Cindys Parents Trip to America 2010

Cindy’s parents, Shui Di Chen and Guan Mu Ni, arrived in San Francisco from Shanghai on December 9^th for a four-week visit. This was their first trip to America although they have traveled to Europe and other Asian Countries in previous years. Neither speaks English and I still do not speak Chinese so we will get by with our pantomiming skills.

After a summer full of excellent weather, it has decidedly become winter and it rained for the first full week of their stay. We took them to all of the local places of interest, many of which they had read about in Cindy’s blog which is published in Chinese and has several thousand followers. We visited the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, the Jelly Belly factory, Travis Air Force Base Museum, Larry’s Produce Stand, Infineon Raceway, and several wineries. One Saturday we drove down to Novato, where Cindy took her parents to see a couple friends in the neighborhood before returning to my parents’ house for dinner. After dinner Santa Clause arrived by sea and greeted us all in his boat.

We spent several days shopping for Christmas presents. One day we drove up to The Silveyville Christmas-Tree Farm in Dixon where we selected a tree, which Cindy’s dad cut down and helped me erect in our front yard. Even with a half-dozen strings of lights, our tree is lost next to our neighbor’s display of Christmas lights, which is the best in the area by far. We also baked and decorated Christmas cookies, which we gave to friends and neighbors.

The Chinese American Association of Solano County had their Christmas party on December 14^th. We took Cindy’s parents with us and they were very happy to be able to talk with people in their native language. The group made them very comfortable and the party was a great success. We also attended the opening of a local McDonalds restaurant, which is one of a couple dozen owned by the guy who founded the Chinese American Association.

Cindy’s mother had been a senior manager for an herbal medicine company in China and my sister Carolyn teaches pharmacology at Sacramento State University so she had arranged a tour of their facilities. We all drove to Sacramento where I dropped Cindy and her mom off with Carolyn while I took her dad over to the Capitol Building to see if we could catch a glimpse of Arnold. Carolyn introduced Cindy’s mom to several colleagues including one who had spent a couple years in China and spoke fluent Mandarin.

We took a couple trips to San Francisco where we rode cable cars, visited Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, Boudin Bakery, Chinatown, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Union Square, the Cable Car Museum and Lombard Street. On the way into the city we stopped at Marin Headlands for the view of the Golden Gate Bridge, visited Muir Woods to see the redwood trees and then stopped at 99 Ranch Market, the huge Asian Market in Richmond where we bought live crabs and stocked up on food.

Due to scheduling, we had decided to celebrate Christmas at our house on December 24^th. Siblings Rick, Paul and Lauraine as well as my parents arrived December 23^rd to finish wrapping gifts. We all had a wonderful prime rib dinner that night. Promptly at 7:00 AM on the 24^th, Christina, Anthony, Brennon, Fred, Carolyn, Barry, Marife, Kay and Matt arrived along with children Quincy, Lindsey, Ayden, Jason, Tyler and Kaley. The stockings were filled above the fireplace and we all enjoyed Santa’s presents.

I bought an Xbox Kinect for Christmas and everyone, including Cindy’s parents, spent hours playing sports on the new system. They were so fascinated with the games we decided to give them their own system to take back to China. Unfortunately stores were sold out of the hardware so we told them we would pack up our own system to give to them when they left, and replace it when the systems were available again in mid-January.

On the Monday after Christmas, Cindy, I, and her parents started an 8-day trip to Southern California and Las Vegas. The first full day was spent driving to Hollywood, punctuated by a stop at a Bass Pro Shop in Manteca where we toured the sportsman’s paradise. We checked into a Comfort Inn in West Hollywood within walking distance to Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

Tuesday we went to Universal Studios in Hollywood. It was a beautiful day and the park was packed, but we did not go for the rides so the lines were manageable. Cindy’s parents were enchanted by Shrek 4-D, the Studio Tour, Waterworld, the Special Effects show and Terminator. Wednesday it rained, but they took the 5 ½ hour Grand City tour of Los Angeles and Hollywood offered by Starline Tours in Chinese so much of the day was spent on the bus. I spent the day at The Page Museum, home of La Brea Tar Pits. When the bus tour finished, we drove to Barstow, California where we checked into a Quality Inn on historic Route 66 for the night.

Thursday morning we drove to Nevada. By 11:00 AM we had arrived at Hoover Dam where we took the power plant tour. Cindy’s dad was sufficiently excited about the tour that he commented that he would have to go to the Three Gorges Dam in China when he returns. In the afternoon we drove to Las Vegas and checked into the Paris Hotel. My host had arranged for us to stay in two rooms overlooking the Bellagio Fountains. Cindy took her parents over to the Chinese Noodle restaurant at Caesers Palace for lunch and then circled back through The Bellagio. In the evening, we had arranged a limo tour of the strip and the Gift of Lights at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The light show is held at Christmastime and features hundreds of displays that you drive through.

Friday we headed over to The Venetian. Cindy took her parents to see Blue Man Group, which they were thrilled to see. Friday night we went to the New Years Party at Paris, which featured dinner, dancing and a show by Gloria Gaynor. Cindy and I were exhausted so we decided to leave before midnight but watched the fireworks from our room. Cindy’s parents stayed out listening to music and watching the craziness.

Saturday there was a brunch at Paris for invited guests that we attended before heading out in the afternoon to visit several more hotels. We took a taxi to the Luxor, which we walked through before walking through Excalibur and New York New York. We wound up at MGM where we viewed the lions, gambled and then went to see KA. I had seen KA once before, but it seemed much better this time. The star of the show has to be the stage and both Cindy and her parents were overwhelmed by the show.

Sunday was a shopping day for Cindy and her parents while I gambled. She headed up to the mall, but also walked through Wynn and Encore on the way. We met up again in the evening and went to dinner at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant where my host had arranged a spectacular table overlooking the Bellagio fountains. The dinner was truly spectacular and it was a great final evening in Las Vegas.

We awoke Monday to snow. We left Las Vegas just after noon and drove as far as Bakersfield, California where we stayed in a Quality Inn for the night. Tuesday morning we finished our trip, stopping once on Route 99 to visit the Sun-Maid Factory Store where the in-laws bought more gifts for their friends at home. We arrived back in Fairfield at 2:00 PM and were greeted by my parents who had had a vacation of their own house sitting at our home while we were away. Dad had prepared a wonderful dinner, which we all enjoyed.

On our final full day together, we all competed in several bowling tournaments on the Xbox. My parents had been practicing while we were away, but Cindy’s mom was still the champion. We all went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse Wednesday night where it became evident that Cindy’s parents had wholly adjusted themselves to American food. Even Cindy, who often said, “they won’t eat this or that” was amazed at how much they enjoyed western dining.

Thursday, January 6^th, my parents left and Cindy and I took her parents to the airport. Their plane took off as scheduled at 1:45PM and they will arrive back in Shanghai Friday afternoon. They are laden down with gifts for friends and an Xbox Kinect, which is not sold in China and hopefully won’t be a problem getting through customs. Cindy’s parents had a wonderful time and will return to America soon.

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