It has been almost a month since my family had gone back to Singapore. It was a memorable & fruitful trip for all of us. They especially enjoyed the time spent at Disneyland & Universal Studio. My sister & brother enjoyed the thrilling rides & when they came to Toontown in Disneyland, everyone went ga-ga over it.
Weather was cold when we reached San Francisco. Somehow, the beautiful sceneries made them "brace" through the cold. Although this is our (Jason & I) second time here, this time we really take our time exploring the city much more than the first. However, I think we stayed too long in San Francisco (5 days!) so we drove to one of the outlets on the last day.
Thinking that the cold weather will end in San Francisco as we travelled towards Las Vegas and my family can "take a break" from the coldness. Things turn out so differently and unexpectedly. Throughout the trip, we have relied mostly on our GPS so we happily followed the directions indicated thinking that we will reach Vegas in the afternoon. Sigh...on the way, we experienced quite a bit of showers then suddenly we saw flurries falling from the sky. Wow...it's snowing, everyone was awake and marvelling at how beautiful it is as they never experience snow in Singapore. As we travelled higher up to the mountain, the snows get heavier as well. Throughout the car skidded a bit but Jason was confident in handling it. The "ooh" and "aah" no longer seems fun, I kept my eyes wide open helping Jason to look out for any unexpected condition. When we reached Yosemite National Park ( we took the CA120 which is supposed to be the short-cut), the snow was so thick that tire chains are required from this point onwards. No choice, we bought a set of chain for US$100! I feel the pinch but with 6 lives in the car, we must get it no matter how expensive it is! Even with the tire chain, we "experience" a 360 degree spin. Yes...our car skidded 360 degree. My scream woke up everyone in the car. Luckily, Jason was able to counter the skidding. Everyone is safe and sound but my hearts was still beating so fast that it took quite a while to return to normal. Thank God that we didn't experience anymore "thrilling" moments. We even made a few stops to admire the tremendous amount of snows there. Ya...forget to mention the CA120 is closed due to the heavy snows so we had to do a detour and "wasted" 4 hours at Yosemite. Don't know whether it is a good or bad thing cause if we do not take the CA120, my family will not be able to see and experience the snows.
Even in Las Vegas, the weather is very windy. We did what everyone in Vegas does...shopping, eating, sight-seeing & gambling! Dad & mum enjoyed themselves a lot at the casino. I think it is something they can't do Singapore...
When we reached Grand Canyon National Park, it was snowing but not as thick as what we saw at Yosemite. Due to the snows, the view is not as spectacular as the time when Jason & I were. There is lots of low clouds and by the time we reached the Watch Tower, it is snowing so heavily that we are shivering with cold cause we came unprepared!
Although this is maybe our second, third or fourth times visiting these places. The feeling is very different cause this is the first time we go travelling with my family. We experience a lot of the "first time" and I believe that the memories will be with us forever...
