Wednesday we got up and went to look at RVs. Yes, we are more and more leaning towards upgrading the coach and living in it in Monterey. There seem to be so many more advantages to it. We saw a few nice ones and so far, the Eagle by Jayco is at the top of my list. No coach is going to be perfect for me unless I design it myself, but this one was pretty close. Now we really need to verify that our truck will still be able to tow it with ease.
We had lunch at Sushi Pier, giving Bill his all-you-can-eat-sushi fix. The food was good, but I didn't eat enough to make it worth the price. Bill made up for it, so we're even.
After lunch we went to a few other dealers and then drove to Jimmy Beans Wool. Those who know me have probably been wondering why I haven't been posting my knitting progress. That's because there hasn't been much. I finished a pair of socks while in Colorado. I've been working on the second sock of another pair lately, but I just haven't put much time into it. I've had great knitting time in the car, but I've been dealing with Marco a lot, and this pattern just isn't that great for working in the car. It has a lot of cables in it and working on it for too long at a stretch is not good for my hands. The rest of the time we've been seeing sights or people, so there really has not been good knitting time. I may try to work on it a little tomorrow as we drive, depending on Marco.
So anyway, we got to JBW and found them moving. Just my luck. I'm here during the week they are relocating. I wish they would have put that on their website; I wouldn't have tried to visit. Oh well. It just wasn't meant to be.
For dinner we met up with two of my MBA classmates and their wives. We went to Silver Peak Brewery. I had a hefeweizen, which was outstanding. For dinner I had the crimini and asparagus pizza, which was also outstanding. It was so good to see Ron and Scot and their wives (Rosemary and Jeannie) again. Ron and Scot were so great to work with through school, or at least the Reno half of it. They are really cool people, fun to hang out with, and great conversationalists. I really had a great time at dinner.
Tomorrow we head out again. We're going to try to get an early start (yeah, I've said that before).
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Day Thirty-five of the big move west
Tuesday was a really awesome day! I had planned to do a long run this morning, but an invitation to breakfast trumped that. We met Jennifer and Craig early for breakfast. We were planning to go to a new place called the Courtyard Cafe, but it wasn't going to open until 7:30. We ended up at Anecita's Good Food, which I think made Jennifer really happy. It is her favorite breakfast.
We chatted with them for a while, then made our way back to base to meet Darren at the coffee shop. He and Bill were together at VFA-2, and we enjoyed hanging out with him and his wife, Tricia, when we were in Lemoore. It was great to catch up with him. From there, Bill went back to the coach and I went to Public Works to see my co-workers. First stop was to see Truman. Unfortunately everyone was at a training program at the theater. I ran into Fred, and it was so awesome to talk to him. I also saw my old boss, John, and that was fun. People started filtering back in and Belinda and Martha were outside John's office. We went up to find Truman, but Mark told us that he went to the contractor meeting. Belinda thought it was in the conference room, but it was at the site. Mark offered to drive me over. Mark was a Seabee when I started at PW. He left two months later. Now he's back as a civilian. We got along really well. I think he was surprised that I had as much knowledge as I did and that I cared as much as I did. It was great to see him again.
He pulled Truman out of the meeting. I heard him come out saying, "What is so important?" Then he looked over and saw me and it took him a minute to process what he was seeing, but he came down the stairs and gave me a big hug. He said he and Fred were talking about me that morning (which Fred had mentioned too). Truman looks great! He's lost 70 pounds! Unfortunately he started smoking again, after being off the cigarettes for five and a half years.
He, Fred, and Mark all mentioned that they want me to come back, because there are no good engineers there. I'm truly flattered that they noticed the hard work I put in. I really cared about my job there and sometimes I felt stymied by the system. It feels good to be appreciated.
After that visit, I picked up Tawny and went to CAPS (the Churchill Animal Protection Society), where I volunteered for a few years. We adopted Tawny from there and I thought Teresa and Sharon would like to see her again. I asked for Teresa to come out and I said "I'm bringing this dog back ... for a visit!" She was speechless! Then she went in to get Sharon and tell her that she couldn't handle this return and Sharon had to do it. So I told her the same thing. She was only looking at the dog. Then she saw me and was stunned. It was fun to surprise them. I got a tour of the revamped facility and it looks really good. Tawny had a fun time there. She ran around the office and the office cat chased her. He reached for the leash, hooked it around his paw and got dragged around the office. He loved it! It was really sweet!
From there we went back to the coach, hooked up, and headed out. We dropped by Belinda's house and Dave showed us their new Montana fifth-wheel. Nice. Then we headed to Fernley and lunch with Darren's wife, Tricia. We really enjoyed that. We babysat their son while she went to pick up their daughter. I spent a bit of time with those two in Lemoore, but they were too young and didn't remember me. I was a little bummed at that, but such is life. We didn't realize we had spent so much time there. It was after five o'clock when we finally got on the road again!
We made it into Reno, but the office at the RV park had already closed. It took us a while to figure out what to do, but we finally got our site. It was a tight fit and it took us a while to get situated. Then we sat back in our chairs and enjoyed a fine bottle of wine. We made dinner and relaxed. We'll be here tomorrow too, and we're going to have dinner with two of my classmates from my Masters program tomorrow night. I am really looking forward to seeing them again.
I really enjoyed my day in Fallon. I don't know that I would want to move back here, but it was so nice to see people again. What a fantastic, nostalgic, day!
Mileage for the day = 73
Total mileage = 3960
We chatted with them for a while, then made our way back to base to meet Darren at the coffee shop. He and Bill were together at VFA-2, and we enjoyed hanging out with him and his wife, Tricia, when we were in Lemoore. It was great to catch up with him. From there, Bill went back to the coach and I went to Public Works to see my co-workers. First stop was to see Truman. Unfortunately everyone was at a training program at the theater. I ran into Fred, and it was so awesome to talk to him. I also saw my old boss, John, and that was fun. People started filtering back in and Belinda and Martha were outside John's office. We went up to find Truman, but Mark told us that he went to the contractor meeting. Belinda thought it was in the conference room, but it was at the site. Mark offered to drive me over. Mark was a Seabee when I started at PW. He left two months later. Now he's back as a civilian. We got along really well. I think he was surprised that I had as much knowledge as I did and that I cared as much as I did. It was great to see him again.
He pulled Truman out of the meeting. I heard him come out saying, "What is so important?" Then he looked over and saw me and it took him a minute to process what he was seeing, but he came down the stairs and gave me a big hug. He said he and Fred were talking about me that morning (which Fred had mentioned too). Truman looks great! He's lost 70 pounds! Unfortunately he started smoking again, after being off the cigarettes for five and a half years.
He, Fred, and Mark all mentioned that they want me to come back, because there are no good engineers there. I'm truly flattered that they noticed the hard work I put in. I really cared about my job there and sometimes I felt stymied by the system. It feels good to be appreciated.
After that visit, I picked up Tawny and went to CAPS (the Churchill Animal Protection Society), where I volunteered for a few years. We adopted Tawny from there and I thought Teresa and Sharon would like to see her again. I asked for Teresa to come out and I said "I'm bringing this dog back ... for a visit!" She was speechless! Then she went in to get Sharon and tell her that she couldn't handle this return and Sharon had to do it. So I told her the same thing. She was only looking at the dog. Then she saw me and was stunned. It was fun to surprise them. I got a tour of the revamped facility and it looks really good. Tawny had a fun time there. She ran around the office and the office cat chased her. He reached for the leash, hooked it around his paw and got dragged around the office. He loved it! It was really sweet!
From there we went back to the coach, hooked up, and headed out. We dropped by Belinda's house and Dave showed us their new Montana fifth-wheel. Nice. Then we headed to Fernley and lunch with Darren's wife, Tricia. We really enjoyed that. We babysat their son while she went to pick up their daughter. I spent a bit of time with those two in Lemoore, but they were too young and didn't remember me. I was a little bummed at that, but such is life. We didn't realize we had spent so much time there. It was after five o'clock when we finally got on the road again!
We made it into Reno, but the office at the RV park had already closed. It took us a while to figure out what to do, but we finally got our site. It was a tight fit and it took us a while to get situated. Then we sat back in our chairs and enjoyed a fine bottle of wine. We made dinner and relaxed. We'll be here tomorrow too, and we're going to have dinner with two of my classmates from my Masters program tomorrow night. I am really looking forward to seeing them again.
I really enjoyed my day in Fallon. I don't know that I would want to move back here, but it was so nice to see people again. What a fantastic, nostalgic, day!
Mileage for the day = 73
Total mileage = 3960
Day Thirty-four of the big move west
Sadly we left Las Vegas on Monday morning. We didn't leave as early as we should have, but we enjoyed the sleeping in. I think our wallets are happy we left but I think we could have spent much more time there enjoying the shows and the sights of the strip.
We hit 95 and headed north to Fallon. We lived in Fallon for two and a half years. We still have several friends there. There was a lot of construction on the road. We made several stops and decided to shut off the engine. That was a smart move as several vehicles ahead of us overheated and had to be pushed off the road. We saw a huge dust devil along the road. I have not seen one that tall in a long time.
We drove past Walker Lake, which looked very much like a mirage! It is a beautiful lake, but as I found out later the salinity is increasing every year, which is reducing the recreational opportunities. Regardless, it was nice to see some green popping up amongst all the brown.
Abby likes to ride in the space between the two front seats. When she looks forward and sniffs, it looks like she is co-piloting. It is cute.
We put the Thundershirt on Marco for this drive. The Thundershirt is designed for dogs. Cat anatomy is different as we found out and he was slithering out of it every half hour or so. I will have to make some modifications when I get my sewing machine back. That being said, it did seem to keep him quiet. We tried putting him in a carrier and I think that worked pretty well, too. He was singing less on this trip that on previous trips.
We arrived in Fallon around 6:45. We called Belinda, one of my Fallon co-workers, to join us for dinner. Luckily she was free and met us at Don Julio's. We used to go there pretty often when we lived in Fallon. It was the place that created the Tuesday Night Supper Club, a group of 5 to 8 of us who would go out to dinner every Tuesday. I think we moved it to Wednesdays at one point, but it was a great social event. We always had a great time.
It was really awesome to spend that kind of quality time with Belinda and it was good to meet her husband. I have heard so much about him, but never met him. Belinda is very special to me. My mother-in-law taught me to knit, but Belinda took me to the next level. She instilled in me the confidence that I needed. I am an engineer. I can think logically. Knitting is really just math. I just needed someone to tell me that, and that someone was Belinda. Once I got that sense of confidence, I was able to make some really great things. I owe her more than I can ever repay. I paid it forward, by trying to instill that kind of confidence in my customers. In any case, I really enjoyed having the evening to catch up with her.
We stayed at the RV park on NAS Fallon. I was monitoring the construction on that when I worked there. There have been a few changes, but overall it was a nice park. It would be better with some landscaping. Even one blade of grass would have been a welcome sight. Anyway, it was a nice stop for a night or two. Not that good long term.
Mileage for the day = 393
Total mileage = 3887
We hit 95 and headed north to Fallon. We lived in Fallon for two and a half years. We still have several friends there. There was a lot of construction on the road. We made several stops and decided to shut off the engine. That was a smart move as several vehicles ahead of us overheated and had to be pushed off the road. We saw a huge dust devil along the road. I have not seen one that tall in a long time.
We drove past Walker Lake, which looked very much like a mirage! It is a beautiful lake, but as I found out later the salinity is increasing every year, which is reducing the recreational opportunities. Regardless, it was nice to see some green popping up amongst all the brown.
Abby likes to ride in the space between the two front seats. When she looks forward and sniffs, it looks like she is co-piloting. It is cute.
We put the Thundershirt on Marco for this drive. The Thundershirt is designed for dogs. Cat anatomy is different as we found out and he was slithering out of it every half hour or so. I will have to make some modifications when I get my sewing machine back. That being said, it did seem to keep him quiet. We tried putting him in a carrier and I think that worked pretty well, too. He was singing less on this trip that on previous trips.
We arrived in Fallon around 6:45. We called Belinda, one of my Fallon co-workers, to join us for dinner. Luckily she was free and met us at Don Julio's. We used to go there pretty often when we lived in Fallon. It was the place that created the Tuesday Night Supper Club, a group of 5 to 8 of us who would go out to dinner every Tuesday. I think we moved it to Wednesdays at one point, but it was a great social event. We always had a great time.
It was really awesome to spend that kind of quality time with Belinda and it was good to meet her husband. I have heard so much about him, but never met him. Belinda is very special to me. My mother-in-law taught me to knit, but Belinda took me to the next level. She instilled in me the confidence that I needed. I am an engineer. I can think logically. Knitting is really just math. I just needed someone to tell me that, and that someone was Belinda. Once I got that sense of confidence, I was able to make some really great things. I owe her more than I can ever repay. I paid it forward, by trying to instill that kind of confidence in my customers. In any case, I really enjoyed having the evening to catch up with her.
We stayed at the RV park on NAS Fallon. I was monitoring the construction on that when I worked there. There have been a few changes, but overall it was a nice park. It would be better with some landscaping. Even one blade of grass would have been a welcome sight. Anyway, it was a nice stop for a night or two. Not that good long term.
Mileage for the day = 393
Total mileage = 3887
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Day Thirty-three of the big move west
In a word -- INDULGENCE.
After the run this morning we went to brunch. We went to Caesar's Palace to Max Brenner's. Talk about going off the wagon. This place is made for chocoholics! We had a mug of hot chocolate (I got milk chocolate, Bill got the dark mocha). It comes in a "hug mug" so you are supposed to hold it with two hands. It was quite tasty.
For food Bill ordered the Illegal Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Pancakes and I had the Chocolate Cheesecake Crepe. Mine was about 12" long. There was a chocolatey cheesecake filling in the crepe. There were milk chocolate chips running down one side of the roll and white chocolate chips down the other side. These melted as I ate. There was also a warm caramel sauce and a cup of whipped cream with raspberry sauce. I can't believe I ate the whole thing!
Then we rolled out of there and picked up tickets for the show tonight, got in the truck, ran a few errands, and came back to the coach. I took a nap and Bill went swimming. Well, I attempted to take a nap. It didn't seem to matter how tired I was. I just couldn't sleep.
We left around 5:30 and went to Olives at the Bellagio for dinner tonight. We were really impressed with our waiter's knowledge of the menu. The bread was really good, as was my roasted beet salad. I ordered the portobello flatbread for my entree. I took one bite and my mouth was on fire. I asked Bill to taste-test it and he agreed that there was quite a bit of zing. We asked the waiter and he assured us that there was nothing in there that was pepper-based, but the portobellos were salted and peppered. I decided not to eat it and we had it boxed up. Bill took it out to the car while I settled the bill. We met outside the theater. We had just enough time to get to our seats.
We saw Cirque du Soliel's show "O", and it was unbelievable! I was absolutely blown away by pretty much everything! I don't know what the story was, but the acrobatics and the diving were just incredible. There was a ton of stuff happening all the time, so I feel like I missed some things, but wow. Just wow. I would highly recommend this show to anyone.
To sum up our eating experiences here in Las Vegas, I'd have to rate them as overall mediocre. There were some highlights (service, mostly), but overall I'd say "meh". We're hitting the road tomorrow, so our splurge time is almost over. It's too bad, as I'd like to stay here a while a see some more shows. It's a good thing as we would go broke if we stayed too much longer!
After the run this morning we went to brunch. We went to Caesar's Palace to Max Brenner's. Talk about going off the wagon. This place is made for chocoholics! We had a mug of hot chocolate (I got milk chocolate, Bill got the dark mocha). It comes in a "hug mug" so you are supposed to hold it with two hands. It was quite tasty.
For food Bill ordered the Illegal Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Pancakes and I had the Chocolate Cheesecake Crepe. Mine was about 12" long. There was a chocolatey cheesecake filling in the crepe. There were milk chocolate chips running down one side of the roll and white chocolate chips down the other side. These melted as I ate. There was also a warm caramel sauce and a cup of whipped cream with raspberry sauce. I can't believe I ate the whole thing!
Then we rolled out of there and picked up tickets for the show tonight, got in the truck, ran a few errands, and came back to the coach. I took a nap and Bill went swimming. Well, I attempted to take a nap. It didn't seem to matter how tired I was. I just couldn't sleep.
We left around 5:30 and went to Olives at the Bellagio for dinner tonight. We were really impressed with our waiter's knowledge of the menu. The bread was really good, as was my roasted beet salad. I ordered the portobello flatbread for my entree. I took one bite and my mouth was on fire. I asked Bill to taste-test it and he agreed that there was quite a bit of zing. We asked the waiter and he assured us that there was nothing in there that was pepper-based, but the portobellos were salted and peppered. I decided not to eat it and we had it boxed up. Bill took it out to the car while I settled the bill. We met outside the theater. We had just enough time to get to our seats.
We saw Cirque du Soliel's show "O", and it was unbelievable! I was absolutely blown away by pretty much everything! I don't know what the story was, but the acrobatics and the diving were just incredible. There was a ton of stuff happening all the time, so I feel like I missed some things, but wow. Just wow. I would highly recommend this show to anyone.
To sum up our eating experiences here in Las Vegas, I'd have to rate them as overall mediocre. There were some highlights (service, mostly), but overall I'd say "meh". We're hitting the road tomorrow, so our splurge time is almost over. It's too bad, as I'd like to stay here a while a see some more shows. It's a good thing as we would go broke if we stayed too much longer!
Tempo Run
Nice tempo run today! We ran around the resort. One mile warm up at 10:52, one mile at 8:45, one mile cool down at 10:35. The total was 3.0 miles in 30:14 for an average pace of 10:05. The weather was 86 degrees with 32% humidity. We're expecting a high of 110 today. So glad we ran this morning!
Since my Garmin is still shot, I let Bill control the pace for the tempo mile using his Garmin. I was going for a 9:00 pace. I knew we were a little faster, but I didn't think we were that fast. I'm pretty happy with the pace he set. Or rather, that I was able to keep up with the pace he set.
Since my Garmin is still shot, I let Bill control the pace for the tempo mile using his Garmin. I was going for a 9:00 pace. I knew we were a little faster, but I didn't think we were that fast. I'm pretty happy with the pace he set. Or rather, that I was able to keep up with the pace he set.
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