Beautiful Colorado (Sunday, October 25th, 2015)

It's harder than we realized to stay in touch with everyone when we are away, but we've had fun catching up since we've been back.  My first big event (which I've missed out on last month) was coming home to bunco.  It was hosted at a good friends house, and was a Halloween theme.  We had a wonderful dinner, played a couple games of bunco, and of course everyone dressed for the occasion!  I was the underachiever since I had just returned to town, but luckily no one judged me too harshly.  Our group has been doing monthly bunco for eight years now.

Our whole group

Catherine Hepburn, Sonny and Cher and Edward Scissor Hands!!!

Bat Woman, The Devil and Edward again

Our youngest daughter's boy friend plays hockey and last night he had a game in the Denver area, so we (along with our oldest daughter) headed down there to watch his game against another local university. We got to see his parents and many of his grandparents as well while we were there.  It was a very close game, and really fun to watch, and his team ended up winning by one point.

This morning we headed up to Steve's parents cabin in mountains. They are going to close down the cabin for the winter, and we really wanted to help them.  The trip up was really fun.  Since it was a really nice morning, everyone was out enjoying the warmth.

A para-sail up for a morning ride

And a hot air balloon right by the highway

The first signs of winter are appearing in the mountains, but it's still warm in the city.

A grazing deer by the side of the road

The biggest job at the cabin was getting the water shut off and drained.  It's not hard, but just takes some time.  We took the time to write down the instructions, so that if anyone else ever needs to do it nothing will be forgotten.  We also flipped over the outdoor furniture, vacuumed and mopped, closed all the curtains, moved some furniture, and raked up pine needles.

What a great wheel barrow.  A little hard to push though!

Cleaning up pine needles

After all of the work was done, Steve's parents took us for a nice lunch at a little restaurant called the Sportsman.  It's only open four days a week for four-hours per day this time of year, but most of the tables were full, which was really nice to see.  It's hard for businesses in this part of the mountains to succeed through the winter months.  There just aren't many people up here.

Lunch Time!

And then on our way home, we stopped to see our youngest daughter.  We were pretty dirty and sweaty, so we didn't really want to do too much, so we just went over to the local park and hung out for awhile.  The trees were all very beautiful.

Typical kid, she got up easily, but couldn't figure out how to get back down

New York?

We're finding that our time in Colorado is always very busy.  Either I'm catching up on work, or we're catching up with friends, and family or we're once again tackling the never-ending yard work. No matter how much time we plan at home, we feel like we're hurrying through it.  But maybe that's just the nature of this retirement beast!

Girl Time and Band Competition (Saturday, October 17th, 2015)

We flew home this week so that we could spend our weekend with the girls for the CSU Parent and Family weekend.   Things have changed a lot since the last time we were home.  We are really starting to see some beautiful fall colors as the leaves are changing in Colorado.  This is a time of year that we truly love here, but it also reminds us of what is coming next.  Snow.... and this year, being an El Nino year, they are predicting a lot.

It doesn't get much prettier than this.  Beautiful summer roses, and fall sumac all at once

As we started trying to put the details for CSU Parents Weekend together, it was just not working well. We talked to our youngest daughter (who goes to CSU) and she just didn’t really seem like she was into parents weekend after all. She said that she enjoys it more when the campus is quieter, and we can just enjoy time as a family, so to make a long story short, instead of us going up to Fort Collins, she ended up coming home.

It is such a blessing to be able to talk through things, change our minds at the last minute, change our plans, and do something completely different than we had originally envisioned.  We love the willingness of our children to do this, and our ability to do this because of Steve being retired.

As Steve and I started talking to friends in town, we found out that there was a marching band competition this weekend for our girl’s former high school marching band. Our girls were both drum-majors at their high school, and we all have a great connection with all of the staff and many of the parents, so we all really enjoy going back to see everyone.  When we told the girls about the competition, they both got excited, and we all decided that it would be really fun to go and watch this year’s show. 

For those that aren't familiar with the marching band world, the bands start putting their shows together during the early summer, and then compete throughout the fall in an attempt to make it to the state finals in October.  So they are currently near the end of their season and their show should be polished and should be looking very good.

We all left the house at about 9:30 this morning and headed to Henderson, Colorado for the Prairie View Friendship Cup Marching Band Competition. The band was not there yet when we first arrived, so we just took our time and looked around. Shortly after that, the band trailers pulled in, and then the buses with the kids. None of the kids know our oldest daughter anymore, since she graduated 5+ years ago, but some of the kids still remember our youngest daughter, and both of our girls know all of the staff very well. 

We were all greeted with a very warm welcome by the staff and parents. We had a great time catching up with so many of them, and just reminiscing about our band years. They are all such welcoming people, and make us feel so at home, even though it has been several years since either of our kids went to that school. 

We enjoyed unloading the trailers and getting the equipment ready for the kids, and once the band started warming up, our girls both jumped right in, as if they had never left. They immediately started working on uniforms and polishing shoes, and just having a great time with the kids. They love both of the band directors and other staff and help them out in any way possible.

When the band headed toward the stadium to perform, our girls were right there with them, and went out into the stadium with the band (with lint rollers still in hand). We sat in the stands and watched their incredible show about the composer Aaron Copeland.  

A close up view of their prop, the composer in his house working on his latest composition.  Notice the details of the coat rack, desk and player piano.

The entire band, drum major on the podium, pit in front, band and color guard in the distance

Toward the end of the show, notice new banners coming from the composer's house, signifying his completed composition.

We sat with all of the other parents from our high school and cheered on the kids.  They did such a great job.  It makes us all so proud to see how this program continues to get better every year!

After the competition was over, the four of us went back to the car and ate a picnic lunch we had packed.  Our youngest daughter's boyfriend plays hockey for CSU, so we listened to his hockey game (in Michigan) which was being broadcast on the internet.  It was so relaxing and cool in the shade of the trees. After spending much of the fall in the Arizona heat it was nice to have the cooler temperatures. We then said goodbye to everyone, and headed out as they headed into their final performance of the day. It was such a nice day!

We went home for a few hours to relax, and then went to Bonefish Grill for dinner. It is a family favorite, since they have fairly healthy, great tasting options and great service to match. 

It is always so nice to get together with our girls. It was so much better than fighting the crowds at parents weekend, and just having a special day with the four of us. We also got to talk to our oldest daughter’s husband several times throughout the day, which made everything perfect!

Jet Ski Freestyle World Championships (Friday, October 9th, 2015)

We headed back to the World Jet Ski Finals today because we wanted to see some of the jumping and freestyle classes of riders. It was really hot today, but still definitely worth our time!  The freestyle classes are scored on many different criteria, including complexity of the routine, uniqueness of the stunts, number of consequtive stunts and overall entertainment value.  

This is during warm-ups, that's why you see two competitors at once

A back flip

A one-legged back flip, so cool!

Barrel role!

Another one legged back flip, quite different than the other competitor

You can see this guy spotting his landing

Steve and I were both very impressed with the freestyle riders.  We can't figure out how you try some of these stunts for the first time!! 

Cattail Cove State Park (Thursday, October 8th, 2015)

Today we took a break from the jet ski world championships, to spend some time just hanging out.  We loaded some coolers, chairs and towels into the truck, and headed down to Cattail Cove State Park. It is accessible from highway 95 about 15 miles south of Lake Havasu City, or from the lake, which is how we have always gone to this area in the past.

They have nice camping spots ($28 per night) with lots of big trees for shade, and a day use area as well for picnicking and swimming that are free if you have an Arizona State Parks Pass. 

The day use area, with a swim beach and picnic tables

A great boat ramp, and not busy at all

The camp ground with big shade trees (a must in Arizona)

 We packed ourselves a great little lunch, which we enjoyed at one of the picnic tables.

Our little picnic with Lake Havasu and California behind me

After lunch we decided to check out the hiking trails, and see where they went. 

The first thing we saw on our hike was a Road Runner, they are really shy birds and tough to get pictures of

And then of course, he immediately ran and hid

The rest of our hike was great, and lead us up a steep trail, to a point overlooking the lake.

Looking back toward Cattail Cove as we climbed

A beautiful boat going by probably in excess of 100 mph.

Check out the hiking attire, swimsuits and flip flops were all we had...it was hot out!

Looking north toward Lake Havasu City.  You can see our trail and the park off to the right

Our view from the top, looking north

View from the top looking south, if you look closely you can see the southern California Aquaduct coming from the lake (See Parker Dam post from September 19th, 2015), which supplies water to all of southern California

It was a really nice relaxing day at the park.  We enjoyed talking to the other visitors and hanging out in the really warm water for several hours after our hike.  It was so refreshing, considering that the temps are still in the low 100's!

Jet Ski World Championships (Wednesday, October 7th, 2015)

The World Jet Ski Championships are an exciting part of fall in Lake Havasu City. They are held at a resort called Crazy Horse on the island side of the London Bridge, for a full week every year. 

Competitors come in from all over the world to compete in many different classes. All the different classes are either with stand-up or sit-down skis.  In general terms the stand-up machines are smaller and lighter weight.  The sit-down machines are much larger and faster in the water.  

Admission to all of the events is free, but you have to park outside of the resort and walk in. They do run a shuttle for anyone who would prefer to ride from the parking area down to the beach. 

Exhibitors come from all over the world as well to demonstrate all of the latest and greatest technologies and products associated with the industry.  There are also plenty of food and drink vendors to keep your tummies full throughout the day.  They definitely aren't cheap but the food is good!

Steve drooling over all of the merchandise the vendors have to offer

And seeing what great new inventions there are

The starting line

And they're off, just their holders left behind!

The flag stand, and a great view of Lake Havasu City in the background

The view back toward the pit area

Spectators are free to roam through the pits and talk to the riders and crews, which gives a very personal feel to the races.  We met a very nice racer from Canada who talked about the rules and the complexities of the skis, and the physical shape the riders have to be in to be competitive, which makes sense since these are the best riders in the world.  He told us that he was coming off of an injury, but since he qualified for the finals he decided to ride.  He didn't expect to do well, but wanted to try.  He ended up coming in second to last in the race we watched that day.  It was really helpful having so much insight as we were watching the races.

This is not a comprehensive list, but some of the countries that we heard being announced for the races we watched this year were:

• Brazil
• Netherlands
• Qatar
• United Arab Emirates
• Good ole USA
• Argentina
• Canada
• China
• Japan
• Kuwait
• England/UK
• Germany

Many different states within the United States were also represented, they were from all over the country but there was definitely a large contingency of the Americans that were from the southwest part.

After the races were over for the day, we went up to the announcers booth to talk to them for a minute and see the view from their advantage.  They were very nice and enjoyed the fact that we had interacted with them and cheered on all of the riders all day.  

Fall is in the Air (Tuesday, October 6th, 2015)

As we left Colorado once again, fall was definitely in the air. Our garden was full of beautiful vegetables that had come on in the last few weeks, and we couldn't bear to leave them all behind, so we packed our selves a little care package.  We really weren't quite sure how to get the package
 through airport security, so we decided a checked bag would be our safest bet.  

We had a great flight from Colorado to Las Vegas, but the best part was seeing the progression of fall through the Colorado Rockies, and out into the desert.

The foothills of the Colorado Rockies, with their beautiful golden aspen trees

The snow capped mountains as we got further west

And Lake Meade as we approach Las Vegas

And when we finally made it to Arizona and unpacked our bag, we had this waiting for us after a 1,000 mile flight, not bad! 

Tomatoes and jalapeños from our garden in Colorado

We are looking forward to enjoying these delicious little treats during our desert stay!  It feels good to be back in Lake Havasu City!

Catching Up with Family (October, 3rd and 4th, 2015)

It's always good to be back in Colorado, although this time of year it's getting chilly already.  It was still in the low 100's when we left Lake Havasu City, and the highs here have been in the high 60's and low 70's and rainy.  

I have worked quite a bit since we've been back.  It's really nice having a job that can be done from multiple locations, especially now that Steve is retired.  And the best part...  he's becoming a really good house husband when I am working!

We've had a great time catching up with our oldest daughter.  She stays really busy with work and school, but always makes time for us when we're here, which we really appreciate!  I had a chance to help her make decorations for a bridal shower she is planning, and we've just spent a lot of time talking.  

And we also had a chance to get together with Steve's parents. Some friends of ours introduced us to Hendrick's Gin a few months ago, and we really liked it, so we took our oldest daughter out to dinner the other night, and then on our way home, we stopped by the liquor store and we picked up some Hendrick's, and our daughter grabber a six-pack of Not Your Father's Root Beer (hard root beer). We had our daughter call Steve's parents to see if they were home.  They said they were free, so we stopped by their house and made some Gin and Tonics and root beer floats.  It was a lot of fun to see them, and to have a fun low-key night.  They are both doing really well, and enjoying the cooler weather.  Steve's dad surprised us with his new garage sale purchase....a singing fish! Very funny!

Today Steve, our oldest daughter and I traveled up to Fort Collins to see our youngest daughter and her boyfriend.  We made plans to pick them up at 9:30 for breakfast.  But since we're getting older, and our memories are slipping, we forgot that we said 9:30 and thought we said 9:00.  When we got off of the highway, we texted her to let her know that we were getting close.  She replied "sounds good", and we continued toward her apartment.  When we got there, she and her boyfriend came out to the car right away, but her hair was wet, so we all teased her about not being ready.  And then she reminded us that we said 9:30.  Oops.....our bad!  

But anyway, we took them both to a (new to us) restaurant called "The Backporch Cafe".  What a fun place!  They are only open for breakfast and lunch, but are always very crowded.  When we got there at about 9:30, we had a 20 minute wait.  So we took a few minutes to look around.  It is an old house that has been converted into a restaurant, so it is broken up into lots of rooms in the main restaurant.  And the funniest part of all...  there was still a bathtub in the women's restroom. They also have a large patio, but unfortunately it was too cold to enjoy it today.  

Our oldest daughter looking cold at the restaurant entrance

One section of their beautiful patio

When they seated us, they actually walked us outside, and seated us in their "Stone House", which is a little, one room cabin on the property.  It only had two tables in it, so it was a really fun place to sit.  The other group that was in the stone house had very young kids so it was fun for Steve and I to think back about those days.....nice to think about but glad to be where we are now!

The rest of the patio and the "Stone House" straight ahead, behind the pond

Our cozy table in the Stone House

It's so nice to be in Colorado with some of the people we love!

Getting to Colorado (Wednesday, September 30th, 2015)

We traveled back to Colorado so I could get some work done, and of course to see everyone!  Even though Steve is retired, I'm still working part-time, and that means being flexible with our location. 

So we made the 2 1/2 hour drive to Las Vegas to catch a flight on Southwest Airlines.  We have been flying on Southwest for as long as I can remember, so we have built up a lot of points with them, and luckily for us, this trip was booked completely on points for both of us.   

We planned to get to Las Vegas early so we could have time for a trip to Costco and a quick lunch before heading to the economy lot. 

There isn't a Costco in Lake Havasu City, so everyone goes to either Las Vegas or Phoenix for their big shopping trips.  We had never visited the Costco in Las Vegas, so we stopped on our way into town in the suburb of Henderson.  It was a zoo!  It is one of the most heavily used Costcos we have ever been to.  It took us quite awhile to find a parking spot, and then the store was just as crowded.  There was also a line of about 10 cars per lane waiting to fill up with gas, which we learned was about $.35 per gallon cheaper than the other gas stations in town!

We also wanted to find something new and healthy for lunch.  As we were driving down Tropicana Boulevard on the way to the airport, Steve looked over and saw a cute little restaurant called El Fish Taco.  So we turned around and headed back to see what they had.  

We were very pleasantly surprised.  They had a nice selection on their menu, and the service was great.  Our server brought out a courtesy sample of one of their soups for us to try, and then we each ordered their lunch special which was any two tacos (except for lobster) and a drink for $4.99.  So we each had a fish taco and a shrimp taco and a horchata (a rice and cinnamon drink).  It was very good!  The owner came over and talked to us when we had finished our tacos, and said that they had been open for two months.  

Cute new restaurant in Las Vegas, on Tropicana Boulevard

After lunch we still had a few minutes, so we walked over to a Mercado, called Marketon, that was in the same parking lot.  They had so much nice looking produce, but one thing really caught our eye.  When we were in Puerto Rico about a year ago, a guide that we hired at Cuava De Indio introduced us to these little fruits that he called sea grapes.  They are tiny little fruit that you peel and then suck on until the seed is clean.  There isn't much meat on them, but they are pretty fun and tasty.  And to our amazement, they were selling them at the Mercado.  

Sea Grapes, you sure can't find these just anywhere in Las Vegas

Then off to the airport we went.  As we were sitting in traffic, a jumbo jet flew right over the UCLA stadium, and looked like it was going to land on it.  And then a few minutes later a smaller jet flew over the road we were on.

Not as big as the first one we saw, but still fun to see while sitting in traffic

The flight from Las Vegas to Denver usually takes just under 2 hours, but this time we made it in 1 hour 35 minutes.  Our oldest daughter was waiting for us at the airport.  What a great day and easy way to get home!