April Fool's Day. What should we do? I just came back from a long weekend in Northern California and the thought of paying bills or catching up on the blog just didn't sound good. So, I mentioned to Tom that I have always wanted to go to Grand Falls --- also known as Chocolate Falls or Mud Falls. It is about 30 miles east of Flagstaff. We called Jon. He wanted to go too. So, he came over, and off we went. Tom drove my truck and Jon helped navigate. There were limited site markings, but we made it!
Wow! It was amazing. The best time to few the falls is March and April --- melted snow. It is located on Navajo Reservation land.
We took some photos at the viewpoint.
But, of course, we had to walk down to the shoreline. It was only about a 15 minute hike down.
What a fun afternoon, indeed!
Tuesday morning, I joined the Highland Meadows ladies for breakfast at Pine Country Restaurant. There was just six of us. But, it was nice to catch-up.
Three of us left to go play pickleball. While I was away, the Rodeo Barn had been re-worked so that the two pickleball courts were at each end of the barn. The lighting was much better this way, and a "dink" court was set up in the middle.
We have also set aside one court for beginner/intermediate and one court for intermediate/advanced. Of course, anyone can play wherever they want.
Wednesday, Tom and I went to Flagstaff. I had a hair appointment and Tom had a doctor's appointment. That afternoon, we packed for our next trip --- a 750 mile drive to Napa Valley. Our friends, Stephanie and Joe Hap's daughter, Kristen, was getting married there. I had made arrangements to board the dogs at the Grand Canyon Railway Kennel. They were only going to be there for five nights. We dropped them off Thursday morning and headed west. We stopped in Ludlow for lunch. The usual Dairy Queen was closed for remodeling, so we had lunch at the Ludlow Cafe.
It was a cute old fashion diner. We then continued our drive west and stopped for the night in Bakersfield.
That night, we decided to go to a country western venue for music and dinner. Buck Owen's Crystal Palace was recommended by our Williams neighbors, Libby and Gus Beatty. They lived many years in nearby Porterville.
The dinner and music were very nice. We even got on the dance floor!
The next day, we drove the rest of the way to St. Helena. I booked a two night stay at a Bed & Breakfast about 5 minutes from the Harvest Inn wedding venue. It is called Judy's Inn. Judy is in her mid 80s and has been providing accommodations for 38 years. She just has the one large bedroom suite with sitting area, bed, and bathroom.
The Kristen Hap and Greg Funk wedding began promptly at 5:00pm. It was an intimate group of attendees --- perhaps 18 of us. A nice couple from San Diego volunteered to take some photos of the two of us. It is not often that we are dressed up!
The setting of the wedding was beautiful --- overlooking a vineyard. The happy couple were joyous!
It was also fun to get a snapshot with the mother-of-the-bride and the father-of-the-bride!
The next morning, we were picked up by Brad, the owner of a private tour company called Napa Your Way. Tom and I were swept away in Brad's large SUV.
The first winery was Porter Family Vineyards. It is owned by the man who invented the floppy disk for IBM. We were greeted by Florina, an adorable young lady from Argentina. All of the wine making at this winery is made in a huge cave.
After the private tour, we sat down for some wine tasting and we bought two bottles. Wine tasting in Napa is no longer $15-$20 dollars. Can you say maybe three times that!?!
The next stop was Patland Estate Vineyards. This winery is also owned by a family made wealthy by the software industry. Two years ago, Napa had a large fire that destroyed homes and structures. This winery lost the building that housed the wine tastings, as well as the main home.
Fortunately, the guest house was spared and most of the wines were stored in a cave. We decided to buy two bottles of their wine.
Brad drove us back to St. Helena and we had lunch at Gotts Roadside. It is a very busy place, so Brad had us pre-order lunch. Tom and I had Ahi Poke Crispy Tacos. Yummy! We then heading to the last winery, Davis Estates. It was a lot larger winery, with a nice view of the vineyard.
The building also had a clear story design. We bought our final two bottles of wine.
Brad dropped us back at our B&B. I gave him a very nice tip. It was a wonderful wine tasting experience!
That night, we had reservations at Market. It was a very nice, but small restaurant. We ordered several of their specialty cocktails before dinner.
The next morning, we checked out of Judy's Inn. We decided to take the more direct route home --- using interstates instead of highways. That night, we stopped in Barstow --- at the usual Rodeway Inn. A fun restaurant Tom and I found last year was Idle Spurs Restaurant. So, we had dinner there. They serve prime rib daily!
The next morning, we had breakfast and then headed home to Williams. Tuesday morning, I picked up the dogs from Grand Canyon Railway Kennel. Ramsey, Libby, and Kelsey were given royal treatment there. They had their own private section.
Then, it was off to pickleball in the Rodeo Barn.
While we were in Napa Valley, Tom's son Jon bought a large gun safe. He made good use of Tom's truck!
When it was time to take the safe to Jon's home, it was fortunate that Gus Beatty was available to help Tom and Jon unload it.
On Thursday, I had appointments for all three dogs to get their vaccinations updated. They had heartworm testing, the bordetella shot, and the rattle snake shot.
On Friday morning, I took my truck to Planet Dodge in Flagstaff or a recall. I also reported to them that my radio unit had a weird screen when using UConnect with my android phone. My driver-side visor also had a missing piece. The service department checked the recall issue and ordered me a new radio and a new visor through the parts department.
That afternoon, friends Kathy and Doug Chappell arrived. They live in Mariposa, California. Kathy was a sorority sister of mine at UCSB.
Kathy and Doug were beginning a two-week RV trip in the southwest. They had their truck and a camper shell. Unfortunately, Williams had a very cold weather spell and it was too cold for them to use their pop-up camper. So, Tom and I invited them to stay in one of our bedrooms. We had dinner at Grand Canyon Brewery that night. The next morning, we rose early to go to Bearizona. Kathy has a friend from Ventura who used to work at Bearizona. We took the 10:00 am Wild Bus Ride.
Every time I go to Bearizona, there is always something new to see. This time, it was one of the two jaguars --- up close and personal.
Kathy and Doug left about noon for Sedona. They were meeting some RV friends and spending several nights at Camp Verde.
That afternoon, I worked in the back yard to activate the water feature. Spring has spring. I had to put the two pump motors in the bottom of the pool, fill the pool, and plug everything into the electrical outlet. Viola!
While I was doing this water feature project, Tom and Jon went fishing to nearby Cataract Lake. They were not successful, but looked the part.
Sunday morning, we tried to play pickleball in the Williams Elementary Middle School tennis courts. We marked lines on one of the courts and played some. But, it was way too windy! Annie and Libby were kind enough to pose for me.
In the spring and summer, the Rodeo Barn is often used for rodeos and other planned events. So, five of us went to different venues in the Williams neighborhood to see if pickleball play would be better there --- maybe less wind.
Not really...
On Tax Day, Tom and Jon went off to fish. This time, near Flagstaff. I took Libby and Kelsey, and we met up with them at Lower Lake Mary.
While they fished, I took the girls for a short walk along the shore.
That night, the world received word that the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was burning. It burned into Tuesday, April 16. Many were glued to the television news.
What a horrible sight to see!
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