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| Rick's house in Bayfield, Colorado |
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| Nadal Stretching for a Win |
SUNDAY - 08/29/2010 - We've had a couple of days of windy and "cooling" weather. It has even been getting down to the upper 60's and lower 70's in the early mornings. It was so windy at the pool this morning that we finally had to come in after an hour or so. I made a light lunch of cheese, crackers, sliced apple, and hard salami and cucumber slices. We ate lunch over Taxi Driver, an early, 1976 Martin Scorsese movie staring Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster. Neither of us had ever seen it and thought it was a typical Scorsese movie, a little "dark", yet very good. The rest of the afternoon I worked on computer stuff and photo projects while Connie read. In the early evening we had dinner reservations at Primarily Prime, a prime-rib restaurant at the SouthPoint Casino. We had a great meal and ended up bringing home leftovers plus two pieces of triple-chocolate cake. With a 2-1 coupon plus two coupons for two-free desserts, the whole meal only cost us $16 plus tip. Such a deal! After we got home we had a nice long talk with my brother in Tahoe. He said it was only 42 degrees and that they had actually predicted snow at the upper levels. We then started to watch the Emmy's, however turned it off early because neither of us thought it was as good as previous years. 
THURSDAY - 08/26/2010 - After some reading at the pool, we went to GVR where we enjoyed a 2-1 lunch buffet. We then headed over to the "M" for a short time before doing some grocery shopping and coming home.
WEDNESDAY - 08/25/2010 - After writing a movie review, updating my blog and reviewing emails, we showered and headed to Mimi's Cafe, one of our favorite restaurants for breakfast. Naturally I had a 2-1 coupon that they sent me in an email. We both had the Asparagus Brie Quiche with bacon and diced tomatoes served with a side of fresh fruit along with their famous Carrot Raisin Nutloaf. Delicious. Afterward we went to Smith's to do some grocery shopping.
TUESDAY - 08/24/2010 - After a light breakfast of English muffins and cantaloupe we headed to the spa and pool. Spent three hours reading and talking with our neighbors. We then went up the street to GVR and enjoyed a 2-1 buffet lunch. After lunch we headed to the South Point Casino to see the movie, Eat, Pray, Love with Julia Roberts. Click the title to see our review. We both played a little before the movie. I won enough to pay for the day's expenses; Connie broke even. Upon returning home I played on the computer while Connie read. We then watched a couple of TV show and America's Got Talent before calling it a night.
MONDAY - 08/23/2010 - We actually slept in late (7:30) for the first time in ages. Had cereal and strawberries for breakfast. It was in the mid 80's with a breeze, so we headed to the pool before it got up to the predicted 104. After showering, we stopped at the bank and library. The library was having a book sale and we picked up 11 books for $2. Such a deal. We then headed to the "M" and had a 2-1 buffet lunch before sitting and playing. Connie lost $25, while I picked up $350 playing poker; more than covering my loses for the last two days. Still no luck with the jackpot. When we got home we had ice cream sundies for dinner and watched a couple of TV shows before heading to bed.
Dinner with the Campbells
SUNDAY - 08/22/2010 - Had the last of the cantaloupe for breakfast. I then spent most of today putting together a slide show of some pictures of family shots that I took on our visit to Rick's last week while Connie read and watched tennis on the TV. Click here to view ... Memories Are Forever. I also performed some needed updating and maintenance to several of my blogs. After lunch I headed over to the "M" Casino poker room again to see if I could get lucky and hit one of their $6,000 four-of-a-kind flops. After playing most of the afternoon, I came home, made dinner that we ate while watching Connie's San Francisco 49'ers beat the Minnesota Vikings in a pre-season football game. We then watched a movie and went to bed.
One of our stops included the Tusayan Ruins and Museum which exhibits outlining the development of the Anasazi culture at the Grand Canyon. After leaving the Grand Canyon we stopped at the Road Kill Steakhouse Route 66 Cafe in Seligman, Arizona. Founded in 1895, Seligman, Arizona is a Route 66 town all the way. A drive down Route 66 in Seligman retains all the flavor of the old road and is a trip back in time to the days when Route 66 was the Main Street of America. Our last stop on the way home was at our favorite diner, Mr. D's Route 66 Diner in Kingman, Arizona. We both had one of their famous thick milkshakes to "whet out whistles" for the last leg of our journey home. Stopped at Smith's and picked up some groceries and went home and unpacked. Made turkey sandwiches for dinner and watched a few shows before retiring for the evening after a very long day.
SATURDAY - 08/14/2010 - After a leisurely morning and breakfast with Rick, Belen, Marisa and Cayden we began our journey home. Upon leaving their mountain retreat we rounded a corner and were presented with a field of wild turkeys. After stopping for a brief lunch in Kayenta, we decided to once again travel to Monument Valley for a few more pictures. The vistas here are just enthralling and by traveling further north, we were able to see a lot of views that we hadn't got to see on our previous trip.
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From here we drove to the Cameron Trading Post. This was without a doubt one of the nicest places we have stayed anywhere since moving out West. Established in 1916, the Cameron Indian Trading Post is a showplace for fine Native American art and Southwest art. 
Unique Native American Indian decor is evidenced everywhere, including the rooms. They have a gallery that houses some of the finest Native American Indian art in the Southwest, both contemporary and antique Indian art. They have an excellent gift shop offering a wide selection of Southwest art, Native American art, and Southwestern decor. 
The restaurant boasts antique furnishings, a huge fire place, and a beautiful pressed tin ceiling. The walls were covered with beautiful Native American Southwest art and fine woven Indian rugs, Fine woven baskets and pottery. We both enjoyed the fresh baked trout for dinner while taking in the view of the Little Colorado River Gorge outside the windows. 
FRIDAY - 08/13/2010 - After breakfast and seeing Marisa off to work, we all hopped into Rick's new Truck and headed for Silverton, Colorado. This little town, secluded at 9,318 feet in the Colorado mountains is a superbly charming old silver mining town that has been preserved back to its glory days. As a side note, Silverton was the setting for some of Shaun White's 2010 Olympic training. Taking advantage of the secluded locale, terrain and snow fall, Red Bull built a private halfpipe for the snowboarder. Known as "Project X," the halfpipe was completed in Feb. 2009 on the backside of Silverton Mountain and allowed the boarder to perfect some of his gold medal winning moves far from prying eyes. The ride over and back was absolutely breath-taking.
On the way over we stopped at Honeyville, a small gift shop and honey producing operation that was quite interesting. After a hour and a half picture taking stroll through the entire town, we stopped at the Brown Bear Cafe for lunch, where we all enjoyed barbecued brisket sandwiches with a 15-bean soup. Both were very good. On the way home we stopped at a beautiful little cattle ranch that produced organic cheeses and meats. Before dinner we watch about a half dozen deer roam back and forth thru their property. Belen made a delicious chicken lasagna for dinner. For dessert we finished the rest of Marisa"s ice cream birthday cake. It was a lovely evening.
THURSDAY - 08/12/2010 - After a huge breakfast, and seeing Marisa off to work, we got into Rick's truck and headed to Durango. Rick took all of the dirt back roads through the mountains to show us some of their local scenery. We saw some beautiful countryside, filled with an abundance of barns, dairy and horse farms and some of the most beautiful country homes you have ever seen. When we hit Durango we stopped to pick up an ice cream birthday cake for Marisa and then made a brief stop at Walmart for some "drugs" for Connie.
When we returned home we had a nice lunch on the back deck. We the popped open some wine and sat around and talking about family, past memories, and retirement. After Marisa came home from work and we finished dinner, we sat around the living room talking and playing with Cayden. Then Marisa opened her birthday gifts and we had ice cream cake for dessert before retiring for the evening.
WEDNESDAY - 08/11/2010 - After we packed the car, we headed to the motel restaurant for what we thought was a free continental breakfast. Wrong! You had to pay for the buffet. So instead of eating there we went over to the free continental breakfast at the Days Inn, where we had stayed last year. As they have make-your-own waffles, along with other goodies, it was as good as we remembered from last year. Our next stop was at the Four Corners Monument, where Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado intersect. We actually found a couple of t-shirts we liked and I found a silver eagle necklace.
We attempted to go to Mesa Verde National Park, but the approaching weather was so bad that we aborted and decided to save it for another trip. Our final stop for the day was around mid-afternoon at Rick and Belen's, at their new home 7,300 feet up in the mountains of Bayfield, Colorado. After a tour of their lovely home, Belen prepared some snacks for a late lunch that we consumed while sitting out on one of their beautiful decks staring into the woods, watching and listening to all the birds. We then opened a couple of bottles of wine and after several hours of talking and catching up, we hid the car and surprised Marisa when she came home from work by singing a early "happy birthday" greeting. Belen mad a delicious Italian dinner, after which we all sat around the living room reminiscing before retiring to our "suite" for the evening. We had the entire downstairs, with a full bedroom, private bathroom, computer, huge projection TV that was part of the family room.
TUESDAY - 08/10/2010 - We got an early (6:15am) start for our trip to Bayfield, Colorado to visit Connie's Brother and family. We arrived at the Arboretum at Flagstaff around 10:30 and signed up for the 11:00am tour. It was quite a beautiful place loaded with some exquisite flowers. Connie was able to ride in a golf cart. After a tour of the grounds and gardens, we sat for a live raptor show that had hawks, falcons, and owls in dramatic free-flight presentations. It was a really interesting and informative show.
MONDAY - 08/09/10 - Interesting date as Connie noted while filing out something. After Connie had her morning "in-room" coffee, we headed to the pool and spa. The whirlpool really felt good. After showering and checking out we headed to the "M" for two free buffet breakfasts. When we got home we immediately started packing for our trip to see Connie's brother and family in Bayfield, Colorado. The maintenance person for the complex showed up and fixed some things requiring attention in both bathrooms. Finally exhausted after lugging everything to the car, we sat down and I updated some stuff on the computer while Connie read, before making dinner. We ate dinner, watched some shows on TV and went to bed. We have to be up and out by 6:00 am to make it to our first stop in Flagstaff tomorrow.
SUNDAY - 08/08/09 - Packed out bags and headed out for a free nights stay at the South Point Casino. On the way we stopped at the "M" to pick up a free gift bottle of wine. While Connie was getting the wine I picked up a quick $60 at the poker tables. After checking into our spacious room at the South Point, I headed to the poker room while Connie played $15 in free slot play. By dinner time Connie had hit $80 on the slots, getting back the money she lost at the "M". I got a $16 comp at the poker room and we headed to the Coronado Cafe for some Chinese food. A friend I had been playing poker with at "M" said it was very good. We started off with the Tempura Shrimp, four large shrimp, butterflied, lightly battered and cooked to perfection. Connie ordered the Port Egg Foo Yong with gravy, which was light and fluffy and tasted delicious. I ordered the General Tao's Chicken. Unlike some places, the meat was all white meat chicken and very tender, with just the right amount of "zing". Both meals came with fried rice and an egg roll. It was without a doubt the best Chinese meal we've had since coming to Vegas. We then went back and watched a concert of Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, "Live in Tuscany" on the 44" LCD TV in our room while waiting for the time to pass before the comedy show we were going to later in the evening. It was outstanding. We then headed to the theater to see a comedy show headlining "Dante". The two warm up comedians were just so-so and even thought he ended strong, Dante was a little disappointing. It was then a drink and up to bed.
SATURDAY - 08/07/2010 - After some house cleaning and packing for our upcoming trips, I made a salad for lunch that we ate over a TV show. We then showered and headed to the "M" for some play. I broke even, Connie lost what she had won yesterday. Later we went out to dinner to a Peruvian restaurant, Mi Peru, with our downstairs neighbors.
WEDNESDAY - 08/04/2010 - Connie read while I played on the computer. Then she decided to color her hair and do laundry. I went to the pool and talked with three of our neighbors. I made "turkey wraps" again for lunch which we ate over a couple of American Idol shows. In the afternoon I worked on backing up files on my computer while Connie read. We then grabbed some wine and headed to one of our neighbors to celebrate her birthday and watch a Netflix movie: The Lovely Bones. Click the title for our review.
MONDAY - 08/02/2010 - After breakfast we headed to Walmart to buy groceries. We also needed some bed sheets. Yikes! $70 for a set of new sheets. After returning home and putting everything away, I headed out to the pool for a "dip" to cool down. Connie had free slot play at three different casinos, so off we went. On the way home we went to Gaetano's Ristorante, an Italian restaurant that some of our neighbors had recommended. What a meal! It was without a doubt the best Italian restaurant we've been to since coming to town. Check out our review here ... Gaetano's
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