Vacation ups and downs- now that I'm home

I didn't post anything because the Aquarius in Laughlin charges 12 buck a day for internet, I am cheap and my laptop is too old to handle the high-speed anyway.  So here is what I think will be my final thoughts on this vacation.

I think I lost weight on this vacation.  I know, I know, usually people gain weight, but I didn't eat a lot  this time, the food wasn't all that good.  My friend Tom says I always complain about the food and I suppose he is right. Chris and I were talking about one of the two good places and I said "well I won't downgrade them because the food was not to my liking, it was well cooked and lots of it"  Chris pointed out I talk like a restaurant reviewer, which I suppose I do.

We had been told there was a wonderful place for pie in Williams , the Country Pine, so we made a point to go there before leaving town.  Frankly, I was disappointed.  I got peach pie which is one of my favorites.  They used CANNED PIE FILLING! I should know,as I am a pretty fair scratch baker.  Chris got the chocolate cream cheese and it was just ok.  He and I talked about the pies I needed to make when I get home, Including a new twist on my chocolate- orange pie.  The food at the Country pine was microwaved.

We had HORRIBLE food in Laughlin as well as some amazing food in Laughlin.  NEVER, and I mean NEVER eat at the Windows on The River in the Aquarius.  Here is what I posted on my Yelp review:

Where to begin?  I suppose it's best to begin at the beginning.  I should have turned around when I first looked  at the offerings on a Tuesday night,  The "fruit station" had leftover meat from the sandwich bar from lunch  ( this was DINNER around 8 pm)  The cooked meats looked like they too were leftover from lunch , dried and curled up.  The "carving station " featured a roasted PINEAPPLE that they "chef" was carving up.  I tried the corn from the sad little salad bar, it was vinegar-ed so badly I spit it into my napkin. But the FINAL straw was that the piece of pie I thought might make me feel better about the place had MOLD!  At 20 bucks a person I felt violated.


Chris had several "meals" at McDonald's  I actually had a Happy Meal at one point.  Chris has been having some real trouble with his hip pain, several times I could see that the pain was way too much for him to bear so we rented a scooter.  I could NOT have pushed him in a wheelchair, as my knees are not doing so well either and there was a LOT of walking at the Grand Canyon. The scooter was well worth the money and it really made a difference in our trip experience. We decided to "motor" over to the Pioneer to get breakfast. I thought it would be ok and I could walk it. It was a HELL of a lot farther than we remembered and the River-walk was closed at some points so we wound up zigzagging through the parking lots of several casinos before making it to Bumbleberry Flats.  It was WORTH it.  I got a waffle and eggs that were so yummy I ate too much.  I also treated myself to an Irish coffee to cope with the pain in my knees.  There was NO WAY I could walk back and no one could confirm that the water taxi could take the scooter, so Chris "motored" back and I took the taxi.  It was nice to be on the river and the captain assured me that the taxis CAN take the scooter ( except to the Nugget where the step is too steep).  When it came time for dinner, we went next door to Daniel's on the River. Here is what I said on Yelp:

We went for dinner, more out of desperation than anything else.  We had not found a good meal in Laughlin other than Bumbleberry Flats.  It was a Wednesday night- apparently two for-one burger night and the place was packed!  It took a LONG time to get our meal, my husband ordered the Chef's salad and I got a Philly cheese-steak.  we were BOTH really impressed, the salad had real cooked chicken, not the weird processed meat you often find in a Chef's salad.  My cheese-steak was perfectly seasoned, the veggies cooked just right and BEST OF ALL the bread had been toasted on the grill, not microwaved.  YUM! The server apologized for the long wait and they did keep up well supplied with iced tea during the wait for the food. We went again for breakfast the next morning as it was next to the hotel we were staying in and I did not feel  like walking or driving very far.  The breakfast was HUGE and very satisfying.  A half- order of biscuits and gravy would be a full order anywhere else.  The service was excellent.

We did take the River Cruise, a 90 minute ride on the river with  a tour that gave you the history of Laughlin. We opted for a small snack and a drink on the cruise and were pleasantly surprised that one of the waitstaff, Tiffany, remembered us from the dinner cruise we took back in November!  I recommend both the dinner cruise and the tour, which at ten buck a person is a bargain ( the dinner cruise is a bit more pricey BUT you get dinner and it's good!) It was a lovely day and we shared the table with three people from Australia.  You meet the nicest people when you share a table.  When we were leaving Williams, we went for the final breakfast at the Depot Cafe.  Meals were included and while it was nothing to write home about, it was still ok food.   The line was VERY long and time as short, as they stopped serving around 9.  The hostess asked if anyone wanted to share a table.  A few people said NO!  I can't understand that.  We said "sure" and were seated with a nice couple from Texas.  We got to talking about libraries.   The husband said that he had been driving through his hometown with his dad and both had remarked that they were surprised it was still in business.  I got really enthusiastic about how libraries are providing this amazing service and began to tell them all the things that LAPL does and I encouraged him to check out HIS local library to see what they provide.  They were from Austin and I think their library is probably a pretty good one.  He said he would and I believe he just might.  It's strange to me to find people that don't use libraries, as they had always been a part of my life, even before I started back working there as an adult.  Readers raise readers, as the saying goes, and my mom and her mom were readers.

I am back to work today, as a medical procedure next week (nothing serious) has me off for a few days.   It's good to be back in my own bed, even though most of the beds were pretty comfortable, The bed at Harrah's was strange and it wasn't until the second day that I really looked at it and realized it was not sitting square on the box spring. THAT explained it.  We did NOT get any housekeeping service while we were at Harrah's, as they tried to come in the room after we had been out all day- around 4 or 4:30 and we were resting. It was ok.  I like staying at Harrah's because we WIN at Harrah's.

Vacation ups and downs- the Grand Canyon

I have always wanted to see the Grand Canyon.  It's been on my "bucket list" for as long as I can remember.  My first husband wouldn't take me there he'd "already seen it"  Chris had too, but he wanted me to see it.  I had heard about the train ride from Williams to the Grand Canyon and the  price was pretty reasonable, so we planned to go.    There's a James Taylor song that among other things, poses the question "what happens when it rains for eight days on your week off?"  The weather was scorching in Laughlin, be here it was "brisk"  almost wintery- well Winter in California, I keep forgetting I am in Arizona.

I suppose I have lived in Los Angeles too long and been in too many artificial places.  I kept looking at the fences that separated the cow pastures from the train tracks and wondering if the pattern were deliberate or it was just what they had.  I saw split-rail fences and weathered red barns fly by on the two plus hour trip up the hill.  There were cows.  Lots of cows.  It was interesting to watch them running or walking in a line across the fields.  Chris and I tried to come up with a name for the desert landscape, not exactly a prairie, I thought of Chaparral, which seemed most to fit.

The train ride was nice.  I am glad we opted for the first class, which was about 20 bucks more.  They served snacks and coffee.  I was thinking I should not drink so much coffee, but it was nice to have coffee and pastries..  We HAD had breakfast at the Depot Cafe, it's part of the package.  The food is like a bad Denny's, but it's relatively hot and it's in the hotel compound so I guess that's ok.  The next time, and we decided there WILL be a next time, we are opting for the observation seats, which are on the second level of the train and have a glass bubble around them.  There was entertainment on the train and it was amusing ( I STILL don't like the train robbers)


You cannot imaging, if you have not seen it, how vast and beautiful the Grand Canyon is.  It was really overcast.  It had been raining on the way up to the Canyon but we figured we would get some beautiful pictures in the rain.  Chris was determined that it would clear up just before we got there and it did.  I got some pretty awesome ( if I do say so myself) photos of the Canyon.  The tour was a great introduction to the park, but next time, and as I said, there WILL be a next time, we are going off on our own,

The weather cooperated and we did not have more than a drizzle while we were on the tour,.  At the last stop there was a HUGE rumble of thunder and as we wee heading back to the train the skies opened up.

vacation ups and downs day 2

This is really day three but Chris says the best part of being on vacation is forgetting what day it is.  That is all well and good if you don't have an itinerary, but we do, at least for tomorrow we do.  We will be taking the train to the Grand Canyon.  We have a tight schedule for the trip.  I hope we make it.  We have to Board the train at 9:15  we might miss the "wild West" show, which is probably just like the one in Pioneertown and Oatman and dozens of other places, including Knotts Berry Farm.  I won't be upset if I miss that.

I could give a pass on the food and entertainment at the Grand Depot Cafe.  It wasn't bad but it wasn't great.  The entertainment, however was downright painful.  One guy, singing, playing guitar and drums and "singing" from a list of songs.  I suppose the idea is that you request from his list and tip him.  Can I give him 20 bucks not to play for an hour?  Perhaps we should ask his hourly rate and take up a collection.  Chris and I were playing a ghastly version of "name that tune" based n his playlist and the lyrics we could understand.  He mumbled, some and either swallowed or made up the rest.  We took pity on the server for having to listen to that and tipped her "hazard pay"

Speaking of food, and when do I not?  We made a visit last night to our favorite place in Laughlin, Bumbleberry Flats.  We had an outstanding meal, we shared the twisted turkey dinner;which featured a sage stuffing waffle.  Some places have taken to making waffle-esque things out of mashed potatoes and stuffing.  It was quite good and filling!  For breakfast we went to the Coyote Cafe II in Bullhead City.  Typical diner food but really attentive servers and a pleasant vibe.

We will try the breakfast and as it is part of the package probably go back for dinner at the Depot Cafe.  Nothing to write home about.

Vacation ups and downs- Day 1

I needed a vacation.  Everyone has been telling me that and I have to agree.  We are in Laughlin.  I needed time near the water, UNFORTUNATELY the river is very low and the whole idea of taking a river cruise and just watching the river run now needs to be re-evaluated.  ARGH.

I will never eat at Harrah's buffet again.  I had an unpleasant experience.  It's expensive- well, pricy for what they offer- and I went to get dessert.  SOME of the desserts had warnings on them about nuts, I am allergic and I really SHOULD know better at this stage of the game.  I asked the person behind the counter if the strudel had nuts and she said "not that i'm aware of" so I got a piece.  seriously a lot of the other desserts said they had nuts so I MISTAKENLY assumed that the warnings were done universally.  NOPE!  A few bites in, I discover the walnuts.  I am only mildly allergic to walnut ( well I think so, I really never liked the taste of them so I don't really know)  I took an antihistamine and asked to speak to the manager .  I din't WANT anything from him, I wasn't asking for a comp or anything, I just wanted him to know what happened. His answer?  " we change the recipe all the time so I can't tell what's in it every day"  REALY?  Now I know traditional strudel does have walnuts ( except mine which has raisins)  I said "I'm allergic.  YOU COULD KILL SOMEONE by not warning them,"  He did not look like that statement was registering with  him.

Chris hit a fairly large jackpot.  We were fooling around in the casino.  He was down to the last 8 bucks in the machine and he said, "aw, I'm going to max bet the last two pulls"  I told him to go for it.  I was tired.    He hit $2,800 on the very last pull.  NOW our vacation just got a whole lot better!

Still, the reason I came here, to relax by the river is not going to work out as planned.  Time to regroup and see what else there is to do here.  We leave tomorrow for Arizona

Fear. Again

My sister thinks I'm a big chicken.  She has been known to make "bwak-bwak" noises at me when we are sitting on a roller coaster, for instance; conveniently forgetting I am strapped in the seat NEXT TO HER.  Afraid? You bet.  My sister is not afraid of anything.  I think as kids she would have jumped off the roof on a dare ( she may have done that but our childhoods were a long time ago and I can get a little fuzzy on the details)  I would have been the one trying to calculate how to jump and how to break the fall, and then decided it was better to be a live chicken than a dead duck.

I like to think that I have a certain amount of courage.  I have faced down some pretty terrible things and made it to the other side of them.  I remind myself that courage is not the absence of fear,it is being afraid and doing it anyway.   Today I am having a test done and I am more terrified than I probably should be.  The test itself will probably hurt a bit.  The literature on it says it's "uncomfortable"  My doctor told me to take a Vicodin before the test, which tells you just what level of "discomfort" he expects.  I am going to breathe and get through this.  The thing that scares me is the results. Either I will have the disease now or will need to have this test done on a regular basis to see if it develops.  I will get the results and consider my options.  Ultimately, I am looking at the surgery, it's really just a question of when, not if.   I doubt there is really a "good" time for this to happen, but this week it is really important for me to be able to do things.  My Bobby turns a year old on Friday and I am looking forward to going to a baseball game with him. We have the tickets.  I am making him a cake, per my daughter's request.  I don't have time to be out of it.

So send me good thoughts today. I'll check in later and tell you how it went.

Faith and Kim Davis

She's all over the news and social media, so I suppose it's time I tossed in my two cents on the whole Kentucky clerk question.

She's wrong.

My father used to say "your rights end at my nose" .  Kim swore an oath to uphold the law of the land and just because her beliefs don't jibe with that law, does not mean that she can pick and choose which laws she is oath-bound to uphold.When the law passed, it was her responsibility to approach her employer and say that she could not do this on moral grounds.  It was then their responsibility to come up with a compromise that would allow the law to be upheld without forcing someone to go against their (wrong-headed) beliefs.  She's in jail because she continued to defy a court order. She encouraged and instructed her staff to defy the court order. If you or I defied a work directive, we would be fired or at the very least put on administrative leave and sent to another department. Kim and her lawyer are trying desperately to make her a Christian Martyr.  I smell a book deal and the talk-show circuit in her future.

I identify as Christian, specifically  "Plain-wrap, white bread Christian" but there you have it.  There are a lot of people talking about how we practice a "fairy tale religion"  and frankly I am a bit more than offended by that stance.  In some ways, the non-believers are as bad as some of the more radical evangelicals who preach damnation of you don't believe EXACTLY as they do.  I think I am a rather intelligent person.  I am also a person of faith.  I do not know how someone who had no belief in anything gets out of bed in the morning. I know my faith informs me, it guides me and it give me hope. As the song goes "You've gotta believe in something, if you don't you will be lost."  I do not believe anyone needs to believe as I do.  I do question some people's interpretation of the Bible.  Accuse me of "cherry picking" but here is my interpretation:   Harm no one, Help them if you can. Love one another. What is hateful to you, do not do to others. The rest  of the Bible is commentary. If you look at the Bible, I believe scholars divide it into three parts; history, poetry and philosophy.  I don't take all the philosophical rhetoric to heart, as a lot of it is in direct conflict with other passages.  When developing a philosophy of your own, you study what others have said and embrace or discard those ideas as they apply - or don't- to the core of what you believe.

That being said, I hope the Kim Davis situation , and potential situations like hers, can be avoided.  The fact that she is using her religion to deny specific rights to human beings whose lifestyle she disagrees with is just plain wrong.  What if a fast food worker, whose place of business began selling a product that their beliefs forbade them to consume, decided that in stead of looking for a way to continue to work but not serve that product and denied customers based solely on their beliefs?  Now getting a pulled pork sandwich is not a basic human right, but you get the idea.  When is one segment of the religious community allowed to dictate what others must believe?   Despite what you hear, the Founding Fathers of this country were VERY clear on separation of church and state for that very reason. There is no reference to God in the Constitution.  I was always taught America was founded on freedom OF and  freedom FROM religion.  I hope that is made clear to Ms Davis and others who feel that they have the right to use their beliefs to enforce their biases.

Saturday morning coffee thoughts

It was quite a week and I am reflecting on it, as well as trying to wrap my head around the week ahead.

A while back I took a promotional exam and yesterday I found out I did not pass.  I was disappointed, but the more I think about it, the more I realize I did not really want the job and here's why:

1-  The job is mostly supervision.  I HATE supervising.  Chris observed that I am more of a hands-on  get-it -done kind of person.  I hate having to monitor and correct people's work.

2- I really like working at the Library and there is no job in that classification- that I can see- in the Department.  At this stage of my life, do I really want to go somewhere else and learn a whole new language of a new job?  Probably not.

3- Stress is NOT my friend.  While a little tension can make life interesting, I have seen the job above me and I am not sure the "cost" is worth the recompense.  Both the supervisors who work over me work longer hours and are always on call.  I can turn my phone off, they are salaried and can't.

4- I am facing some health challenges.   If things get bad, this is NOT the time to be trying to acclimate to a new position.

I need to realize that God ( or the Universe) has his plans and I need to see that although it may be not what I wanted, that it will be better in the end.


Reflecting on a recent encounter with an old friend, I realized that sometimes people from your past are in your past for a reason.  It wasn't an uncomfortable meeting, and this person is perfectly charming, but I realized that the thing that had made us friends at the time was not enough to hold a friendship together in the Now.  While I may see this person  from time to time, actively pursuing a deeper friendship is no longer on the table.  As we get older, casual friendships fall away.  Trying to maintain ties is difficult if the ties were tenuous to begin with.

Planning dinner with good friends this evening.  I have NO idea what I am making ( except for a roast chicken)  I am hoping the grocery store will provide some inspiration.   I had better get my tail in gear here.  I have "Saturday stuff" to do.