Thanksgiving in Texas - November 2017

Dodds Family on Thanksgiving at Statler Hotel

This year was Thanksgiving in Texas, with Christmas in Louisiana only a couple of weeks later.  We were able to get a bit of an earlier flight, arriving at Love Field at 7pm.  Keith's dad picked us up and drove us straight back to the house, where Jean had a dinner of Salmon and asparagus almost ready.  After dinner and a couple of glasses of wine, it was off to bed.

Graham's New Restaurant - Overeasy

Thanksgiving morning we walked the Cotton Belt trail, taking 1.25 hours for the walk.  We had a quick shower and then drove to Dallas for our lunch at Graham's new restaurant Overeasy at the Statler Hotel.  Graham gave us a tour of all the new restaurants under construction at the hotel, as well as taking us to the rooftop bar.  The company has done a great job of resurrecting the mid-century modern vibe from when the place was built in 1955.  Lunch was delicious - we all sat at the main table in the middle of the restaurant, with Marisa joining us with Boone.  We started with the famous biscuits which were in fact amazing - and then most of us had the turkey for lunch.  We took a family picture and then drove home.  We then headed to Peter's house where Bob, Ginny, and Mark had joined Peter, Jen, and the kids for lunch.  We chatted with them for a couple of hours and also got to see their new RV. The final event of the evening was going to see the movie Wonder - with Graham and Amy B joining us.  We skipped dinner after a filling lunch.

On Friday, we met Amy who was picking Lily up to go to Greenville for Thanksgiving lunch.  We then went with Keith's parents to White Rock where we were shooting to make it around in less than 2:50 - and we all made it with 2 minutes to spare.  It was straight back to the house for a shower, nap, and another shower before heading back to Dallas for dinner at the newly renovated French Room at the Adolphus.  It was Graham's idea to go there - Keith's parents were last there in 1982 when the dinner price tag of $140 total gave Dick sticker shock.  The price has definitely increased since.  It was a delicious 7 course set dinner with wine pairing - it was a good thing we had taken an Uber there!

White Rock Lake

On Saturday, we did a another walk in the morning, dropped by Margaret's to see Damon and the new BBQ area, then headed over to Dallas to see Rebecca, Thad, and Tucker.  It was only about an hour there until we had to drive to the La Madeline in Plano where we met the whole family as well as Amy and her daughter Ryann.  Keith's parents had got there a bit early and had us sitting at a table that held all 12 of us.  We then headed over to the Pantomime at Theater Britain, only 3 minutes away - where we saw The Three Musketeers.

Rapunzel "Pantomime"

Sunday morning we had another walk, showered, did our laundry and sheets, and packed to head out.  Before lunch Lily, Owen, and Josie gave us their own Panto show based on Rapunzel, using many Panto themes.  It was really cute.  We had to wolf down lunch, then Keith's dad drove us to Love Field so Keith could fly to Phoenix and Shawna could go to the cold blue yonder of Hartford.

Sedona - Oct 2017

We had not been to Sedona in a while so we decided to do a quick trip up there for a night so we could do some hiking.  We left on Saturday morning around 9:30 am after getting some work done at home and arrived in Sedona around noon.  We got a quick slice of pizza at Famous Pizza and then went to hike Bear Mountain.  This is a strenuous (five mile) and beautiful hike that goes up to several plateaus with great views of the valley.  Unfortunately, Shawna got sick about half way up so we had to cut this hike short.

Bear Mountain Hike

We checked into the hotel, the Courtyard Marriott, which is a great hotel - they have updated it so the lobby and rooms were quite nice.  After taking a shower and nap, we then went to our favorite restaurant for dinner, Mariposa.  We started off with a cocktail and then got a bottle of an Argentinian chardonnay which was quite good.  We shared the Atun Tuna and grilled octopus to start and then the mixed grill (rack of lamb, filet and sausage) with mushrooms for the entree.  Everything was delicious!

Dinner at Mariposa

On Sunday, we slept in and grabbed breakfast at the hotel.  We then hiked Devil's Bridge starting on the Chuckwagon Trail from the Dry Creek Vista parking lot.  The hike is about 6 miles round trip and is easy until the last mile up to the Devil's Bridge.  Another great hike with fabulous views!  We drove home and got back around 2:30 - in time to take a dip in the pool before relaxing for the rest of the afternoon.

Devil's Bridge Hike

San Diego - October 2017

Patrick and Lauren had planned a trip to Scottsdale.  Unfortunately, Lauren had some work conflicts so we had to re-direct; resulting in a trip for us to San Diego.

Keith, Patrick, Lauren, and Shawna at Children's Beach

We were able to get a 5:30pm flight which was on time, so we easily got in by 6:30pm.  Keith changed clothes at the airport and Patrick picked us up so we could head straight to dinner at Cucina Urbana in Bankers Hill.  The restaurant had a "wine store" where we were able to choose a bottle (or 3!) and then pay a corkage fee.  Lauren met us at 7:15 - by then we were already well into the first bottle.  We shared a few items, including squash blossoms, grilled octopus, pate, Brussel sprouts, and salmon.  We followed dinner with a pint at Princess Pub.

Keith, Patrick, and Shawna on Cowles Mountain

Saturday morning we slept in a bit.  By the time we were up, Lauren was next door at the neighbor's house.  After a couple cups of coffee, we drove over to Cowles Mountain with Patrick for an hour walk.  It was already quite warm but was a nice (albeit highly trafficked) walk.  After a quick shower we headed out to Pioneer Park for a friend's birthday party where we hung out for a couple of hours. We then drove north to White Labs, a yeast / brewing company. They are primarily a yeast company, but have a 20 barrel brew house on site where they brew identical beer other than the strain of yeast - to teach people the effect that yeast has.  It was interesting to taste the flights of beer and sip the difference.  The brewery / yeast tour only took 20 minutes or so.  Following White Labs we headed south to the La Jolla Art and Wine festival.  We walked around the art stalls and followed by a stroll down to the beach where we stopped by Children's Beach and saw seals by La Jolla Cove.  Dinner was at Starlight, a restaurant near the airport.  Dinner included Mac and Cheese, the Grilled Octopus (really good here), Barbacoa Sort Ribs, and the Pan Roasted Chicken.  Dinner was delicious - and in order to continue the night a little bit we headed to Old Town where we had a drink at Casa de Reyes.

Sunday morning we slept in (again!), had a quick California breakfast of avocado toast, and then Patrick took us to the airport.  It was a fun weekend and great to see them again!

Las Vegas - Sept 2017

Grand Canyon

For our final 'escape the heat weekend' we decided to have a mostly retro weekend in Las Vegas.  The main event was the Life is Beautiful Festival that Keith wanted to attend as his company had a booth set up to sign up potential customers for the property they are building.  We decided to stay at the Golden Nugget because it was close to the festival, we had not stayed in that area and wanted to explore it more and it's one of the few remaining old casinos around.  Thankfully, the rooms were recently upgraded!!  We both arrived on Friday - Keith earlier in the day and worked in the area, Shawna in the early evening (flying in from Hartford) just in time to meet up for dinner.

Golden Nugget

It was an action packed weekend where we did the following activities:

• Michael Jackson One - We went to this show, put on by Cirque du Soleil at the Mandalay Bay, on Friday night.  The music and acrobatics were great!

• Walk - We walked from our hotel, along the strip, down to Caesar's Palace.  Great way to get some exercise and see all of the hotels.

• Life is Beautiful Festival - Fun festival with a mix of food, music and art.  Many of the festival goers were much younger and dressed like they were going to a rave!  We tried several different foods - lamb schwarma, cornish pasty, tacos, grilled cheese/brisket sandwich and a Scotch egg - and had a few beers!  We also watched a 'b-boy' dance off, viewed an art display in an old hotel where different rooms were decorated with uber modern art (we were not the target audience), watched a comedy show and listened to Cage the Elephant (also not the target audience).  

• Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour with Papillon - Shawna bought this as a Xmas gift for Keith so we finally got to cash it in.  It was amazing - great views!  We even upgraded to get seats in the front so that we could see more which was also worth it!  Only downside is that we had to wait a while before and after the flight.  The company picked us up at the hotel and after we picked up other passengers, they drove us to the airport which is located in Boulder City.  After checking in and watching a security video, we then boarded our helicopter.  There were four other people plus the pilot with us.  The flight took about 35 minutes each way, flying over Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and of course the Grand Canyon.  We landed in the Grand Canyon on a plateau where we had about 30 minutes to walk around, take pictures and eat a picnic lunch (sandwich, fruit, chips) along with champagne.  The flight back was not as scenic but still quite cool!

• Mob Museum - We had a few hours to kill before Shawna had to go to the airport so we did the audio tour of this museum.  It was interesting but not as informative as we had hoped.

We also enjoyed some good food and drinks at the following restaurants/bars:

• Aureole - Great restaurant located in Mandalay Bay.  We chose it so that we could easily get to the show afterward.  We started off with mojitos and then shared a bottle of viognier, meatballs for an appetizer, rack of lamb with mushrooms for an entree and a glass of rose for dessert!
• Oak and Ivy - One of the bars in Container Park.  Had a beer here.
• Therapy - Had an early dinner here before we left for the airport.  Cool interior.  Shared brussel sprouts, chicken meatballs, chorizo empanadas and tuna tartare - very tasty!

On Sunday evening, Shawna flew home to AZ while Keith stayed a few more days to work in Vegas. It was a great weekend!

Octoberfest Cincinnati - Sept 2017

Cincinnati

Continuing on our 'festival' tradition with John and JoAnna, John chose that we go to Octoberfest in Cincinnati which is the largest Octoberfest in the US.  We shared a room at the Westin downtown - it was a bit expensive but very convenient and the room was quite large!  We had planned that Shawna and Keith would fly in on Thursday night late and John and JoAnna would arrive Friday morning.  However, Keith's flight was late and thus he missed his connecting flight in Chicago - he stayed the night there and arrived instead on Friday morning.  Shawna worked a half day on Friday and while Keith said he worked a full day, we caught him napping Friday late afternoon!!

John, JoAnna, Anna Liisa and Shawna at Bling Pig

JoAnna has a friend, Anna Liisa with whom she went to nursing school and who lives in the area so she and her husband Chris joined us for some of the festivities.  Throughout the weekend, we enjoyed the festival, tasting many of the foods (schnitzel, pretzel, noodles, potato cakes, strudel, etc) and of course much of the beer.  We listened to some of the bands, attended the kickoff where John got a picture with Jim Koch (owner of Boston Brewing Company), played games and participated in the world's largest (or so they claim) chicken dance!  Both mornings, we went for a walk across the river and back to try to make up for some of the calories we consumed!

Festival Photos

Needing a break from festival food, we also went to the following restaurants/bars:

• A Tavola - Had lunch here.  Shared meatballs and a salad. Yummy.
• Bling Pig - Had a few drinks here.  Nice rooftop area.
• Moerlein Lager House - Had dinner here.  Great location on the river.  Very tasty schnitzel with a cream sauce.
• Nada - Had dinner here.  Hip Mexican place. Shared guacamole, pork and steak dishes.
• Metropole - Had drinks here late night.  Great rooftop bar. 

On Sunday afternoon, we all went to the airport and flew our separate ways - Shawna to Hartford for work, Keith to AZ, and John/JoAnna to NC.  We had a great time - it was a fun festival and it was nice to see a new city!

Stanley Idaho - September 2017

Sawtooth Mountain Range

For our Labor Day weekend trip, we went to a ranch in Idaho with Rakesh and Simran.  They did not bring Ria on this trip so it was adults only.  We arrived in Boise late on the Thursday night and stayed the night in Boise at the Hyatt Place Downtown, sharing a room 'Calcutta' style!  Originally, Keith and Shawna were going to fly through Denver but due to flight delays, we were rerouted through Oakland via Burbank, connecting on the same flight as Simran.  We decided to surprise her but since we barely made the flight, we surprised her when we boarded the plane (most of the other passengers, including Simran, were already on).  On Friday morning, we drove out to the ranch - the drive is about 3 hours through beautiful mountains with no cell service for most of the way!  We stayed at the ranch from Friday to Monday, returning home Monday afternoon.

Idaho Rocky Mountain Lodge

The ranch (Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch) is located outside of Stanley, Idaho with great views of the Sawtooth Mountains.  There is a main lodge, built in the 1930s, where all meals are served and cabins, where the guests stay, surround the main lodge.  Our cabin was a duplex tucked away in the shade so it was very nice and cool.  The property is 900 acres with hiking/biking trails, a fishing pond, a hot springs and a horse corral.  There also was a brand new pavilion that they recently built but unfortunately, there was an accident where it blew up the first day we were there (some gas leak) - no one was hurt!  The place is very relaxing and beautiful - only downside is there is no cell service and they have a very slow wifi located in the main lodge so we felt cut off from the world which is probably the point!

Our Cabin

All of our meals were included in the rate.  For breakfast, we had a choice of a hot dish along with a continental buffet.  For lunch, we had a choice of sandwich or salad that they prepared to take with us as a picnic along with choice of snacks.  For dinner, it was a pre-fix menu with choice of appetizer, entree and dessert.  One night, they had a grill buffet dinner outside - the theme was Southwestern with grilled meats, enchiladas, salads, Mexican street corn and salsas.  The food overall was very good!

Outdoor Grill / Picnic Area

The town of Stanley is quite cute in a rustic way.  There are only 63 people who live there and it's known for being the coldest town in the winter in the "lower 48"!  Thankfully, we were there in the summer!! The town attracts quite a number of visitors in the summer so there were a surprising number of lodges, restaurants and saloons in town given the small population that lives there!  There is also a couple of galleries (with some nice scenic photos) and a few outdoor gear shops.

Each day we did an activity in the morning, relaxed in the afternoon, and had drinks on the porch before dinner, soaking in the views.  For activities, we did the following:

• Horseback Riding - Simran and Shawna did a 1.5 hour horseback ride which was a lot of fun. They were both nervous at first but then got the hang of it - although they were both quite sore afterward!  The ride took them across the Salmon River into the forest, riding along the hillside with views of the river and valley.  Simran's horse was named May and Shawna's was named Paco (the first horse Shawna tried was called Spanky but he was too tall so she had to switch).

• Mountain Biking - Rakesh and Keith went on a 3.5 hour, 18 mile ride on the Fisher Creek-Williams Creek Trail.  The first 3 miles are along highway 75 - then a 6 mile slow incline up a washed-out dirt road, and then the rest of the way is single-track biking.  Much of the area was burned in the last ~5 years.  It was a great ride.  

• Hiking - Keith and Shawna hiked up to Lonely Tree, a trail located on the property.  The hike took about two hours - it probably would have been shorter but we got lost a few times.  Once on top of the hill, we had nice views of the valley and mountains.  

• Lakes - We drove to see a few of the lakes in the area.  The first was Redfish Lake which is a huge lake nestled in the middle of the mountains.  Unfortunately it was super crowded so we bagged this one.  We then drove to Stanley Lake - it was quite hot and hazy (there were a lot of of forest fires in the area) so we only walked around for a few minutes.  

• Cowboy Poetry - Probably one of the highlights as this was surprisingly good! Rakesh, Simran and Shawna went into town to this event, located in the town square.  We heard a few cowboys recite poetry and stories, some quite funny and a few also sang.  Simran even bought a CD of one of the artists!

• Hot Springs - One evening, we went into the hot springs on the property.  It was a nice temperature and was the first hot spring we tried that did not smell like sulphur.  Our dip was cut short, however, when some of the other guests who were also in the springs with us found a snake.  Granted it was a small garter snake but it was enough to make us want to leave.  We found out the next morning that apparently there were about 10 snakes in the pool so we were quite happy that we did not stay long enough to discover this!!

We really enjoyed it and would definitely go back to Idaho to explore some of the other areas.

Louisiana - Aug 2017

While Keith went to visit his family in Texas, Shawna decided to visit her mother in Louisiana - a trip that was long overdue.  She flew in Thursday evening into Alexandria, unfortunately later than planned as she missed her connecting flight in Dallas.  She got to her mother's house about 11pm so she stayed up about an hour chatting and then went to bed.  Her mom made her a lemon cake which was definitely not in the diet plans!!!

She took Friday off and she went shopping in Lafayette with her mom.  After spending a few hours at Talbots and only buying one item each, they went to lunch at Olive Garden, each getting a pasta dish with the famous salad and breadsticks.  Unfortunately, Shawna's mom was not feeling well so we went to CVS so she could take her blood pressure - it was very high, so her mom took her medication and they cut the shopping spree short and headed back home.  That evening, they watched a couple of movies - Snatched (which was not great) and How To Be a Latin Lover (which was hilarious).

On Saturday, we had a few different visitors and then ran some errands.  Jocelyn stopped by in the morning to drop off some yummy chicken and dumplings which we both had for lunch - it was very good.  We went over to Eric and Judy's house, sat on their front porch and caught up with them.  We then went to Marksville to look for a new cell phone for Shawna's mom - she was not yet ready to take the plunge to a smart phone so Shawna instead taught her how to use her flip phone.  Later than afternoon, Joan stopped by to visit for a while.  Then we retreated to the den for more movies both of which Shawna had already seen - The Founder and La La Land.

On Sunday, Shawna left shortly after breakfast to catch an early flight home, arriving back in Phoenix at 1:30PM.

Possum Kingdom for Frank's 89th Birthday

It was Frank's 89th birthday so Margaret rallied the family to spend Saturday at Possum Kingdom Lake.  Shawna needed to see her mom, so we went our respective ways for the weekend.

Everyone at the end of the day

Keith flew in to Dallas (from Denver) on the Friday morning.  He used that as an opportunity to meet with a vendor in Dallas, so rented a car at Love Field and drove to Richardson.  After the meeting was over he drove straight to dinner at Fishtail in Bedford where Jean, Dick, Margaret, Graham, and Lily all met him.  It was a quick dinner at 6pm before heading to the house - where Keith quickly crashed by 8:30pm!

Keith and Boone

Saturday it was up at 6:30am since we were to all depart at 7:30am for the lake.  Everyone was on time - so Keith drove Graham and Boone, Margaret drove her kids and Lily, while Jean and Dick picked up Frank.  We all arrive at the lake within 15 minutes of each other - and it did not take long until the 4 kids, Margaret, Graham, and Keith were all in the water.  The temperature was really nice - and we lucked out on the rain since Hurricane Harvey was barreling toward Houston at the same time.  The day was quite typical of days at the lake: three swims out to "spider island" (aka, a floating dock), a light lunch, drinks and guacamole on the back porch, and hamburgers (by Chef Graham) for dinner.  Keith got a great workout throwing all 4 kids from the dock endlessly, while also playing "30 second boss" (coined by Owen, describing the game of Keith trying to make sure no kid could stay on the dock more than 30 seconds without being thrown off).  In the evening the kids gave Frank birthday cards.  We all left at about 8:30pm.

Owen, Josie, Lily, and Boone with Frank

Keith was up at 8:30 - and headed to the airport at 10am to catch his flight home!

Keystone CO Hiking Weekend - Aug 2017

Continental Divide

We had tentatively planned a 10 day hiking trip (Tour du Mont Blanc) with John and JoAnna for next summer.  However, they were not quite sure if they would enjoy that much hiking.  So, we decided to do a practice trip to Keystone, CO for a few days to see if they would enjoy it.

Accommodation:
River Run Village Condos - We got a two bedroom condo in River Run which was nice and very convenient.  The only downside is that one of the bedrooms had two twin beds so John and JoAnna took one for the team and took that room.

Activities:
We all flew into Denver within an hour of each other with Keith and Shawna arriving first, allowing time to pick up the rental car and be ready to go once John and JoAnna landed.  On our drive out to Keystone, we stopped along the way for a quick dinner.  Once we arrived and checked in, which was after 10pm, we went out for a couple of beers to kick off the weekend.

On Saturday, Chris and Athena met us at Keystone and then we carpooled over to our hike - Lenawee Trail (we had completed this hike once before and really enjoyed it).  The last 1.5 miles of the drive to get to the start of the hike was a bit rough so at one point, Chris had to park his Porche and they crammed in with us.  The hike itself was beautiful but also strenuous with a fairly steep incline for the first hour.  The main part that is challenging is the altitude which gets over 13K feet.  There are great views of the valley once you get past the tree line and of A-Basin once you get to the top.  It took us about 4.5 hours in total, including a few stops for snacks and lunch at the top.  John and JoAnna turned around about 30 minutes from the top - John was getting bored and said he had seen what he needed and didn't see the need to continue.  So they waited for us at the bottom while the rest of us finished the last bit.  Based on this, we assumed that John was no longer interested in the Mont Blanc trip next summer which we verified when we joined them at the bottom of the hike.

Lenawee Trail Hike with Chris, Athena, John and JoAnna

After the hike, we went back to Keystone and went to the mountain music festival that was held in River Run.  There were bands playing and they had beer, food and craft stalls.  We were not as excited about the food so we sat down at one of the restaurants and got some snacks instead.  Chris and Athena had to drive back to Denver to get back to the boys so after they left, we went to the hot tub, enjoyed more beer and chatted with some of the other guests who were staying in our lodge.  We then went to dinner and got to bed pretty early as we were all quite tired!

Lenawee Trail Hike with Chris and Athena

On Sunday, Elizabeth and Joe met us for a hike but since we were still quite sore and tired from Saturday's hike, we decided to change the hike to a more moderate one - Mesa Cortina Trail to Willow Falls.  This hike is 9 miles round trip with a gradual incline, mostly through a forest.  It ends at a nice waterfall where we relaxed and had some lunch - Elizabeth and Joe brought us all sandwiches and snacks which were way better than the measly granola bars that we had packed!  At the falls, we saw two mountain goats who were very cute and who kept their eye on us the entire time.  John enjoyed this hike much more so at least we didn't turn him off to hikes in general!!

Mesa Cortina Hike with Elizabeth, Joe, John and JoAnna

After the hike, we celebrated with a few beers in town.  Elizabeth and Joe then drove back to Denver while we went back to the condo and relaxed our sore muscles in the hot tub once again.  That evening, we had another early dinner and then went to bed.

On Monday, we decided to take it easy.  We walked over to Lake Village and back to River Run and then took the gondola up to the top of Keystone mountain where several people were sitting to watch the eclipse.  It was a bit chilly so we decided to head back down and see the eclipse from the bottom while eating lunch.  We then showered, packed up, got a few gifts and then drove back to Denver so we could each get our flights back home.

Restaurants / Bars:
Mod Market - We stopped here on our way out to Keystone.  Great healthy, fast food.

Starbucks - We had breakfast here a few mornings in Keystone.

9280 Tap House - We had a couple of beers here one evening.  Nice bar.

Spoon Cafe - We had some snacks (nachos and hummus) here along with beer.

Luigi's Pasta House - We had dinner here.  We shared a few appetizers and pasta dishes.  The food was pretty good.

Zuma Roadhouse - We had dinner here.  Food was good.  We shared a few appetizers (brussel sprouts and roasted peppers were the best) and a salad.

Inxpot - Had breakfast here.  Better food options than Starbucks.

Kickapoo Tavern - We had drinks here one night and had lunch.  For lunch, we shared the fish tacos which were tasty and a salad.  They have a nice deck to sit outside.