We had planned to drive four hours up to Humboldt Redwood State Park and stay one night at Eureka over the Christmas weekend... but alas, the cold stormy weather kept us trapped inside the house and we only had one miraculous day of sunshine on Christmas eve. We took advantage of that and made an impromptu trip to Pigeon Point Lighthouse after lunch, which is about an hour's drive away.
The drive was longer than it seemed, perhaps because we were on highway 92 towards Half Moon Bay and it was a rather narrow, winding road especially when we hit the mountains. Despite that, as we neared the small town, we were greeted with sights of cute farm houses selling real Christmas trees and pumpkins (probably leftovers from Halloween). It's really new to us because Singapore almost never sell real Christmas trees... nor pumpkins that big.
Once we hit Highway 1 (Cabrillo Highway), it's a scenic drive along the Pacific Coast all the way till we reach the lighthouse. Would have loved to stop over at some of the scenic points along the way if not for the fact that we were in a race against daylight. We hoped to take photos of the lighthouse before it turns dark. We did manage that... and also walked around the place for a while before we overheard the guards saying that they were closing for the day. I'd love to come back for more photos... perhaps in the summer. The place is beautiful.
We then headed towards Mountain View to visit the Google headquarters. Mr. Jang really wanted to see the Android Jelly Bean ever since WL mentioned it to him. We got a little lost searching for the exact location but were helped by friendly Google staff on brightly-coloured bicycles. The mascots were really cute... the only turn-off was the muddy field. It was raining so consistently heavy the past few days that the soil was all soft and yucky.
Our last stop was at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church (of cos we need to attend church service!) We THOUGHT we were early but lo and behold! There was already a queue forming outside the church. The first service was apparently full to the brim and we had to wait till the next available one (it's typical on Christmas eve, an attendant told us). It was cold and windy while waiting but the church was very thoughtful in providing heat packs, warm ciders and brownie/cinnamon bites, brought to us by volunteers on trolleys. It's great experiencing the Christmas atmosphere here. It also made us more appreciative and grateful for the fact that we have a proper place to worship God...
And then on Christmas day, it was back to rainy skies again. It's been so ever since so we stayed at home for two full days, with Mr. Jang working from home on Boxing Day instead of going to the empty office. I hope the sun comes out soon (it did so briefly today!) so that we can continue seeking out new places to enjoy!
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