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Before Joyce headed Northeast to visit with her dad, she and her mom went to a few local attractions. Two afternoons were spent at the Tech Museum (because one afternoon just isn't enough!) where they saw the movie Happy Feet on the IMAX screen - awesome! Around the museum, many of the exhibits were about keeping America green. Joyce made the wind tunnel, solar panels and water power light up the electrical tower. The giant globe was part of a 15 minute presentation about weather as viewed from space. She stepped into the pads of a hockey goalie, and she learned how to build a computer chip! After that, it was on to Christmas in the Park, right across the street. |
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Lions Club, Red Hats and private individuals decorated these trees. A snow machine made snowflakes for kids to play in. |
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| There were colorful trees decorated with butterflies and flowers, with carousel horses, and even with VWs of every shape and size. Real carousel displays had horses and flying penguins! A band of musicians from a local high school serenaded everyone with carols. | ||||||
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Holiday Lights |
Another afternoon they drove down to Gilroy to see the Holiday Lights display at a local botanical garden turned theme park. It was rainy and very cold, but they had to see the lights and that was the only day. The weather cleared for most of the time that the girls were there, and these are some of the pictures. There was another snow machine, right at the entrance, that kept kids busy blocking traffic into the park. It seemed like everything had lights wrapped around it, or thru it, or under it .... | |||||
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Dusk fell quickly, and the lights became even more
spectacular. |
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| A gingerbread house, a Chanukah menorah, and a gingerbread girl were just some of the many decorations. | ||||||
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| In the butterfly habitat there were beautiful displays of holiday color mixed with the usual vegetation. | ||||||
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| Santa was waiting for
the train to deliver a bunch of passengers, so came out to chat with
the gals while he had a break. These palm trees were sheltering the Old Red Barn that was a gift shop. The girls passed thru the light display for the 12 days of Christmas as they drove classic mini-cars on the track. |
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| As it got colder,
Ana's camera became more finicky; these are some of the strange
shots that occurred as her camera's lens struggled to close with each photo. Tucking the camera into her coat between shots was the only way to keep it warm for the final few pictures, like this one of the Snowflake Palace, where the holiday feast was served. |
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A final spin on the Apple and Worm ride (that's Joyce in the car near the exit sign) and a stroll thru Claudia's garden where they saw this tranquil waterfall, and then it was time to depart for the warmth of home, hearth, dogs and cat. |
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| They had an early Holiday dinner with Nana and Gwen along with present-opening. Joyce went to another Sharks game, this time with their friend Woody. | ||||||
