven for Y. He walked around to stomp into the snow, get his legs caught, make roads with his toys, and slide them. V and I made snowmen 😁 10 am came quick for a snack break and lunch even quicker.
We finally made it back
to the car at 1:30 pm. Y took off his wet snow bib and we found everything else underneath soaking wet 😱 That called for a detour back at the lodging and coming back out for Hidden Star round two! Today, we had a plan. We could do the cider flights while Y entertained himself at the sandbox! Brilliant! The guy behind the counter was the mastermind of this out-of-this-world playground. Hats off 👏👏 We had a great time sipping on pleasant ciders while Y was busy. We were the closer today at 4:20 pm.
We played outside literally all day. Y was out by 7:40 pm. We weren’t far behind…again 😴
Tue: The first Amtrak ride! Y was sad to leave but we said goodbye to the Placerville retreat at 8 am. We’re catching Amtrak in Sacramento today! I got dropped off at Sacramento Valley Station at 8:45 am with a load of bags while V and Y parked the car at the garage. They joined me shortly after. The station just had the waiting benched and Y was getting antsy. It was a long wait on the platform but the big Amtrak made a grand
entrance at 11 am and that was all Y needed. That’s when the station staff told us that the coach boarding will be way in the back. Upon arriving at area E, the supposed boarding area, the conductor now told us that Reno passengers are in the last car. And yet upon arriving in that car, we were told that Reno passengers boarded where we just were, grrr.
Finally. We got on and luckily there was an unoccupied two-seater. The legroom was actually pretty amazing and we were able to put our stuff there with no problem. Shortly after the departure, V went to scope out the train while Y was in awe of all of this. He came right back to get us and we never came back to these seats. We snagged a semi-private three-seater in the observation car. Man, those windows are hard to pass up. And the entire place was so roomy and spaced out. A few hours went by so fast. Right at 1 pm, Y passed out. He woke up to the view of thick snow weighing on trees. The view was absolutely gorgeous, especially around Donner Lake! Onboard on this train was
a witty guide who came on the observation car to announce not-to-miss spots. He was super entertaining and on-point!
The train arrived on time at 4 pm. Thank god the lodging was a block walk cuz we didn’t really try to minimize the luggage from the car travel. After a quick refresh at the hotel, we headed out for the 5:30 circus act at Circus Circus. Right. The sign on the stage said 6:30, arrrrg!! Fine, we grabbed food from the food court because that was already a lot of walking for Y to come back out and I didn’t know how much of this arcade stuff V and I could endure.
Finally, the stage light came on. The anticipated show began right at 6:30. Athletic-looking duo entered the stage and the guy did a balancing act on a stack of many many chairs. Wow wow wow, clap clap. They retreated backstage and the light turned off. Wait, what? Was that it? That was exactly 6 minutes. Spectators stuck around cuz it was just too brief. Eventually, we all came to terms and went our own ways. I’m glad we stuck around and got that out of the
way cuz we ain’t coming back tomorrow, oh no, lol. We made it back via the famous Reno Arch.
Wed: Sloth to the rescue Snow was pretty much nonexistent in Reno and we had no idea what to do here for a whole day. We started at Wingfield Park anyhow. It was brisk at 8 am but the sun was out and it was a nice walk along the river. Wingfield Park was a little island on the river, connected by footbridges on both sides. Not much there except! There was snow on the south half of the field! We had to play in shade (brr) because that’s how the snow remained but Y had a good time playing with his construction toys. The river in that end was pretty much frozen.
Welp, it was 9:30 am. Should we pull the trigger and do the discovery museum? V found out about it last night. We don’t usually consider non-region-specific museums as part of travels but they had the sloth exhibition for another few weeks. This had to be meant to be. Since the little stuffy sloth joined him recently, Y’s been hooked on sloth. Besides, what other
options do we have in Reno?
V and Y built a cool construction toy garage out of blocks of ice and it was hard for Y to leave it but we made our way to the museum peacefully at 11 am. We went straight to sloth to find her curled up and sleeping. Doh! What was I thinking or not thinking at all? Of course! Sloth sleeps like 20hrs a day! Did I think we’d see a sloth on a move? Facepalm. That’s ok. This is a children’s museum. There are plenty of things for Y to do. There are a lot of hands-on activities, puzzles, etc. and he was finally ready for lunch at 12:45 pm. We were back for more by 1:30 pm. We made our way to the science demo at 3 pm. It was making a rocket with baking soda and citric acid which brought me back to my engineering project days. Those things flew pretty well and I was pretty excited. After going back to the Little Discoveries area, I saw a sign saying “sloth feeding at 4 pm”. Oh my, it IS 4 pm!! Hurry Y! The caretaker was just wrapping up the
talk/Q&A, phew! She went inside with a food tray and the sloth started to move, oh my!! She went all the way across the large enclosed area. I was super excited!!! Yes, this is what I was imagining!! So so so glad we got to see her on the move.
Y wanted a do-over on every activity before we left, well several do-overs on the play car repair. We finally left at 5:30 pm but Y was oh so sad. It was a rough evening but I’m happy he enjoyed it that much 🙂
Thu: Amtrak like a pro I woke up to an email from Amtrak saying that the train was being delayed for an hour. But! It can make up time so come 30min before. The new departure was 9:40 am and when we got to the station a little before 9 am, the waiting area was pretty full. We proceeded to the platform and waited there instead. There was nobody and no bench, nada. Oh well, we’ll be sitting for the next 5 hrs so that works for me. Y ran around up and down the platform 😀 While waiting, I saw another email
Forebay Lake
Pollock Pinesflash from Amtrak. The new time is now 9:45 am. Not making time but losing time, arrg. The outside air was fresh at first but not so much after an hour. It was 10 am already and there was no sign of the train. Eventually, the staff came to check us in. He gave us 2 seat tags and told us our boarding will be way down the platform. The train had to be close but it wasn’t coming! Finally! Oh, how wonderful were the sound of choo choo and the sight of the headlight!
This time we lucked out with boarding. After people got off the train, the conductor started to pass out the seat assignment. She had strips of paper with numbers on them and she handed them out literally one by one, ripping it if the party consisted of an odd number. We got to board first really just because we happened to be in front of the conductor on the boarding train. It’s not marked or anything so you really just had to be lucky. I’m pretty sure the boarding line moved at a snail pace. The train finally took off at 10:20 am.
Forebay Lake
Pollock Pines We found our assigned seats. Y and I walked straight into the observation car like a pro while V took care of the seat tags. The observation car was surprisingly empty considering the overbooked train. I was pretty set on sitting on the north side and snagged the same seats we had on the way here, score! We had lunch with a view of snowy Donner Lake. Absolutely stunning!
The train arrived at Sac at 3:15 pm. Looks like the train made up 30min. The car was in one piece in the garage. A quick grocery run, dinner, and Y passed out before 8 pm 🙂
Fri: Thankful and grateful When we picked up the car yesterday, it was obviously making a funny rattling noise. The plan was for V to see if he can take care of it while Y and I go to the museum. The first place V called was a hit. He went to have it checked before 8 am. Y and I stayed put and V came back on foot at 10 am. We put our stuff at the front desk and walked to Old Sacramento Waterfront. It was a nice 15-minute
Forebay Lake
Pollock Pines stroll on a bike path.
At the station, there were a few trains that weren’t there in summer. In the depot, piles of the polar express props were put away as the last ride was a few days ago. Y was happy to see the flashy Santa Fe diesel and that 70’s Amtrak he was on last time. When we were about to head over to the museum, the orange diesel with large Christmas props on the carrier car go brrrooom! After some time and the team go in and out, it finally started going backward, then forward toward the Valley Station. There is no fence or anything and it’s such a treat for Y to see the big guy rumble on so close (just gotta stay out of the way!). While we were outside, we were all excited to catch California Zephyr go by on the bridge in time for the 11 o’clock departure.
We entered the Railroad Museum at 11:15 am. The display of old trains on the first floor was stimulating as always. This time, there was a big snowblower which was so amazing to see in person. Y made his way upstairs and found
Forebay Lake
Pollock Pines the kids' corner at 11:45. He was ready for lunch after about an hour there. From then on, he was in and out, up and down until before 4 pm. He was probably most inspired by the snowblower.
Well, that enabled us to be home for dinner. The drive home had a few busy spots but went smoothly. A seemingly uneventful day was possible with everything going right with the car ordeal though. It deteriorated so fast it was a miracle V was able to bring it to the shop. We could easily have been in a bad accident with a wheel coming off, or scrambled to get it towed 😱 The shop came through big time. Very very thankful 🙏
Sun: Finding alpacas We’re still missing one item from Santa: the alpacas. After one day's rest, it’s time to head south!
We were at Capaldi Ranch in Paso Robles last year this time. Y’s been asking about it all year. We’ll return this year for another 2 nights. Since the check-in was at 3 pm, we stopped by Casa de Fruta 🙂 Casa de choo choo and some shops were closed on this Christmas Day.
Y found his spot on the train. Good thing the crowd was sparse. This thing entertained him for 2 hours! He rang in Christmas with the train's bell and it was time to go. The crowd seemed to have picked up a bit when we left shortly after 1 pm.
We arrived at the ranch shortly after 3 pm. It was just as serene as I remembered it. Y played in the sandbox, where he longed for the whole year, until dark 🙂
Mon: Soaking it all in Y woke up at 4:30 am! He and I never went back to sleep and finally decided to get up at 5:30. So he was ready to go outside by 6:30 am. The horizon had just started to turn orange and thanks to Y’s crazy idea, we caught a gorgeous sunrise. We weren’t the only ones admiring it though. Alpacas were already on the hilltop 🙂 While I was snap snap snapping away my camera, they were in total zen mode. I hope I wasn’t intruding. The animals here are super friendly. Some curious alpacas came toward me. There are also goats, cows, and of course cats and dogs
who comes around begging to be pet. After an epic sunrise, Y played in the sandbox for some time and we went back inside for breakfast.
We hung out here all day, watching tractors at work, hanging out with the animals, playing in the sandbox, and getting on the big loader. Not much to report except that it was completely peaceful and worry-free.
And that’s a wrap for our winter getaway. It’s going to be rainy from here on and we’ll stay put. There were expected and unexpected adventures as always but in the end, we all had a great time 🙂
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