Saturday September 19, 2015

Grand Junction – Delta, CO – Carbondale – Aspen

155 miles

We were downstairs in the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express by 6:30 for juice and coffee and headed back to Main Street downtown for breakfast at the Dream Cafe.  I found it yesterday online and it’s across the street from Le Rouge.  Gorgeous morning, cold, clear, bright.

Wish we had the Dream Cafe at home!  They have our lamp.

Bob ordered two fried eggs (over hard, yolk cracked), Dream potatoes (hash browns), bacon and a biscuit.  Me; two poached eggs, ham and rye toast.  And strawberry basil jam.  All of it excellent.  Including diner coffee.  The place had a really comfortable happy vibe from the wait staff to the other customers.  Loved it.  Figuring out how we go back next Saturday when we leave Breckenridge and head home.

We had an easy and, again, gorgeous drive to Aspen.  The last time we got gas was Delta, UT and this morning we got gas in Delta, CO.  And a car wash to get the millions of squashed bugs and whatnot off the car and windshield.

We were stopped here for about 10 minutes for road work.

And Bob did this.  Not really but it looks like it.

We drove through mountains, by mountains, in view of mountains.  The trees are changing and the air is crispy clear.

We checked into our room at the Hyatt and, for the first time EVER, were disappointed.  We always get a studio here to save points and we have always been lucky; they have had tables — to play dominoes and give us an option to bring in take-out if we want, armchairs for reading etc.  This room had a huge bathroom, large hall entry, fireplace, king bed and that was it.  NO CHAIR(S).

We took a walk to find lunch and scope out the town.  Looked at menus, etc for an hour and sat at the J Bar in Hotel Jerome for a drink and maybe lunch.  I was really bummed about the room so took my phone and called the Hyatt Residence Club from the lobby.  Gave our sorry story, the (lovely!) woman called Aspen while I was on hold and said they could move us to a one bedroom.  We gulped our drinks — Long Table draught for me, house Chardonnay from Napa for Bob — and headed back to change rooms.  O M G.  Why we haven’t been getting a one bedroom all these years is beyond us!!  Damn the points.  We have two sets of double doors, full kitchen, glassware for martinis, champagne, white wine, Cabernet, a washer/dryer, steam shower…did anyone hear Bob whoop around 2:00p MT??  It is fantastic, as you can see…  No more studios for us.

We decided to skip lunch and go right to Happy Hour so we hung in the room catching up on emails, news until about 3:30 when we decided to prowl for something to eat and drink.  We both realized we were starving.  Brunelleschi’s  answered our prayers.  We have been here in previous years and always enjoyed it.  There were two seats at the end of the bar in front of a tv.  I ordered a Manhattan with local rye and Bob his Chivas.  They had a two topping happy hour pizza for $10 which we split with sausage and red peppers  — thin, blistered crust; fantastic.

From there we walked around for about an hour looking in stores and menus.  We decided to go to Mezzaluna, another favorite from years past, and see if we wanted dinner or more appetizers.  We sat at the bar in view of the pizza oven and ordered glasses of Pinot Grigio and Chianti for $5 happy hour price.   Bob ordered popcorn shrimp and I ordered the carpaccio.  We gobbled up both with another glass of Chianti.

It was about 6:00p and we decided we were full but stopped at City Market to get cheesecake, snacks for tomorrow, good chocolate…..   We were back in the room watching USC-Stanford, blogging, reading for the rest of the evening with the fireplace on and the French doors open.  Yay for upgrades.

Thursday September 17, 2015

Novato – Orinda – Reno

256 miles

Bob dropped me off in Larkspur for the 5:45a ferry and I Barted to the office so he could pick me up and start our trip from there.  We left Orinda about 2:15 and there was already pretty heavy traffic on 680. It was a slow slog from Cordelia through Sacramento almost to Auburn.  From Colfax through the mountains, we flew but it still took us 5 hours to get to Reno.  So we stopped there.

We checked into the Grand Sierra Resort where we stayed last August because we wanted to eat at Charlie Palmer‘s restaurant. We dumped our bags and were sitting at the bar with cocktails by 7:45.

The Broncos and Chiefs were just starting the third quarter — all good. We stayed at the bar to eat dinner because the restaurant was full and noisy.  I should have taken photos of the food!  We ordered everything to come at once: Bob ordered the filet that was about 2 inches thick with a caramelized whole shallot on top (!!) and a twice baked potato; I ordered the beef carpaccio, tomato burrata salad and grilled asparagus.  It was all beautiful.  The carpaccio looked like a flower with the arugala salad in the middle; the asparagus had the dijon butter (um, yum) blanketed on the stem end so the charred tips were free; the salad was a picture with stems of fresh basil…I could go on.  Bob sliced me a few hefty bites of his perfectly pink filet.  I ate everything!  We ordered a bottle of Klinker Brink zin because we had visited the winery when we were in Lodi and really like it — it was one of the best values ($45) on the menu by far.  And it was wonderful.  When the sommelier brought out the bottle we asked him to a pour himself a glass as he hadn’t had it before (even though on the menu?! note to self if you own a restaurant with sommeliers…..)  and had never been to Amador County.  He worked for and trained at Del Frisco’s in Dallas and they sent him on trips to all the high-end and big producers so he knows cabs and typical wines.  We liked him.  We might have invited him to visit….

The unfortunate part of the evening was a guy also at the bar who was a die-hard Broncos fan and kept pounding the bar and yelling — y e l l i n g — at every Bronco/Peyton up/down moment.  Oh, and he was wearing a Broncos Teebow jersey.  Yeah.

There were three different guys bartending and working the bar, all of whom were on point.   All of them understood the d***h*** was marring the atmosphere and said things like “Dude, hold it down” but the guy was spending $$$$$.   He was with a group of three other (polite) guys and then three women (hookers?) joined them just before we left.  We left a big tip for the bar tending trio.

Friday September 18, 2015

Reno – Fallon NV – Eureka  NV – Delta UT – Grand Junction CO

747 miles

We were up showered and walking through the huge, and clean!, lobby at 6:20.  I had grudgingly said I would get Starbucks in the lobby so we didn’t have to look for coffee – or drive the wrong direction to the Peets at the airport….   But there were 6 people in line and one person working so I took it as a sign and we just got in the car and started driving.

Bob had Googled ‘breakfast in Fallon’ and zeroed in on the Courtyard Cafe and Bakery where we landed at 7:30.  OMG.  Again, I neglected to take pictures so obviously I will never be a true blogger (yay?) but it was fantastic.  I did take this photo after Bob asked Gina (pictured) if he could sub the three pancakes he ordered for three slices of the chocolate cake (pictured).

I ordered the Garden Wrap which was scrambled eggs, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, grilled broccoli and salsa in a tortilla with fresh tomatoes and more salsa.  I ended up just eating the innards and leaving the soggy tortilla but I ate all. of. it.  So fresh, so good!  Bob had pancakes and sausage.  The coffee was decent and I got an Earl Grey tea to go.  Gina gave us two of their HUMONGOUS cinnamon rolls for nothing.  Gina was the only waitress on duty while we were there and she had at least two dozen customers seated, all of whom seemed like regulars.  There were two cooks and a baker who kept filling up the display cases while we were there: blueberry muffins, scones, cinnamon rolls…. the place smelled like yeast heaven.

From there we drove like the wind because Bob also Googled a restaurant in Grand Junction  and found Le Rouge Bistro and we had a reservation at 8p.  And we lost an hour to time change in Utah.

Even though we were on a mission and driving like hell, it was beautiful.  People make fun of us for driving so far but really there is nothing better.  We listen to music — usually Spa (or Sssspppaaaaaaaaaaa said in a deep whispery female voice) — or ESPN or an audiobook and the scenery and the miles just melt away.  For fans of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books, give The Girl in the Spiders Web a shot.  If I didn’t know it wasn’t written by Stieg Larsson, I wouldn’t know.  We started it on our Labor Day trip and I finished it on my commute; Bob stopped at Part Two so we are listening from there and I am enjoying it as much as the first time.

We made only two stops for gas and potty and made it to Grand Junction just before 7p.  We got to Le Rouge by 7:45 and instead of a table we sat at the bar.  What a delightful restaurant!  There was outdoor seating, an easy on the ears, low-key acoustic guitar player, high tables, white-clothed tables, energetic bar… Loved it the minute we walked in.  Three regulars who were set up for dinner at the bar shifted so we could fit and all was splendid from there.  We ordered our cocktails and Bob really started relaxing.  We both ordered steak frites and shared a caprese salad.  The steak was perfectly pink and tender, the frites crispy, the salad had a good bite and bitterness.  Delicious.  Bob chose another Gold Country wine that was excellent!  Terra d’Oro zin from Amador County.  We will be buying it.

Didn’t order dessert but in our room we warmed up the cinnamon rolls and both ate a cinnamony/chewy/yeasty center.

Monday May 25

Bridgeport to Novato over Sonora Pass

We were packed up and at the bakery at 6:05a.  Bob had two sugar doughnuts and I had a blueberry scone (real butter! powdered sugar! tons of blueberries! #bestsconeever), we bought a loaf of sourdough and took our coffees to go, driving out of Bridgeport at 6:25.

We had Sonora Pass to ourselves and it was a gorgeous morning with just a little fog at the start.

Except for a potty stop after Strawberry and another stop at the produce stand outside of Manteca (red onions, strawberries, yams, new crop raw almonds, peaches, fresh out of the oven mixed berry pie…..) we had a really easy and traffic-free trip home.  Great weekend!!

Saturday May 23 and Sunday May 24

On Saturday, we were awake early and at the bakery by 6:30.  The shelves were full of deliciousness.

Bob got an Americano and a sugar doughnut and I had an almond milk latte and raspberry scone.  O M G.  The sugar doughnut was like a pillowy cloud.  The scone was super light and not huge like some are.  We shared both.  Then Bob got a raspberry danish which he said was as good as everything else.  The bad news is they are closed on Sundays….

Bob left to go fishing and I walked back to the bakery with my book and got another latte.  There was a steady stream of people getting goodies and buying loaves of bread.  I hope they are a huge success.  Like them on Facebook: High Sierra Bakery, Main Street, Bridgeport.

Instead of fishing, Bob reserved a boat for us for tomorrow (yay) so we took off for Mammoth.  We intended to go to Convict Lake for lunch but the restaurant wasn’t open yet which is weird since Memorial Day is when they usually open.  So we spent some time at the outlets in Mammoth and then went to the gas station at Tioga and had lunch at the Whoa Nelli Deli.  This is a must-stop at the Tioga Pass junction on Hwy 395.

Bob had a ribeye steak sandwich with fries and I had an Asian salad with grilled salmon (mixed lettuces, cabbage, shredded carrots, cucumber, mandarin oranges, cashew nuts; no crispy noodles, dressing on the side).  Excellent!!  Oh and a Golden Trout Pilsner from Mammoth.

The skies were stormy and beautiful on the way back to Bridgeport, especially by Mono Lake.

A truck slid off the side of the highway and almost went into a ravine because of a sudden, heavy hailstorm that left this on the road:

It was pouring when we got back to Bridgeport so we played dominoes downstairs in the living room.  I kicked Bob’s ass.

While we were sitting there, more guests kept arriving and Jeannie, who manages both Cain House and the Silver Maple Inn with her husband, Ed, a retired photographer, said both places were full for Saturday night.  We liked it better when it was just us….

Back to the Bridgeport Inn to hang out with Cindi.  It was rocking, unlike last night.  We had our cocktails and ordered dinner: fried chicken and a baked potato for Bob and we split a caesar salad; I had brown rice and vegetables.  We had a glass each of the house Cab ($9) which is pretty good.  Rained hard and the Warriors won!!

Sunday morning we went downstairs for the complimentary breakfast.  Wish the bakery was open!!  Had some meh coffee, hard boiled egg whites… Bob had some yogurt, a muffin and OJ.  Then we packed up the car and the cooler and headed for Twin Lakes and our boat.

It was mostly sunny but with rain clouds so it was sweater on, sweatshirt on, sweatshirt off, sweater off, repeat, repeat, repeat all day until it started raining and then it was everything on including rain slickers

We used the Skywalker Christmas gift picnic backpack for the first time.  It’s a really great pack that serves four with wine glasses (plastic), a small cutting board, knife, corkscrew, napkins, cutlery, plates…. and a blanket and a bottle of the 2011 Viandante Del Cielo Pinot Noir.  Great gift! Spread our lunch (proscuitto, havarti, goat cheese, grapes) on top of the cooler and enjoyed it just before the rain started!

It rained on my book:

Guy Fieri piloted us back to the dock.

It was such a fun day and a beautiful little lake.  We will definitely do that again.

Dinner at the bar; Cindi was supposed to be off but got called in to work so that was good!  We had our respective cocktails and then opened the Skywalker Pinot and shared a glass with Cindi.  It was really nice wine.  Bob had the special, a T-bone Porterhouse, with baked potato and salad.  I had half a caesar (no croutons, dressing on the side), brown rice and vegetables and the tenderloin part of Bob’s t-bone that he gave me, lovely man that he is.  Tourists in the house tonight: France, Germany, India and Australia were all represented.

Friday May 22

Novato to Bridgeport  275 miles (Hwy 37 to 80 E to 50 E to Mormon Emigrant Trail to 88 E over Carson Pass and Monitor Pass to Hwy 395)

Friday-light traffic even though we didn’t leave until after 7:30.  Bob watered outside and I spent about 45 minutes on email before we left.

Our first stop was the Valley Cafe in Suisun Valley which is becoming one of our favorite breakfast spots.  Full of regulars — there are shelves of coffee mugs that customers have brought in and all the servers pick out the right mug and start filling it before the regulars even sit down.  The food is good and fresh and local.  Bob had fried eggs, bacon, hash browns, a biscuit (griddled with butter) and OJ; I had poached eggs, an English muffin and fruit (delicious local deep-red sweet strawberries).  Bob said he always has to have the hash browns in the future, they are that good.  Usually he has the dinner plate-sized pancake 🙂 The trip was pretty easy.  We had rain off and on from just past Sacramento.  It got down to 40* going by Kirkwood.

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Raining!!

There was an ancient Veteran wearing all his medals selling rubber duckies when we stopped to get gas.  We gave him $20 and he said we could take six ducks or some car magnets.  We just took this guy who is going to be a good luck charm.

Drove into Bridgeport just at 2p.  First stop, the Barn.  Bob got a burger and I got a soft taco (grilled filet, pico de gallo, corn tortilla, HOT sauce. Yum).

Next stop, the bakery next door which is only open from this weekend through Labor Day.  They are the third generation of Nugents.  It  has been closed for several years but the grandson of the original Nugents re-opened it now that their kids are grown. They open at 6a and have almond milk.  Score.  Oh, and donuts and all sorts of other Bob-approved baked goods. Checked into the Cain House and caught up on email, etc while the rain/hail storm passed.  The temperature dropped about 10*.  We have never stayed at the Cain House before as we were always at the neighboring Silver Maple Inn which is very pet friendly.  The room is sort of small but very comfortable and we are in a corner to have two big windows (that open!).

The court house is about a block away and when the bells chime on the hour, they play segments of hymns.  It is beautiful.

At cocktail time, we walked down to the Bridgeport Inn and saw this, which could have been here 50 years ago.

Cindi, our favorite bartender, was behind the bar and Smitty and his wife, Donna, were seated in their customary stools.  Smitty is 90-something and was a boxer of some fame in his day.  There are photos hanging in the bar of him in his prime.  His hands and fingers are pretty mangled but otherwise he is quite spry and in good shape.  His wife is a retired principal and school administer who was so special that they still call her back to substitute and help out.  They have been there often when we have been in town and are always a delight.  We had our usual…. Chivas on the rocks with an olive; Ketel One Dirty; two filets medium rare with baked potato and salad for Bob and vegetables and salad for me.  It didn’t seem as busy as it should have for a three-day weekend, either at the bar or at our hotel.  There was only one other car at the Cain House and the Silver Maple Inn was only about half full.  It is so nice to be back in Bridgeport where we are more regulars than anywhere at home except the grocery stores……

Sunday, December 28

371 miles Winnemucca NV to Novato (80W to 37W to Atherton/San Marin to Novato Blvd to Sandy Creek Way)

2,323 miles total

We were up and in the car by 6:20.  It was 33* which seems balmy considering we were in temps on Saturday between 9* and 34* with most of the day in the mid-teens.   It was really clear and the sky was just starting to lighten up in the east.  Most of the day on Saturday we listened to The Emperor’s Tomb by Steve Berry.  It is another book featuring Cotton Malone, a retired special forces type spy who keeps getting pulled into ‘special situations’.  They are pretty far-fetched situations but Cotton is a good guy and the stories are good — always weaving interesting historical facts (and fiction) with economics, geo-political realities (and fake).  The miles fly by.

Here is our shadow racing along the dry desert between Lovelock (Hi OJ!) and Reno.

Our favorite breakfast spot, The Cowpoke Cafe (one word: BISCUITS) in Lovelock is closed on Sunday so I started Yelping.  Bob really wanted to do a breakfast buffet.  In a casino.  In Reno.  So I read him reviews and checked out websites.  We settled on Sterlings in the Silver Legacy.  It had an extraordinary amount of good reviews that felt ‘real’.

We were standing at the entrance to Sterling’s at 5 minutes to 9a behind two other couples waiting for the 9a open.  We were seated in a leather booth in a lovely room with snowy tablecloths and napkins.  The table settings included multiple (nice, heavy silver) forks and knives along with water goblets, champagne flutes and china coffee cups.  Our handsome waistcoated waiter poured Bob orange juice, me ice water, and both of us Proseco and coffee.  He gave us the lay of the land and off we went.  O M G.  I don’t have much experience with buffets except for the one at the Paris but this one is incredible!  Breakfast food: scrambled eggs, omelet station, every sort of breakfast meat, waffles, pancakes, blintzes, every imaginable breakfast bread, pastry, muffin, bagel, etc.  Seafood:  snow crab claws, salmon – hot smoked, lox and gravlaax, herring – pickled plain and in sour cream, sushi (California rolls), prawns, seafood salads.  Huge assortment of cheese. Salad bar. Yogurts and cereal, hot and cold, with every possible add-in, add-on.  Ex-breakfast food: lollipop lamb chops, Asian beef, beef with broccoli, roasted salmon, beef tenderloin hash, roasted potatoes (many kinds of different potato dishes), roasted asparagus, roasted mixed vegetables (red peppers, zucchini, broccoli)… and on and on and on.  Oh and the dessert selection was enormous.  I will try to remember what Bob had but I was too busy enjoying my own choices to pay much attention.  Bob: lamb chops, potatoes, blintz, waffle, bacon, prawns, crab claws, three smallish desserts.  Me (all 2-3 bites except where noted): roast salmon, a lamb chop, mixed vegs, asparagus, sushi (one piece not a whole roll), prawn, salmon all three ways (seconds…. ), plain herring (seconds… ), greens with red pepper, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, tomato.  Maybe more herring and gravlaax.  And Ishrae, our lovely waiter, would have filled up my glass with the entire bottle of Proseco if I didn’t stop him at about two.  Turns out he moved to SF from Pakistan in 1982, lived at Buchanan and Union Street and worked at Perry’s, Disco 2000 and other places until in moved to Reno in the late ’90s.  Became a HUGE 49er fan when his buddy took him to a game, even though Ishrae didn’t really understand football.  It turned out to be the game Dwight made THE CATCH and Ishrae was a fan ever since.  He is also a Harbaugh fan and watched the Harbaugh brothers’ Super Bowl in Pakistan at 2:30 in the morning, staying up all night.  He was so kind and soft-spoken and truly a Professional server from the old school.  It was a great experience!!  Even though it seems pricey ($40 per person), the quality of the food, the service, the decor and atmosphere make it seem reasonable.  We will definitely do it again.

Rest of the trip was thankfully uneventful notwithstanding the idiots who don’t know how to drive in the mountains or the meaning of SLOWER TRAFFIC STAY TO THE RIGHT.   Even with typical slowdowns at 80/50 merge and through Vacaville etc we made it home by 1:30 to watch the 49ers (barely) win one last game for Coach.

A truly wonderful trip.  Already planning next year…….

Saturday, December 27

654 miles Moab UT — Winnemucca, NV (191 to 70W to 89N to 15 to 154N to 80)

Many miles today and every one of them was gorgeous.  So much snow once we got to 70 going west — about 30 miles north of Moab.  Bob drove most of the day, turning over the wheel to me at our lunch spot at the Sinclair station in Bonneville Flats. I found the Salt Flats Cafe on Yelp and, as the glowing reviews said, we had delicious and cheap! Mexican food.  It was full of people, most of them regulars.  Three soft chicken tacos (corn tortilla, grilled chicken, shredded lettuce and tomatoes) with rice and beans was $4.95.  Our whole lunch, including a side of sour cream and Dr. Pepper for Bob, was $12.  And it was GOOD.

Here are some road side photos from Moab til lunch:

That is a little furry shetland pony to the left.

The big white mound below on the right is SALT!  At the Morton’s Salt plant just outside Salt Lake City.  It was enormous.

I drove the rest of the way to Winnemucca.  We stopped at the California Trail Interpretive Center, west of Elko, which I would recommend to anyone with any interest in California history and especially the westward expansion.  It’s a beautiful building and cleverly presented information and exhibits.  We checked into the Best Western at about 5:30 — always really clean — and headed out to the Ormachea Basque restaurant, which was recommended when we came through town on our way home from Breckenridge and we loved.  We had our cocktails and ate dinner in the bar area.  Being that it’s Basque family-style and there is a TON of food, Bob ordered a filet and I just ordered soup and salad.  The owner’s wife who waited on us gave us that tip so I could have a few bites of Bob’s filet and any of the sides.  We were served: vegetable soup (wonderful especially with a shot of Tobasco sauce), green salad, french fries (crispy), pasta (didn’t touch), green beans (didn’t touch), sauteed mushrooms (I ate almost all of them), filet (juicy, tasty, medium rare).

Next to us was a table of three guys celebrating one of their birthdays, Jerry — 59.  They all three ordered Picon Punches which I have always been curious about so I asked them what was in them and they bought us one.  The way Ormachea makes it is a splash of grenadine, then Picon liqueur, splash of soda and a floater of brandy on ice.  It was actually good though I don’t think I could drink a whole one.  Bob told our waitress that he wanted to buy them their next round and before they ordered it were joined by three more friends.  lol.  Of course he bought the lot of them a round and they were pretty happy.  One of the guys owns bars in Carson City (The Fiesty Goat) and Sparks (don’t know name) and The Pig in Winnemucca which is a bbq place we have never been.  Now you know.  We ordered a bottle of wine but we only had a glass each and took the rest home.  Who knew cupholders can also transport bottles of wine?

Friday, December 26

50 miles to, in and around Arches National Park

We were awake early watching CNBC but moved slowly. There was a couple of inches snow on everything! This is from the bedroom window onto the balcony:

I didn’t go downstairs to make coffee until 8:15.  Bob decided he wanted a sandwich with the filet, sourdough toast, horseradish, lettuce and tomato. We had no lettuce so it meant – ta da! – a trip to the store! We brought our coffee mugs in case the little drive-through coffee hut, Wicked Brew, that we noticed yesterday was open.   Everything looked so pretty with snow! These hills look outlined, about 2 miles on the main road from our condo.

Next to the Village Market is a bike shop/coffee spot called Chile Pepper. They did indeed have an espresso machine but it smelled like grease in the shop — not a bad smell but not really conducive to coffee. Pass. Once again we were the only patrons in Village Market. Decided to shop for dinner (lettuce, broccoli, bottled water, Talenti double chocolate gelato to go with the Toll House cookies).

The Wicked Brew was open and there were cars on both sides; we were third in line. We figured that was a good sign.   Two Americanos were $6 plus $2 tip. And the coffees were Good.

We got home and I made an omelet with avocado toast, two discs of ham and salsa. Bob made ….. not a sandwich. He saw the leftover mashed potatoes and decided to sauté those up with some shallots and onions and scrambled eggs.

We cleaned up and dressed up in thermals, boots, gloves and hats to go to Arches National Park as temp is 30*.  There is a great visitor center with a lot of interactive presentations.  We watched a 17-minute movie that was made over a period of 8 years and has lots of time lapse photography covering the four seasons. It was really good. “Water erosion and gravity” are what form the 2000 aches in the park and that is also what destroys them.

This is a glimpse of the wonders we saw driving and hiking around for about three hours. It was amazing and fun.

There was a sign at the beginning of the trail up to these formations that said “Name this Rock” and it was for the double arches, not the, uh, tower.  But anyone who knows Bob will be able to guess what he ‘named’ this ‘formation’.  The Polish Penis.

After we left Arches, we stopped at Moab Brewery for beers (Hefeweizen for Bob, Derailleur Ale for me), both fresh and delicous. And some fantastic popcorn with loads of black pepper and hot sauce.

Home we went to play dominoes for the afternoon. Bob kicked my ass.

Dinner was delicious and easy. Potatoes au gratin, roasted broccoli, salad and leftover tenderloin.   And an old vine zin.

We cleaned up and started packing up for the trip home. We could easily stay here a week and explore this area.

Thursday, December 25

30 miles? Condo-only store open-condo-only store open-condo-only store open-condo.

I woke up first at 4:50 and read til I thought it ok to wake up Bob at 6:00 crawling over him to get to the channel changer for news.  Which didn’t work because every channel had either a yule log or a Morman Tabernacle choir or some other preacher.  Really.  Even the cable channels.  Bob woke up singing and sang it all.  “There is nothing on TV.  But it is Christmas so we shouldn’t care”  I don’t really have the tune to give you but it works.  I always get up laughing.

This is a lovely condo.  There is a gas fireplace in the big living/dining/kitchen area downstairs — along with a half bath and laundry room.  Upstairs is a large master with bath, two sinks and three, large mirrored closets plus two more bedrooms and full bath.

Here is the downstairs — I brought Christmas lights.

We made coffee and opened our little gifts and cards…..Very peaceful with no people or cars or anything moving outside.

While reading the little Moab newspaper, Bob noticed there was one grocery store open on Christmas day, Village Market, so at 7:30 he called and a guy named Bob answered.  My Bob asked how late they were open and that Bob said til 5p.  My Bob got a gleam in his eye… we had forgotten garlic (??@!!! seriously?) and Vons hadn’t had leeks which we need for the potatoes au gratin so off we go.  The road and town are empty of all signs of life.  We got to Village Market, about 4 miles away, and it was closed… not open til 9a.  So back we go.  And it means another trip to the store later.  Bob is not unhappy.

Bob made a lovely breakfast of potatoes lyonnaise, scrambled eggs with diced ham and sliced tomatoes which we had about 9a with a glass of champagne — and I remembered the champagne stopper yay.

After Bob did the dishes YES!!! we went back to the store.  Bob is the owner and his wife was at the cash register.  They had their Christmas dinner on Sunday so they could be open Christmas day and, as she said, “tonight I get to watch my shows — no cooking no dishes!”

The rest of the day was blissfully relaxing.  I made onion soup for lunch — the onions carmelize for about three hours in a Dutch oven, with stirring every 15 minutes or so.  It calls for sherry which we didn’t bring but one of the little airplane cocktail bottles we brought was Remy Martin cognac so used that.  Then added beef stock and chicken stock (about 3:1) and let it simmer with thyme for about 45 minutes.  We had a bowl for lunch with gruyere sourdough toasts and the rest of the champagne.  Cheers!  Merry Christmas!

The rest of the afternoon we read, watched old John Wayne movies and played 3-13 🙂 I won.   Oh, and Bob went to the store one more time (horseradish and chives… )  We watched snow flurries on and off all afternoon and it finally started sticking a bit around 4p.

It’s sticking to my sweater!  And then it piles up on the grill.

We started making dinner.  Our filet which has been seasoning overnight with salt and pepper looks like this:

We put it in the oven at 225* for about 3 hours with no oil or anything.  Serious Eats recipe. Meanwhile Bob made mashed potatoes (sour cream, butter, parmesan cheese) and asparagus and  I put together a salad of radish, red leaf lettuce, celery and cucumbers.  We finished the steak with a sear with shallots, chives and thyme and served it with horseradish.  AND we had it with Joseph Phelps Insignia 2011 from Grant, my ex-colleague, almost boss and now very dear friend.  It was perfect.

Bob made chocolate chip cookies for dessert and we went to bed. This is Bob’s favorite photo.  The filet seasoning overnight and his future dessert underneath.

Merry Christmas!  (I would like to say that every day..).

Wednesday, December 24

518 miles Las Vegas – Moab (I-15 to 9 (Zion Mt. Carmel Road) to 89 to 12 (Scenic Byway, loaded with National and State Parks) to 24 East to 70 E to 191 South)

Gorgeous day!!  We were checked out and driving away from Paris to Vons at 6:15.

Leaving Las Vegas:

We loaded up on groceries for two days since we don’t know what sort of stores we’ll have in Moab.   We were the only people in Vons except for the workers loading the shelves… LOL.   We were on the road again by 7:10 heading up I-15 towards Zion.

We lost an hour when we left Nevada so I started looking for coffee places on Yelp when I realized it was already 10a local time.  Up came Main Street Cafe in Hurricane just below the entrance to Zion.  It had 4-1/2 stars which is a lot.  What a find!  Two young women servers and a male cook.  Maybe 10 tables most were full and they were ALL regulars.  Bob ordered the Begian Waffle with sausage and I had the Veggie Scramble (two eggs, mushrooms, peppers, onions with sliced avocado and tomato on the side).  Bob had an Americano and me a cappuccino with soy — so perfect; I asked for one exactly like it for the road.

I have to start taking the photos from Bob’s side… his waffle was humongous.  Hahaha.    He likes this photo:

This was on the wall by our table, which is an appropriate motto for our road trips/life.

I took hundreds — literally and I mean literally — of photos and you will see too many but it was so hard to cull! We went through Zion, Bryce, Escalante and Capitol Reef on the way to Moab.  It was breathtaking.

We saw big horn sheep on the side of the road in Zion and cows on the road outside Boulder followed five minutes later by deer.  What follows is a very small percentage of our day in photos…..

The sunset behind us:

We got to Moab and the condo at 6:30p.  It was pitch black so we used both our phones to get into the lockbox and enter.  By the time we got in, dumped our bags and loaded everything into the fridge it was after 7p.  We headed back out to the one restaurant we saw that was open. We were starving as we only snacked on apples, nuts and water in the car since breakfast.

The Branding Iron.  Beer only (I had a Stella draught, Bob had a Pepsi).  Welcome to Utah.  The menu was the anti-Sharon menu of all-time.  We had intended to be here early enough to make onion soup for dinner with a salad but….   Bob had the chicken fried chicken (really) which came with a baked potato, Cowboy (baked) beans and a dinner salad.  I ordered a baked potato and a dinner salad.  Can we say carbs??  The salad was good and full of carrots, cukes, red onion and the baked potato was good, with a little butter.  Bob’s chicken came with white gravy which really bummed him out.  It was all fine.  We eat well enough!!

Went back to the condo and watched an old John Wayne movie with a glass of our good wine and some dark chocolate.

Did I mention that everyone has wished us and everyone else Merry Christmas this whole trip?  Is it only Northern California that is so f’g PC everyone is afraid to ‘offend’?   MERRY CHRISTMAS!