California and the Valley Zone

Near a Geocache in the Desert

We began our trip to California with a couple of nights in Norman, Oklahoma, visiting Monte and Aleta and helping out with a wiring project.  We set out early morning on Tuesday, with Las Cruces, New Mexico as our destination for the night.  Initially, our route was the same one we took on our first retirement trip; driving through Amarillo (by morning) and ending up in Santa Rosa, New Mexico for lunch.  There we stopped at the Silver Moon Cafe which is an iconic Route 66 diner.  (We stopped here in 2012, too.) It’s a perfect place for New Mexican chiles dishes….Yum!

At Santa Rosa we got off the interstate to bisect the state on Route 54 (which goes all the way to Clinton, IL) and then onto Route 76.  We love driving the back roads in New Mexico because of the awesome scenery, both plant and rock.  Just before Las Cruces we came to the White Sands National Monument.  

Can you imagine Mona sledding???

There, in the middle of the brown desert are huge dunes of white sand covering 275 square miles.  These dunes are still evolving and they move several feet a year.  There are trails to walk and lots of places where you can sled down the dunes.  Note: We didn’t sled but even Mona is considering sledding on our next visit.  As she says, “This would be sledding paradise; sled all you want and never get cold!”

After our night in Las Cruces we set out to complete one of our goals of 2015; i.e., to have found a geocache in every county of Arizona.  We already had all but six Arizona counties and five were to be found today!  We left the interstate and headed northwest towards Globe, Arizona.  Much of the first part of the road was desolate with no cars in either direction.  Frankly, I was a little creeped out so I sped up until I got within reasonable eyesight of the car ahead.  Finally, we got to a town, then a section of more traveled road and I was better.  You get to thinking how isolated out you are out in the middle of the desert…

Near another geocache

I had mapped out the route and the caches that would maximize our time while minimizing our distance.  Much of that route took us through the San Carlos Apache Reservation.  We traveled through several small towns in the reservation and I was dismayed at how trashy many of the yards were.  Along our travels we noted that many desert dwellers like to accumulate junk.  It could be that they aren’t any worse than midwestern junkers but, the midwesterners benefit from tall grass and bushes hiding their collections.  But anyway, I get junk collectors.  Midwestern or desert. After all my family had our share of collectors and I grew up with a big school bus sitting in our backyard…so yes, I get junk collectors.  But, getting back to the trash issues, these homes were littered with garbage, not junk.  Maybe a big wind had just blown through and they hadn’t had time to pick up the garbage.  Just maybe.

Arizona Highways!

Other than those few cities, the route was beautiful with plenty of scenes like you see in“Arizona Highways” which I guess stands to reason because we were traveling on Arizona highways.  Some things just don’t need explaining, but I guess I did anyway.   However, we saw virtually no animals.  Yes, most desert animals are nocturnal but we didn’t even see last night’s roadkill.  Nada.  Given as many miles as we drove we’d normally expect to see deer, antelope or at least a rabbit.  But, nada.  However, to compensate the desert was in bloom.  They’ve had a lot of unseasonal rain so we got a stunning display of desert colors!

We finally ended up in Tucson with our five counties achieved!  Thanks to time differences

we still had plenty of time to check things out.  We had planned on going to Old Town Tucson but we found that it was like old Dodge City, a stage set that charged admission.  Not what we wanted.  We settled for a restaurant that served authentic Mexican food (Unique in this part of the country, right?  Not!)  However, the food was wonderful with selections we’ve never seen before including calabacitas; a Mexican vegetable side dish.  Excellent!  We’ve tried several new Mexican dishes on this trip and have loved them all. Más favor!

Inside Lutes' Casino

Next stop was Yuma, Arizona.  We tried to time our visit for 3:10 but we arrived a little early.  We had targeted a cache in Old Town so we headed there and quickly made the find.  We have now found a cache in all of the counties in Arizona.  Our first completed state!

After finding the cache we walked the streets of Old Town Yuma.  Main street is very wide and come to find out it was designed that way so that teams of mules could do u-turns in the street.  We ended up at Lutes’ Casino for lunch.  You can’t gamble here but you do get to gawk at the decor.  The place is filled with posters, wall art and oddities.  Crazy!  The food was fun, but the walls and ceilings were even more so!

Prison Cellblock

Next up was the Territorial Prison.  Built back in 1876 by the prisoners themselves, this place served as home for over 3000 prisoners in its thirty three year life.  For its time, this was considered a model prison; however, I couldn’t imagine being one of the six people in a cell the size of a normal bathroom.  Soon, as is typical in the United States, the prison became overcrowded and the prisoners built a larger one and left Yuma Territorial Prison for good.

After Yuma we drove west on I8 towards California.  Just to the south of the interstate we caught our first sighting of the wall between the United States and Mexico.  It’s huge and stretches for miles.  Every few miles you can see clusters of border patrol vehicles waiting on some action.  It’s a odd feeling looking at this wall.  You don’t think of the United States as being walled.  That’s something for the Cold War or for the Middle East.  Sobering.  I wanted to take a side road to get a close up picture of the wall, but something told me that wasn't a good idea.

Speaking of Border Patrol: We went through three checkpoints.  This time I was driving so they allowed us to pass unhindered.  Even though Mona wasn’t driving we practiced her answers to any questions they might ask her.  “Are you an American Citizen?”  “Yes” would be her answer.  “Is this your car?”  Again, “Yes” would be her answer.  Seems simple, right?  But we know all too well Mona’s history with Border Patrol and Customs Agents.

Getting in the Valley Zone at Blue Coyote

After a few more hours we were at last in the Coachella Valley and the resort in Palm Desert.  Here we met up with Monte and Aleta again.  We were spending the week in  their Shadow Ridge villa.  I’ve written a lot about the valley and the resort in previous blogs so I’ll skip that this time.  Instead I’ll talk about traditions.  We have a lot of traditions when we stay here and we immediately began the process:  Step 1: Appoint a designated driver.  Step 2: Drive to Palm Springs and go to Blue Coyote.  Step 3: Order a pitcher of Wild Margaritas.  Step 4:  Inhale said Margaritas and begin to get into the “Valley Zone”.  That’s where you’re oh-so relaxed, and soaking in the desert air while watching palm trees sway in the breeze.  Ahhhhh….

Love to Birdwatch in the Valley
This little hummingbird let me get very close!

Other traditions include: stocking up on supplies at Ralph’s after Blue Coyote  (Always lots of fun for the designated driver!); In and Out Burger; Del Taco; breakfast at Pinocchio’s (with bottomless champaign and a designated driver); walks in the resort; swimming in the afternoons; hikes/geocaching in the desert; grilling out in the evenings; and finally Polo on Sunday.

Breakfast View!

Our Polo Sundays start with a visit to the Eldorado Polo Club.  Admission is free and we go to breakfast at Roc’s Firehouse Grill which is situated within 20 feet of the polo field.  We get a table on the edge of the patio so close to the field that we can almost touch the horses.  Sometimes when they overrun the field chasing the ball the horses almost get into our food!  We  dine and watch the 10:00 game.  Afterwards, we head to the Empire Polo Club.  Here admission is free too.  However, if you want to pay a little bit you get reserved seats under the shade.  That’s always our option!

As with the Eldorado Club, we’re about twenty feet from the field, but now we’re up on a patio about six feet above the field, giving us an excellent view of the games. There is the noon game which is fun, but the best part of the day is the 2:00 game.  This is typically a championship match and the highlight of the game is the half-time Champagne Divot Stomp.  You get a free glass of champagne for which you go out onto the field and stomp divots.  The primary thing you have to learn is the difference between a divot and a “non-divot”, if you know what I mean.  It’s a blast out there with hundreds of other people in the desert sun, sipping on champagne and doing their best to avoid the non-divots!

Mona and Aleta Divot Stomping

At the end of the week, Monte and Aleta headed home while Mona and I moved to the Westin Mission Hills resort in Rancho Mirage.  Here, we continued the traditions but yesterday we did something we’ve never done before: We visited Tahquitz Canyon.   The canyon is holy to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and they recently reopened it to non-tribal visitors.  

We walked to the Visitor’s Center with a backpack loaded up with bottles of water.  You’re not even allowed past the center unless you have at least one bottle per person.  We had two per.  We were a bit apprehensive about our walk as they had lots of signs warning about the rattlesnakes.  Mona asked the clerk and she assured us that it’s been awhile since anyone was bitten.  Oh gee, thanks a lot!  Feeling much better about the rattlers now!

On the Tahquitz Trail...see any rattlers?

This canyon is literally five blocks from the main street of Palm Springs but it’s like a step back into time.  You hear nothing but ravens croaking and lizards rustling in the sagebrush and creosote bushes as you walk by.  A least we hoped they were lizards!  (We didn’t see a single snake but I kept wondering how many saw us!)  The only desert critters we saw were lizards, tiny little guys only 4 or 5 inches long, up to desert iguanas which are 12 to 16 inches long.  Most of them run a little bit, stop, do a couple of push ups to impress us, then run ahead of us to the next piece of shade.

Tahquitz Falls

After about an hour of hiking up and down the canyon walls we got to the Tahquitz Falls.  Here the water gushes out of a crevice about 50 foot above us.  It’s ice cold water from the snow melt on the San Jacinto Mountains above us.  It was well worth the hike!  We cooled in the shade of the oasis and then headed back the rocky trail.  It was 95 degrees on our return; there is little shade for the next mile or so; therefore, we were very happy to get back to the Visitor Center's air conditioning.  Since we were so close to Palm Springs we decided to celebrate our conquering of the valley trail by visiting Blue Coyote for Wild Margaritas and posole.  Ahhh…..the Valley Zone again!

Now it's morning and I’m out on our balcony with a cup of coffee watching the sun start to peek over the mountain and through the palm trees.  A great way to start another valley day!

Winter Escape

Our January winter escape to Florida worked out really well so we decided to go for another.  This time we picked a cruise out of Port Canaveral and we flew since we had free tickets on United.

MNM and Atlantis

Yep, Like a kid!

We arrived a couple of days early because we wanted to visit the Kennedy Space Center before our cruise.  We rented a car and drove about 30 minutes to the visitor center.  There we visited the Atlantis Shuttle Exhibit, watched the IMAX show about the International Space Station and took a bus tour throughout the launch area; ending up with a visit to the Apollo/Saturn exhibit.  The entire visit was awesome and emotional; evoking tears of memories and pride in the USA at every turn.  We definitely want to come back!

Us and Our Shipmates: Randy and Mary Ann

We spent two nights on Cocoa Beach meeting up with cousins Randy and Mary Ann on the second night.  They were on the same ship and celebrating their wedding anniversary.  Next morning we headed for the port.  Randy and Mary Ann are Platinum Members of Carnival so they got expedited boarding.  We are not, so we expected an hour before we go on board.  NOT. The lines moved incredibly fast and within 15 minutes we were on board and heading for Guy’s Burgers. There we met up with Randy and Mary Ann and enjoyed the sail-away festivities.

Next morning we docked at Nassau, Bahamas.  We debarked and headed out to find a geocache.  Our target cache was located at the British Colonial Hilton where Sean Connery stayed when filming the James Bond movies.  Incredibly cool hotel and beautiful grounds….we’d love to come here to stay in this hotel!

We then wandered the streets of Nassau,

Fresh Conch!

Nassau Officers

visiting the Parliament and walking by hundreds of shops.  The best thing about the shops was the air conditioning blasting out the doors.  We stopped at Conch Fritters to have a couple of Bahamian beers in honor of our friend Trae and to use their WiFi.  Then we moved on to a little local bar right on the waterfront.  There we linked up with three crazy guys from our ship: Chris, Brett and John.  We traded stories, drinks and jokes with them for a couple hours and then made our way back to the Liberty…a little worse for the wear but happy happy happy!

St. Thomas was our next port of call.  We had a couple of errands to run before our excursion so we debarked and headed out.  First task was to find a geocache which was only about 500 feet from our ship.  Finding it took only a few minutes and then we were off to shop.  Bought our items, dropped them off on the ship and then headed back out to join our excursion on a catamaran to St. John’s.  

It was Mona's birthday and she chose to celebrate on the Champagne Catamaran excursion from Carnival because it took us to St. John’s AND it had champagne!  The excursion started with a twenty minute bus ride to the other side of the island where we took off our sandals and boarded the catamaran.  Our crew was Micky, Michael and Alex the captain.

My "Jaws Pic".  I was snorkeling and happened to look up as
the crew was boating Mona back to the Catamaran.

We sailed over to St. Johns taking about a half hour. Along the way the crew briefed us on how to use the snorkel gear and where the best spots were in the bay. As soon as we arrived I jumped in to see lots of fish, rays and spiny sea urchins. Others on our boat saw turtles, but it wasn't my day for them. Mona doesn't snorkel so the crew boated her to the beach where she enjoyed shelling and talking to other non-snorkelers.  She was perfectly happy there!

We were in the water for about an hour, then back to the catamaran. We sailed back to St. Thomas while enjoying champagne, rum punch, cheese and bread. Okay, more champagne and rum than cheese and bread.  Lots of fun sailing but no dolphins.

Mofongo!

Next up was San Juan, Puerto Rico.  This was our third visit to the island and this time we were determined to try mofongo; a local speciality made of crushed fried plantains molded into a cup shape and then stuffed with the meat of your choice.  We made our way to the Aji Dulce in Old Town  and once there we chose mofongo with pork and mojitos.  We both loved the new tastes and maybe, just maybe, the Mojitos might of helped make it taste even better.

Mona with Jack's Shack owners, Jack and Joan

Grand Turk was our last port of call.  Here, as with our last visit, we waded to the left of the pier for about a quarter mile till we came to Jack’s Shack.  This little place has a volleyball net, a bar and tables and a grill which puts out some of the best jerk chicken we’ve ever had.  We spent several hours here, talking to the owners, trading stories with other visitors and just enjoying the sun and breeze.  There’s nothing fancy here, just quality relaxation!

Our time on ship was spent watching shows, eating, playing trivia and just laying in the sun or shade as our whims dictated.  The Liberty has activities for all ages and we had no trouble finding something to do at all times.  And, since there are plenty of quiet spaces we had no trouble finding ways to just relax and listen to the sounds of the ship cutting through the water.  

The Liberty has Carnival’s new American Table Menu which we really enjoyed.  It has lots of new selections as well as many of the old-time favorites.  What we liked most was the port-specific selections which offer foods that are typical for the post just visited.  This had the effect of extending our stay on the island and we love that!

All too soon our cruise ended and we took the Road Runner Shuttle back to Orlando.  We spent several hours in the United lounge before flying back to Chicago. Our flight was delayed several times but we didn’t mind too much as we had free drinks and food.  From there we drove home to 11 inches of newly fallen snow. We are already ready to escape again!

Travel Tips

We get a lot of questions on traveling so I decided to add this new section to the blog to share a few of our tips and experiences.

Free airfare: We both flew free round trip to Orlando.  We found a promotion where you sign up for a United Airlines Credit card and you get enough miles for a free ticket.  We both got cards, charged the minimum and got the tickets.  We paid off the charges immediately so we didn’t pay any interest.  As a bonus, we both got free passes to the United Lounge which really paid off as we had a multi-hour wait at Orlando.  Free drinks and food all day!

Sleep and Park: We bought a package deal at the Elk Grove Quality Inn and Suites.  The deal included a shuttle to and from the airport plus free parking for nine days.  Essentially, we stayed for free (instead of paying for parking at the airport) plus they shoveled out our car and cleaned the windows before we got back.  Also note, this is a Choice Hotel and they have a promotion right now for a free night’s stay after two nights.  We’ll get the second night in March.

Medical Issues: On Grand Turk I stepped on a rusty nail sticking up from the deck.  (Okay, two tips here: get your shots and don’t go barefoot!)  We quickly reviewed my tetanus shot history and breathed a big sigh of relief as it’s been less than 5 years since my last shot.  When you plan your cruise you aren’t thinking about medical issues, but you need to think about what will happen if you have problems on a trip.  Carnival offers medical insurance that’s worth considering.

Thrifty Rental Cars: We had prebooked a rental car at Thrifty for our trip to the Space Center.  However, when we got there they reneged on the deal.  I surmise that they could rent the car for more to Daytona 500 visitors.  Lesson learned: I won't be booking with Thrifty again.

Booking Flights: I just learned about Google Flights.  This is an amazing tool to help you find bargains: Google Flights from Huffington Post

The Points Guy:  As always, if you’re looking for ways to maximize your frequent flyer miles we highly recommend you follow The Points Guy: http://thepointsguy.com  He also has tips on the best credit cards for travelers, ways to maximize hotel points, etc. etc. etc. The Points Guy is just an awesome reference for any traveler!

January Cruising!

The Carnival Breeze

We always wonder why we don’t go somewhere in January when it’s cold; so this year we decided on a winter cruise.  We left home when it was minus one and headed south to warmth!

A few weeks ago we were talking to our friend Carolyn about her Bucket List item of watching a rocket blast off.  We loved that idea so we added it to our list. By a stroke of luck we happened to be in Florida when we heard that SpaceX’s launch for their Falcon 9 rocket was delayed till Saturday morning.  We found a cheap hotel on Cocoa Beach and set our alarms for 3:30 in the morning.  The launch was scheduled for 4:47 AM with an immediate launch window…meaning that it would blast off exactly at 4:47 or not at all.

Our best pic.  Bad zoom and blinded
by the light.  (Sounds like a song!)

We found a vantage point across the bay from the blast site and pulled our car onto the shoulder.  We were there with a few hundred others who, like us, were standing in the dark looking at a bright light across the way.  Some of our compatriots had NASA’s broadcast on so we could hear the launch technicians talking and could monitor the countdown.  Finally, it got to 10, 9, 8…..lift off!  Suddenly, a new sun emerged and we could clearly see the launch platform and the rocket.  It didn’t seem to be moving at all, but then started to lift lift lift!  It seemed to start slowly and then it gained momentum and shot into the sky.  Shortly thereafter came the thrum of sound almost pulsating through us, like nothing we’ve heard before.  We watched it for a least two minutes before it finally disappeared.  At that point, everyone, including us, began to clap and cheer.  IT. WAS. AWESOME!  It’s still a thrill just to think about it!

This was our view, but not our pic.  Our cameras were
blinded by the light.

Our home for the week was the Carnival Breeze.  This was the big ship that we first had seen in Grand Turks back in October.  The Breeze is one BIG ship.  While most of the other Carnival ships carry about 3200 passengers, this ship carries 4500 plus a crew of 1400. Big.  It weighs in at a mere 130,000 tons and has 14 decks and is 1004 feet long.  Did I already say it was big?  It’s big! Not only is it big, it’s beautiful.  The decor is light, airy and very tropical.  We love it!  And last but not least, it has Guy’s Burgers so for us it’s practically perfect in every way!

Mona and Friends Going Up the Falls.

Our first port on our cruise was Ocho Rios, Jamaica.  We were in Jamaica for a week about fifteen years ago and somehow we didn’t have time to visit Dunn’s River Falls.  This trip we’d fix that!  At the port we boarded a catamaran and sailed to the mouth of Dunn’s River.  There we met our guide, BBG…short for Big Belly Guide.  He and his cohort told us we’d be walking in a line holding hands up the falls.  Huh?  That sounded a little like overkill.  

The easy part of the falls

After a pep talk and everyone repeatedly shouting “Hot! Hot! Hot” at the top of their lungs we finally began.  You start at the bottom of the falls at about a 30 degree angle.  The water is rushing down the falls and you are walking on very slippery rocks with lots of holes.  Immediately, we’re glad we are holding hands in a line.  You need each of your adjacent hand-holders to help you stand!  

You slip and slide, slide and slip, slowly working your way up the natural steps of the cascade.  Neither of us fell but somehow we both got wet from head to toe!  We had gone about a tenth of a mile and finally, we were done!!! Whew!  But no, the river curved and the falls went up at about a 60 degree incline.  Up we went!  It took us at least 30 minutes to get up there, but we did it!  At the top was a sign saying we made it!  We high-fived and head back down to shore to party on the catamaran as it took us back to port.  Back in port we celebrated with jerk chicken and Red Stripe Beer…a fitting way to celebrate our conquest of the falls.

The Atrium of the Breeze

We loved cruising on the Breeze.  We even got to go on a behind-the-scenes tour of the ship.  We got to go into the bowels of the ship to visit the storerooms and freezers.  We also got to go to the galley where they prepare over 15,000 meals a day. Then up to the bridge to meet the captain and get our photos taken with him.  (I was told specifically not to touch anything.  Can’t figure why I was singled out.)  We went behind the stage to learn about costumes and set movements and then finally we went down to the front of the ship where the spare anchor is kept.  For geeks like us, it was the perfect tour!

Overall, this was a great cruise.  Three great ports: Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Georgetown, Grand Caymans; and finally Cozumel, Mexico.  We met new friends everywhere we went and we even ran into a couple of old friends on the ship.  The ship had four great shows and lots of other entertainment including outside movies at night.  We couldn’t get everything done, but we sure tried!

Gas Station Gators

All too soon it was time to head home.  We are working on finding a geocache in every Florida county and we already have all the “outline” counties so this trip we decided to drive up through the center of the state.  This is a part of Florida that most don’t see.  It’s Everglades, Indian reservations, sugar cane fields and orange groves for miles.  Lots of wildlife everywhere including two alligators that we saw while gassing up. (They weren't fenced in...I think they were attracted by the $1.73 gas!)

After driving across the Florida panhandle we decided to visit Baton Rouge.  We spent a night there and headed to Memphis to see the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.  Our visit coincided with the MLK holiday and the 50th anniversary of the

Civil Rights Bill so there was a lot going on at the “hotel”, including lots of gospel singing and food stands everywhere. I put hotel in quotes because the National Civil Rights Museum has been built to envelop the hotel.  The lines were as far as the eye could see and too long for us to go into the Museum so we’ll have to go back for that.  

Just seeing the balcony was a very emotional experience.  I remember the day Dr. King was shot and I’ve seen that balcony in hundreds of news reports and documentaries.  Standing there you wonder at how much more Dr. King could have done for the country had he lived.  You’re also struck with how much he accomplished in just 39 years of life.  What an amazing man who was taken from us all too soon.  (Note: We saw “Selma” our first night back home.  It’s a great movie that gives insight into Dr. King and the horrible conditions in the South in the 60s.  Seeing this movie was a great complement to our Lorraine Hotel visit.)

We ended our trip the right way….with red beans and rice, étouffée and a Po Boy on Beale Street.  It’s hard to beat Memphis food…unless you're in Louisiana of course!

Now we’re home.  Our bags are unpacked, we’re doing laundry; and of course, we’re making plans for the next trip!

Remembering the Warm Tropical Nights!

P.S.  We highly recommend traveling to somewhere warm in January.  The only problem is it's so damn cold coming home!

New York New Year's

Let’s get this over with quickly, shall we?  No, we did not see the ball drop on Times Square.  There, I’ve said it!  Now let’s move on.  No, you say….you want to know why not?  Okay, here’s the scoop.  Long ago, when we first created this Bucket List item it was indeed titled “Watch the Ball Drop in Times Square”.  However, as we got into the detailed planning for the trip we found that it’s simply not that simple.  

Roll back to last September/October.  Mona was absorbed with something on her computer when she finally leaned over and said, “Hey, do you know all the details about watching the ball drop in Times Square?”  “Duh, just show up late evening and watch!”, says I (on the inside).  “No, darling.  Pray tell what are the details?”,  (on the outside).

Come to find out….and this is no joke…

   You need to claim your standing spot around 3 in the afternoon

   No backpacks, etc

   No access to restaurants

   Any food/drink you want over the next 9 hours must be in your pockets

   No access to restrooms….you leave to "go" and you can’t come back in.

   You will have barely enough room to stand; be prepared for your feet to be stepped on

   It’s freaking cold so wear many layers

   And did I say it before....nine hours without restrooms!

Well, between the four of us (Monte and Aleta went with us) our average age is about 65 and let me tell you there was no way we were going to Stand. Outside. In the Cold. For Nine Hours. With No Hot Food.  AND NO FREAKING RESTROOMS!  In no time at all the Bucket List Item was revised to say, “Spend New Years in New York City.”  Whew!  (BTW: We did talk to people who did stand out there all day and they started to give us details about Depends and whatnot….TMI!)

Caught a limo at LaGuardia

Our next tactic was to make reservations where we could watch the ball drop from inside.  Most were already booked, but we did find one nice little spot for $800 per person.  One problem, you didn’t get a chair for that $800.  Not!  Finally, after hours of searching; we found the perfect spot.  Window view of the drop.  Food and beverages.  Restrooms!  Chairs!!!  Only $15,000...

We settled on the Bourbon Street Bar/Times Square.  It’s about a block from Times Square. It was reasonably priced for NYC (aka “outrageous” by mid-West standards).  It came with food and adult beverages.  And Chairs.  And Restrooms!  We went there and had a blast.  (Note: Here’s a big shout out to my peeps, Monte, Aleta and Mona, for chaperoning me home.  Nuff said.)

Back to the rest of the trip!

Can you see Buddy?

We had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it.  We jumped out of our limo.  Checked in. And then hit the streets!  First up was Rockefeller Center…This was my first time seeing it decorated for the holidays and I felt like a Valley Girl when I first saw it, “Oh my ga-odd! Awesome!”  I actually think I saw Buddy and Jovie skating!

Times Square & Friends

Then it was Radio City Music Hall, then Avenue of the Americas, and finally Times Square.  There we linked up with about 500,000 of our closest friends from all over the world.  Literally.  It was packed with people and you seldom heard English.  It was wild and this was the only the 30th!  We made it all the way down Broadway to the Armed Forces Recruiting Center and got to see ourselves on the Jumbo Tron.  Enough decorations and lights for the night…time for a beverage and bed!!!

Day 2 had a lot on the agenda so we hit a diner for breakfast and off we went.  Central Park was first up.  We took a carriage ride (No, the horse didn’t have issues like the one in Seinfeld.) through the park and the driver told us all about the sights and history we were seeing.  His Irish accent reminded Mona of Greg from Mosaic so it took a wee bit of time to get her away from there!

1 of many Saks 5th Avenue windows

Then it was window shopping on 5th Avenue.  Incredible.  Amazing.  Fantastic.  I just don’t have enough superlative adjectives to describe the window displays in the swanky/deluxe stores along 5th Avenue!  I’ve never seen anything like it!  And these weren’t just little trains and villages, no no no.  Some of these were full sized fairy tales come to life with haute couture clothes and Harry Winston jewels.  I may have to go back to New York on another holiday weekend just to see more of these incredible window displays!

It was time for lunch so we grabbed a cab and head down through the Bowery to land at Katz’s deli.  We were all hungering for a pastrami on rye.  Monte and I headed to the counter to order and Mona and Aleta went on an all-points search for a table.  I’m not sure who had the easier job because both were circus events!  In the end, I think Monte and I got luckiest because we enlisted a local to help us

The "line" at Katz Deli counter

through the protocol and we got free samples!  The sandwiches were only $19.75 and were huge so each “team” split one.  There was no pastrami left over whatsoever!  And sorrowfully, Sally wasn't there to give her rendition of the big "O".

Time to walk off lunch.  Another cab, this time with Washington Square Park as our destination to begin our walk.  If you’ve ever watched “Friends” you’ve seen this park as it’s where the fountain is.  Frankly, if you’ve watched much TV or many movies you’ve probably seen this park lots of times.  The fountain and the arch here are iconic.  We watched a guy playing his grand piano in the park then headed south.  After a few blocks we got cold and ducked into a little Greenwich Village bar for a

I guess it's normal to play your baby grand in the park;
after all, it's Greenwich Village!

warm-up drink.  Oddly all the warm-up drinks were cold, but they did the trick!

We continued our trek south through SoHo, then Tribeca and IT. WAS. COLD!  (Note: Did you know that SoHo stands for SOuth of HOuston?  And Houston is pronounced Huston?  Also, Tribeca is short for TRIangle BElow CAnal Street?  Trivia fans, you're welcome!)  Oops, got distracted.  It was cold walking those streets but it was also cool to be walking through neighborhoods that we’ve heard about all our lives.

This is the North Building Memorial

We ended up at One World Trade where the new 1776 foot tall building dominates the sky.  There is still a lot of work going on around here, but it’s still incredible to see what has regrown from the ashes of 911.  We then walked around to the south side of the new building.  There, we found the 911 Memorial where the foot prints of the twin towers are encased in water falls in tribute to the 2606 people who died here. There is much more to see here and we need to come back.

A cab ride back to our Midtown hotel and then Mona and I decided to walk back to Rockefeller Center.  We just wanted to feel more of the child-like awe of the lights and decorations.  We also stumbled upon a light and sound show at Saks Fifth Avenue where they use the entire building for the show.  A-MA-ZING.

Happy New Year!

At long last it was time to party for New Year’s Eve!  Yet another cab ride, this time to the Bourbon Street Bar/Times Sqaure.  There we did pretty much what people all over the world did to celebrate: dance, laugh, eat and drink…and use those nice warm restrooms!

We started New Year’s Day the traditional way, with a visit to an Irish Pub!  Aye, an Irish Pub that serves breakfast only on New Year’s Day.  Me, I had the “Full Irish Breakfast” with bangers and mash, blood sausages, beans, eggs and god knows what else!  Breakfast provided fuel for Aleta and I to visit the Empire State Building where we also got a simulated helicopter ride above and below New York (you had to be there) as well as a ride to the 86th floor observatory.  High winds and cold temperatures kept our outside viewing to a minimum, but we managed to see it all!

Our evening started with another stroll with a few of our friends in Times Square.  Then to Sardi’s for dinner.  It was fun looking at the caricatures trying to figure out who they were; while at the same time scanning the rest of the patrons to try to spot real-live celebrities.  Monte was pretty much convinced that Jackie Mason was at the table across the aisle.  Yeh, right.  After dinner Monte walked up to the guy and asked…and yep it was Jackie Mason.  Cool!

Even Mona could see from here!

Next door to Sardi’s is the Helen Hayes theater where we saw “Rock of Ages.”  Mona’s favorite American Idol, Constantine Maroulis, opened this show in 2009 and was nominated for a Tony, but then went on to other roles.  Much to our surprise, Constantine was there that night, back in the lead role as Drew!  He can really belt out those songs!

Rock of Ages rocked!  It’s an awesome production with lots of high-energy classic rock music that makes you want to sing along.  It’s also full of laughs especially from the character Franz played by Frankie Grande, whose friend was our waitress at Bourbon Street the night before.  This is a show I’d love to see again!

Here's a few more random pics of Times Square...there's just no way for a picture to transmit the size, sound, smell and energy of this unique spot of the world.  You just need to go!

All too soon our New York City New Year’s had to come to an end.  The four of us did a pretty good job of covering Manhattan from Central Park south to the Battery.  But of course, there is much much more to see in New York so we’ll have to go back again…hopefully, soon!  For now, it’s time to do our laundry and start planning the next trip!

Our Bucket List Ski Trip

I’ve long been a cross-country skier but have never gone downhill skiing because of my knee problems.  However, downhill skiing somehow landed on our bucket list so we had to try it!  A skiing trip was different than all our others so it took some significant preparation: particularly shopping for cold-weather clothing.  Between MCI Sporting Goods and Farm & Fleet we were able to pick up everything we needed.  BTW: Farm & Fleet has a much better selection and their prices are half what you pay at MCI.  That means all of my gear came from Farm & Fleet and Mona’s came from MCI.

We started our western expedition much like Lewis and Clark did; by starting in St. Louis.  We visited a few of our old haunts, touched base with some friends and ran into Mona’s niece, Taffy.   It’s a great way to start a trip! Note: Several people have asked if we saw any of the destruction caused by the riots.  No, we didn’t.  We drove all around downtown; out to Clayton; through Central West End, and then to and from the airport.  All was normal.  We didn’t drive through Ferguson itself but ended up driving all the way around it.  Also, we felt safe as normal walking the downtown streets.

A few of the lights in Frisco

We arrived in Denver and were met with 57 degrees of warm sunshine.  It wasn’t looking good for skiing, but we continued on our westward trek anyway. We caught our pre-arranged shuttle and settled in for the two hour drive to Breckenridge.  It’s a beautiful drive on I70 through the Rockies and you get to see great mountain scenery; some incredible highway engineering and you go through the Eisenhower Tunnel.  This tunnel is the world’s highest automotive tunnel at over 11,000 feet and is located on the Continental Divide.  

As we approached Breckenridge we started seeing snow…about two feet of snow.  About ten days earlier they had received 94 inches of snow in three days.  Since then the weather has been above freezing every day and it melted down to 29 inches on the ground.  We were relieved because it meant we would get to ski!

The View From Our Room

We stayed at Grand Timber Lodge which is at the base of Peak 7 and only about a thousand feet from the ski lift.  It’s a beautiful lodge with lots of indoor and outdoor gas fire pits as well as indoor and outdoor jacuzzis and pools.  (I loved being able to start my swim inside and to swim through an opening to the outside pool and into the crisp night air!)  The lodge is nestled into a pine woods and there’s lots of wildlife around.  In fact, we opened the door to go outside on our first night and came face to face with a beautiful fox!  He was the largest fox we’ve ever seen and he had a beautiful red bushy tail.  We were about ten feet from him and he wasn’t the least bit disturbed.  We were too dumbfounded to take pictures.  Later we found out that he’s the “resident fox” and his name is Pancakes!

Our friends, Paul and Ali, came from Denver to take us to dinner the first night.  They drove us to Frisco where we enjoyed a great meal and got to see the town’s beautiful lighting displays.  The huge pine trees were decorated with lights and they had what looked like fireworks shooting down through the trees.  We’ve never seen anything like it!

Monday morning was our ski day.  We had reserved our ski equipment there at the lodge and had arranged for all-day lessons at the Beaver Run Resort, just 1000 feet away.  All was set!  We grabbed a quick breakfast and headed to the ski shop.  That’s where our troubles began.

Neither of us had ever worn ski boots before and we got quite the education.  First off, they have to fit tightly….really damn tightly!!!  After some struggling Mona got hers on.  However, I couldn’t get my feet into mine due to high arches and last year’s foot surgery.  The ski dude insisted they would fit and I insisted they wouldn’t.  After ten minutes of painful trying the ski dude relented and gave me a larger size.  Finally, I got my feet into the larger boots but even then I was in pain.  Nonetheless, we were in skis and we headed out to the slope!

Me Skiing!

Not so fast!  First we had to get on the ski trail and it was about 20 feet lower than the ski shop.  Since we didn’t know how to ski we had to figure out how to get down that slope.  I was carrying the skis (which are freaking heavy!) and Mona had the poles.  Neither of us fell, but it took us at least 15 minutes to go down that 20 feet.  Then we had about 500 feet of snow-packed trail to go on.  We walked it, neither of us thinking to put the skis on.  DUH!  Finally we got to the sidewalk for the final 500 feet.  That was even worse than the snow because of the awkward way you have to walk in ski boots and because of the ice patches.

Mona Skiing!

Finally, after about a half hour of painful struggles, we were at the ski instruction area.  We were both exhausted and frankly we were ready to quit.  But, we had come this far; we had already paid $300 for our lessons, AND it was a bucket-list item so we were determined to trudge onward.  However, we were so tired that a nice young lady took pity on us and carried our skis to the training area.  (Humiliating!)

No ski boots and loving the fire!

At last we got our skis on and we began our lessons: forming our vees, leaning forward, pushing off, etc. etc. etc.  We also had a little “carpet-lift” which we would ride up the hill a little ways and then ski back down.  Up and down; up and down; up and down.  It was fun, but exhausting and still quite painful for me.  After about 2 1/2 hours Mona said she had had enough and would just watch me from then on.  I was so relieved because I wanted to quit, too!  I was in severe pain by then and it felt as though I had rebroken my toes!   (Surprisingly neither of my bad knees hurt, but my ankles and toes hurt for days later.)

We struggled to the ski instruction office and let them know that we were dropouts.  They took pity on us and gave us a complete refund!  So, the downside was pain, but the upside was that we got to ski for 2 1/2 hours for free and we could cross downhill skiing off our list!  We called the Lodge shuttle and they came to haul us and our equipment back that 1000 feet to Grand Timber.  One of the best feelings I have EVER had was taking off those ski boots.  OMG….I could have cried with relief!

Angels Hollow

We spent the rest of the day exploring Breckenridge.  It’s filled with lots of speciality shops, restaurants and even a marijuana shop right on Main Street.  We really enjoyed the town and found a new favorite restaurant called Angel’s Hollow.  It’s a biker bar/restaurant with a CIA-trained chef and it specializes in New Mexican food.  They have Blue Coyote-worthy margaritas and their chili rellenos are the best I’ve ever had, bar none!  We ended up our day in the jacuzzi and the pools.  That’s the best way to ease the pain of ski boots!

Barney, Bess and Mona

Tuesday’s feature event was riding in a horse-drawn open sleigh.  The stables picked us up at the lodge and drove us about twenty minutes away to where our sleigh awaited.  There we met Bess and Barney; the two Belgians who would pull us through the snow.  They were properly festooned with sleigh bells which truly jingled all the way!  We loved the sleigh ride and Mona said that she didn’t realize it, but a sleigh ride was actually a bucket list item for her!  We rode in the sleigh for almost an hour and finished the ride with hot chocolate and Jameson’s by the fireplace.  We highly recommend a sleigh ride through the white and drifting snow!

Hat Shopping in Breck

As many of you know, Mona hates snow and cold.  But even she loved this trip.  We were never cold and the beauty of the snow-covered mountains is captivating.  It’s picture perfect!  However, in addition to the ski-boot pain I must forewarn you about another issue: breathing.  Breckenridge is at 9600 feet above sea level.  Decatur is about 600 feet.  That 9000 foot difference is very hard on the lungs.  We found ourselves panting quite a bit whenever we did anything difficult…like taking a step or sitting down.  It was truly tough!  We were very glad to get down to the low level Denver (5200 feet) and breath deeply again!!!

We both loved the trip and we’re talking about going back.  We love the mountains and we love the wildlife; we saw fox, elk and bighorn sheep.  However, we won’t be skiing again….hmmm….but maybe we’ll try snowboarding!!!