Back from Vegas

We just got back from a 4-day road trip to Vegas. A wonderful winter break. Stayed in Excalibur and one day drove 3 hours to Zion National Park in Utah where we hiked two different easy trails and ate Subway sandwiches for lunch under the beautiful sunny blue sky. We went crazy photographing the incredible red rocks. Another day we went to revisit one of our favorite places in the world, Valley of Fire State Park, where we went crazy with shooting everything in sight again. One day we hoped to get back there early and go hiking, to trails we never been.

Dining wise we were not planning on getting on any buffets. After driving 9 hours from home on the first day, our dinner consisted of Baja Fresh burito and salad. On the second day, I had reservation to a Brazilian churrascaria called Pampas located inside the Miracle Mile Mall at Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino. I was able to snag a deal from Travelzoo so that was good. On our third night we had dinner and a show at Excalibur's Tournament of Kings. A very good show, okay food. We were good with eating. We didn't go crazy with spending for dinner. We even got a breakfast buffet and the dinner and a show in exchange for sitting on a timeshare presentation. Haha, I know. We are curious about what's out there so we sign up. The freebies are not bad either.

All in all we had a good time. The long drive was both tiring and relaxing. On the drive to Vegas, I took the first shift and I probably drove 3.5 hours. We stopped for gas and subway somewhere in Tehachapi. Then hubs took over until we reached Vegas at about 7 pm.

On the drive back, he took the first shift of driving per my request. I find the city driving layout complex especially when trying to find the freeway exit. Good thing he took the first shift out of Vegas because it was extremely windy and blustery. The little compact that we were driving was unstable. I nearly got carsick, which I never do, ever.

All through the California desert area, the wind was blowing like crazy. There was dust spiraling in the distance, tumbleweeds dance from one side of the road to the other, but the passing scenery was truly relaxing for both of us. We had the radio on alternately on PBS, on a pop station (always trying to find a Pink tune) and on classical station.

So the first vacation of the year is done and over with. We usually do a little overnighter around our anniversary (May) so that's one thing to look forward to. Until then, it's back to the salt mines for the both of us.

Oh we pray for rain. And snow in the Sierras. We badly need precipitation here in California. The gov't is already talking about mandatory water cuts and hopefully it won't get so bad that the water need to be rationed in the summer time.

This and That

It has been a busy few days. And I don't mean physically busy. I don't mean application of elbow grease. Just busy. Things around me are busy.

This weekend my aunt from Texas passed on. I found out on facebook. My relationship with that part of my family is sustained by facebook. It's sad I know but before facebook we hardly had any relationship at all. So yes, facebook made it better to communicate with relatives. When I told my mother, she said, "Oh no, we can't go right? Apparently all day Sunday her mind was filled with thoughts of this aunt and her husband, my uncle, my dad's younger brother. I think the spirit of my aunt was visiting my mom.

The news about possible turkey shortage spurred the hubs and I to run to the grocery store yesterday and grab a turkey before they run out. Funny I know. But it's better safe than sorry. The fact that we only have turkey once a year on Turkey Day makes the availability of the fowl on our table on that day much more important. I remember one year for Thanksgiving as we were shopping for turkey we saw a lot of goose. Every grocery store carried so many frozen goose that year. Since we were having turkey for thanksgiving we decided that we'd have goose for New Year's instead, ham was for Christmas. And so when we got back to the grocery stores after Christmas for goose, there were no more goose to be found. We drove around for goose but no goose. Since then, we vowed to buy something when we find it just to be on the safe side. However, we never attempted to serve goose after that failure.

There is another park in Pinole! I mean a park that I like to walk and bbq at. It's mind boggling how one can live in one place for decades and still find something new. I'll be back here bbqing in late spring through summer. It's a lovely spot and there's a walking trail that is perpendicular to the Pinole Creek. We weren't ready to walk the length of it but the trail from the park will definitely lead to the shopping center where there's Five Guys Burger and Jamba Juice, not to mention Chipotle and Peet's Coffee. Will take that walking trail another season.

I had a wonderful day yesterday. I made dinner plans for Tuesday with another couple, and the hubs and I went to dinner at friends' house. We got invited when the male friend mentioned he was making paella. His paella was excellent. He really has talent in the kitchen, I suppose that's why my hubs and him getting along so well. They both love to cook. I promised to have them for dinner someday (they've been to the house for 49ers watch party and bbq) where I'll have them sample Filipino cuisine.

I'm exerting immense patience by not putting up the Christmas tree before Thanksgiving. I think I'm going to fail, because I really want it up by next week. What do you think, early tree up okay?

Happy Father's Day

No celebration today. My dad has passed and my hubby is not a father yet. But the day is so pleasant that after church and after helping an elderly lady friend of ours we met up with friends of ours with their two kids for a little hike. We hiked here (photo taken rom another visit, a year ago)



In the photograph, the grass is still green, now it's all brown and we saw signs of controlled burn. We even hiked higher, farther, and longer than ever. It was really a nice alternative to just sitting in the couch watching Lifetime Television for Women.

No kidding right?

So the 6 of us went from one hill to another enjoying a clear day giving us all access view of Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco. What a nice day.

Then one time we went farther and knew we had to backtrack a bit because we went too far and our cars are like two hills away, hahahaha. But we didn't want to backtrack, because that's a long way. Instead there's a very steep short cut so we took it. I suck up my fear of heights, some of the trails are really narrow and one slip you'll tumble back down. We were high up there. I'm so thankful that my knees didn't wobble in fear. Well, it must have been the presence of 5-year-old boy J who made me summon some courage to finish the descent despite some scary patches in the trail.

We started at 4 pm, came down at 6 pm so that's a good two hours climbing. Then we decided to cool off a bit at the little beach nearby. It was 8 pm by the time we got home. A worthwhile Sunday it is.