Boston and Portland (Saturday, August 22nd, 2015)

We dropped our oldest daughter off at the airport this morning, so she could go see her husband for the weekend, and we will move our youngest daughter back up to school tomorrow.  It's always a bit of a struggle for us when our kids head back to school, and our house once again becomes very quiet, so we got on-line to see if we could find any cheap flights.  Not knowing where else to start, we started looking in Portland, Oregon.  We have never been to the northwest coast, so thought it might be fun.  Steve was able to find cheap flights, but rental cars were really high.  Finally, he called me over to look at this car rental he had found.  It was a great rate, but I quickly realized that it was in Portland, Maine, not Portland, Oregon!  So I suggested that maybe we wanted to go see the north east coast instead.  He laughed, and then said, "Why not!  Let's see what we can find for flights".  So he started looking at flights, and behold, there were cheap flights into Boston.  Score!

When we realized that we might be heading to the north east coast, we instantly thought of a couple of families that we know in that area, so we contacted both of them on very short notice to see if they might be available for dinner during the next week or so.  Both of them were available, and seemed excited that we were coming their way.  As we talked more with our friends, it became clear that we would need to head north out of Boston first, and up into Maine, so that we could see our friends in Maine first, then we could take our time getting back to the Boston area to see our other friends.

Our Maine friends, Tony and Sarah gave us a really nice list of things to stop and see on our way up toward them, so we started planning our route, and decided that we would spend our first night in Portland, Maine.  It is a good distance from Logan Airport, and will get us heading in the right direction, but as we started looking at hotels, we realized that even though everything else is cheap, hotels are not.  We decided to stay at the Holiday Inn by the Bay, since we usually get some perks at Holiday Inn because we stay with them so often, but it was going to be $400/night.  Yikes.  That's a lot for a Holiday Inn!  So Steve decided to log into his IHG account to see if he had any points that he could use to help out with the cost a little bit.  And to our surprise, we just reached our one year anniversary with them, and were being rewarded with a free night.  Could this be working out any better?  So we booked our hotel using our free night stay.  Let's hope that the rest of our trip goes this well!!!

We landed in Boston, Massachusetts at 4:50 ET, and found the bus for the rental car lots.  We had booked the car through the Budget Fast Break club (which is free to join), so we were able to skip the line at the budget counter and go straight out to the lot.  In the lot kiosk, there was no line at all, and we quickly got our car and headed out for Portland, Maine.  We were dying to see the ocean, so we took the long way to Portland, via highway 1A, which runs along the coast through the small towns of Hampton and Rye.  This was a more scenic route, but when we got into the town of Hampton, there was a seawall for quite a ways which blocked our view, but soon it was gone, and we enjoyed the view of the ocean as we drove along. 

The beautiful beach in Hampton, New Hampshire

 As we drove down the highway, we periodically saw signs that read "Watch for moose on roadway".  We got a kick out of this, but you see these types of signs everywhere, it's just the animals that change.  In Colorado, it's elk, in Arizona is burros, and in Maine is moose!   When we finally reached Portland, Steve was the first to get out of the car, and as he opened his door the smell of fish hit us like a freight train.  Wow, we're definitely not used to that.

It was dark when we got to our hotel, and apparently, we were the last ones to check in because the only room they had left for us was a smoking room.  In Colorado they don't even have smoking rooms as an option, so we really didn't expect this.  She asked us to go up and check the room out, and we had to admit that it was really bad.
We aren't used to cigarette smoke at all, so we asked them if there was anything they could do to freshen up the room, so they gave us two drink coupons to use while we waited for it to be freshened up.   We each enjoyed a complimentary drink and then they called us to go check it out again.  It was much better so we took it. The room had a great view, and was a great room except for the smoking issue.  

Around 9:00 we  took the hotel shuttle to J's Oyster for dinner.  It came highly rated on Trip Advisor and by the hotel staff, so we gave it a try.  It was an interesting place.  It was a small seafood shack right on the bay with both indoor and outdoor seating.  

J's Oyster with outdoor seating to the right and the restaurant to the left

 We chose to sit inside since it was cooling off for the night, and as we entered, it was a definite bar atmosphere. 

Some of the food was very good, and some was very average, which we found very interesting.  All of the entrees came with bread and a salad.  The bread consisted of a basket of soft white rolls and the salads had been pre-plated and stacked, with a prepackaged envelope of dressing on the side. Water was served in little plastic cups, and yet our beers were served in beer glasses from each of the respective brewery's, and the entrees were fantastic. Steve had boulibaise I had seafood casserole. Both were very good, with nice quantities.  Mine wasn't very healthy, as it was in a butter and white wine sauce, but Steve's was very healthy in a light tomato and wine sauce.  

We had a few leftovers, which we were excited to finish at another time. We chose to walk home, instead of taking the shuttle back, and on the way walked by a love lock fence.

We also stopped at an outdoor venue with a live band. It was very fun and the band was great. We got back to the room very late and enjoyed a great night's sleep!

Getting Books and Great Food (August 15th, 2015)

Our youngest daughter has a really late move in for her apartment as she continues her education in Fort Collins, Colorado, so we decided to head up early and get all of her books, so she wouldn't be stuck without any. We got on campus at about 10:00, and went straight to the bookstore. The staff at the bookstore were busy putting together all of the pre-ordered book orders, so there were tons of people available to help we needed it. We found all of her books quickly and checked out. We then took ourselves on a mini tour of the campus, just to get out and walk a little bit.

When we started getting hungry for lunch, we went to an Afghani restaurant that the girls found online.  We tend to eat a lot of different ethnic foods for two reasons, they tend to be healthier than American food, and they tend to have a lot of gluten free options. We got the restaurant, called Maza Kabob, and ordered at the counter.  When our food was ready, they brought it to our table.  It was delicious.  Between the four of us, we ordered one chicken kabob, one lola kabob, and two chicken kormas.  Each meal came with potato korma and rice with a small side of Afghan salad.  As we were eating, the owner of the restaurant came around to check on our meals.  He was a very nice man who took a lot of pride in his restaurant.  We will definitely be back!

After lunch we headed to the downtown Fort Collins area.  The girls really wanted us to go to a place called The Chocolate Cafe for dessert.  They have both eaten there, and told us that "It is Life Changing!".  So what else could we do, we had to go.  We ordered two desserts to split between the four of us, and it was way more than we needed.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

This was called the Noir something, and came with raspberry sorbet 

This was the Trifecta and had white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate mousse

Both desserts were delicious, and we licked our plates clean.  They had great looking meals as well, but we'll have to save those for another day.  

A very successful day from every perspective.

REO Speedwagon and Pinot's Palette (August 8th, 2015)

For Christmas, I gave Steve 2 concerts as his gift. The first was 38 Special, which we went to back in May when the whole family came (see our blog post from June 21st, 2015), the second was REO Speedwagon which we will be going to tonight. Just like the 38 Special concert, this one will be held at Hudson Gardens in Littleton, Colorado. 

We headed over at about 2:00 to pick up our friends Dawn and Steve (We call him Steve II because it just gets two confusing, and my Steve is older, so he is Steve I). Unfortunately, we had not planned well, and didn’t have any bottled water, which we had promised to bring, so we had to swing by the store and pick some up on the way. We got to Hudson Gardens at about 3:30, and Steve dropped Steve II, Dawn and I off, and went to park. We all got in line, and it took Steve forever to catch up with us. When he finally joined us in line, he said that he had to re-park three different times. There was also a wedding at the gardens today, so a lot of the parking was reserved for the wedding party and guests. While standing in line, it is fine to tailgate, as long as you haven’t passed the security checkpoint, so we stood in line and had some liquid refreshment. 

At about 4:00 they opened up the security checkpoint, searched our bags, and we were allowed to move up to the gate where they would take our tickets at 5:00. We moved up, put our chairs in line at the ticket gate, and walked back to our spot in the shade before the security checkpoint. There was another couple doing the same thing that we were doing. Their names were Jeff and Debbie. We all stood and talk and had a great time, until it started getting close to 5:00, then took our coolers back to the car and caught up with our chairs that were waiting in line.

Waiting in line for the gates to open.  It's a good idea to have an umbrella, it gets hot!

Me and my Honey waiting in line

Jeff and Debbie were in line right behind us, so we continued to talk once we were in line. At 5:00 the gates opened, and as always, it was a dash for those in the front of the line to get good seats. All of the seating at Hudson Gardens is general admission on the lawn, and if you are lucky, you can get up close and sit in the shade of the stage where it is nice and cool.

Perfect distance from the stage

Last time we were here, we brought our own dinner in, but this time we decided to see what the food trucks had to offer. There were five food trucks, one with sliders and fries (three sliders for $9, and fries were $4), two trucks with Philippine options, one truck that had a larger variety of different foods to choose from, and an ice cream truck. They were all reasonably priced and looked good. We all decided to try one of the Philippine trucks. Between the four of us, we ordered 2 Chicken Adobos ($8 each), 2 noodle bowls with vegies ($8 each) and an order of egg rolls ($4). We took it back to our chairs and ate while we waited for the concert to start at 6:30. 

Hudson Gardens is a botanical garden with an outdoor stage set up in the summer just for these weekend concerts. In addition to the food trucks, they have beer and wine stations where you can get  large Bud Light Lime and Stella Artois as well as red and white wine for $6.00. Unfortunately, there were no permanent restrooms, just port-o-potties, but they are always nice and clean (at least early in the night).

Steve and I saw REO Speedwagon last September on a cruise ship, so we were really excited when we saw that they would be playing at Hudson Garden. Tonight’s concert was really good; even better than the concert we saw last September. We had so much fun with our friends Dawn and Steve, and our new friends Jeff and Debbie.

Kevin on Guitar

And Piano

All of REO Speedwagon

Just as the sun was setting, they came out for their encore and played Riding the Storm Out, which is one of their big hits. What perfect timing, with the beautiful cloudy sunset skies in the background of the stage!

Riding the Storm Out at Hudson Gardens, Great Concert, Great Venue, Great Friends!

When the concert was over, the six of us just sat and talked until we were about the only people left. As we left the amphitheater, we were amazed again at how little traffic remained, and how easy it was to get out of the venue. What a great night, with great friends! 

As we headed back toward home, it was still early, and we all noticed that we were starting to get hungry again, so we stopped at a little place in Old Towne Arvada called Fuzzy’s Tacos. It’s a very casual restaurant that serves Mexican food with a fun twist. We went inside and ordered at the counter, and then wandered outside to see if we could find a place to sit. There is a lot of room to sit inside at Fuzzy’s, including a little mezzanine above the bar, but the evening was so beautiful that we decided to try to find a place outside. They have long tables out on the patio, so unless you have a large party, you typically share your table with someone else. 

Dawn and I found an end of a table that looked just perfect for the four of us and sat down and to our delight, the men were right behind us with margaritas for us and beers for themselves. We all sat and chatted until we heard our names called and the men went inside to get our food. Each couple had ordered their nachos with shredded pork, which are out of this world! 

Shredded Pork Nachos at Fuzzy Taco

These are definitely for a night when we decide to splurge, but such a treat! The four of us enjoyed our drinks and nachos on a beautiful Colorado night in beautiful Old Towne Arvada. 

A little update from Pinot's Palette:

When I checked my email this morning, there was a thank you note from a little place in the Hylands called Pinot’s Palette, where our youngest daughter hosted our oldest daughters bachelorette party (see our blog post from May 16th, 2015). They were thanking us for hosting a private party with them, and invited us to enjoy a free painting session on them. So while we were at the REO Speedwagon concert, our youngest daughter and her boyfriend enjoyed a 2 for 1 night painting the night away at Pinot’s Palette.

Pinot’s Palette is a venue that does painting events. They have a schedule of when they will be doing each painting, and you can call and reserve a seat for that painting. When you get there, the main room is set up with long tables, and there is a small bar at the back. They provide you with an apron, easle, canvas and paints. Throughout the night, the bar is open with a nice selection of cocktails and non- alcoholic drinks for purchase at very affordable prices.

They have an instructor and an assistant for each class, and starting from a blank canvas, they teach you how to paint a painting. Each person is invited to add their own personal touches as they go through the directions, and some people even go way off course and paint whatever they feel like. It is such a fun experience, and at the end of the night, you will come home with your very own painting that you painted yourself. It is a great place for date nights, a girls night out, or any other evening out. You can also rent out a space for a private party, which is also wonderful! 

Tonights painting was sailboats at sunset, which is what our daughter painted, but her boyfriend put a personal touch on his by making it a fisherman instead.  Love it!  Here are the results of their night!

Our daughter's painting of the sailboats at sunset

Her boyfriends painting of the fisherman

Topock Gorge on Route 66 (July 29th, 2015)

Topock is a little marina that is accessible from the Colorado River or the highway, just before you cross over into California. To get there by water you can come out of Lake Havasu on the north side and run approximately 25 miles up the Colorado river. The inlet to the marina is just past the railroad bridge on your right.  

When the girls were small we used to boat up to Topock and have breakfast in the restaurant, but we haven't done that for many years. At that time, Topock was in bad disrepair, and needed a lot of TLC. The restaurant was fun, but the docks were falling apart, and it was difficult to tie up.

Several years ago, the Topock Marina burned down, and it has since been rebuilt into a fun Route 66 stop. After spending this morning packing for our trip home, we headed to Topock for lunch.  The new Topock has a restaurant, gift shop, marina with gas pumps, an outdoor pool, and a stage with live music some of the time.  

The view of Topock from the road

The restaurant is really nice, with garage doors that can open up in nice weather. The doors were closed today, with the air conditioning running. We sat inside, in the nice cool dining room.  

The air-conditioned dining room

Between the three of us, we ordered two chopped salads and a Topock Nacho (which is made with their homemade potato chips instead of tortilla chips). It was all very good. 

When we were finished eating, our waitress told us that she would continue to serve us outside, so we headed out to grab some lawn chairs by the pool. They have a beautiful saltwater pool that is free to use for all paying customers at the restaurant or bar. Our waitress soon showed up with some rum and cokes and served us as we enjoyed the cool water of the pool. 

People come from all around to enjoy this little piece of paradise in the desert. Every detail of it is very interesting, from the beer taps at the bar (ask to see these, they're pretty cool) to the stools overlooking the marina, to the urinals in the mens room. 

A view of the restaurant and marina from the pool area

Great barstools in the shade, overlooking the marina

Their refreshing salt water pool, free to use for all paying customers

I only know about these because of Steve,  Really!

If you're traveling near Lake Havasu City on I-40, this is a stop worth making. Our entire day cost about $60, which included three meals, four rum and cokes and a +20% tip, as well as the use of the pool for the day.

Critters in Colorado (August 1, 2015)

Colorado is certainly not known for it's creepy crawly things, except for maybe an occasional rattlesnake.  But upon our return home, I was out doing yard work and came across a few fun little critters in the yard, so I thought I would share them with you.

A praying mantis in the yard

While is was working in the yard, it moved itself into a tree where it was much easier to see

I don't know what kind of spider this is, but it was huge!

Another view of the same spider

Boating on the California Side (July 28th, 2015)

There are so many great ways to enjoy boating on Lake Havasu, hanging in the channel with the crowds of people, finding a calmer beach, anchoring in a cove, or just floating in the lake. Today we decided to do it the easy way, and just float. We drove across the lake, toward the indian reservation (on the California side of the lake), and as we got about half way across the lake, we noticed a loon with a baby riding on her back. So we circled back around to get a closer look, and hopefully a picture. Unfortunately, when we circled back around, it scared her, so she started paddling hard, and the baby nestled down in her feathers so you could no longer see it. So we left her alone, and continued on our way across the lake. 

When we got near the California shore, we turned off the boat, grabbed our floaties and jumped into the cool water. Cool is a relative term, since the water surface temperature is about 85 degrees. What an incredibly beautiful day. 

Our daughter, doing what she loves to do!

With the river flowing in not too far north of us, you can feel a mixture of the river water and lake water, so there a pockets of cold water that are much cooler than the 85 degree lake water. 

The view from the boat, looking back at Lake Havasu City, Arizona

We stayed on the lake for a few hours, then pulled off and spent a quiet night at the house.  We made a wonderful dinner of grilled coconut shrimp and corn with a side salad.  It was so yummy!

Shrimp and corn on the Bar-B

Awesome dinner at the house

Boating (July 26th, 2015)

We headed to the boat ramp at about 11:00, not sure how crowded the parking lot would be, and to our surprise, it wasn't crowded at all. As I came back from parking the truck, there was a woman in a HUGE truck on the boat ramp. She had just launched their boat and was attempting to pull the empty trailer out of the water, even with the trailer empty, she kept sliding all over the boat ramp and couldn't get the truck to budge. Several men on the ramp were coaching her through it, and she finally managed to get the trailer out of the water. Poor thing! I think she was really frustrated by the time she was done, but I wouldn't have known how to help her. I was really glad there were a few nice people there who could. 

I crawled into our boat from the docks at the Windsor Beach boat ramp and we drove off toward the channel. It's always fun to drive through the channel, it is a no wake zone, so just a fun leisurely stroll. Boats are parked in the sand on both sides of the channel, and their owners are just enjoying a day in the water. We cruised under the London Bridge, and then turned around to find a place to park for awhile. 

We ended up on a sandy beach in front of the condos on the northeast side of the channel. The temperature outside today is about 109, and the water surface temperature is about 85. The water feels so refreshing when you get in, and believe it or not, when you get out, and into the breeze, you actually get goosebumps. We played on the channel for about an hour, and then Steve and our friend Kyle walked up to In-N-Out Burger to get us some lunch. We ate on the beach, in ankle deep water, using the boat as our table. What a gorgeous day! 

After lunch we took another cruise through the channel, we saw the nice couple that we were parked next to on Friday, they waved and smiled, and we also saw our friends Scott and Margie who also waved and smiled as we drove through. There was no where to park, so we just kept going. We ended up anchoring in a cove about 8 miles up the lake. There were 4 other boats in our little cove, but each boat just did their own thing. We all got out some floaties and drinks, and just spent the afternoon talking, laughing, listening to music and enjoying this beautiful place.

We pulled the boat off the lake at about 5:00, and came back to the house for showers, then we went to one of our "go to" restaurants here in Havasu. Mudsharks is a micro brewery that sells lots of good beers and has a nice menu too. Steve and I had chinese chicken salads, Kyle had fish tacos, and our daughter had gluten free pizza with white sauce, chicken and spinach. We shared our salads with her, and had a taste of her pizza. It was great! 

After dinner we all headed back to the house, where we pulled chairs out into the front yard, and sat in the cool night breeze enjoying the peace of the evening!