On one of my daily walks with Kelsey and Jamie, I noticed that a vacation rental in our neighborhood had trash piled up in the canister --- overflowing and scattered on the sidewalk.
I took a picture and later emailed it to a gentleman at Williams City Hall. Dan then gets in touch with the homeowners to get things like this fixed. I was amazed at how prompt he was in responding to my email!
Tuesday morning, I played the usual two hours of pickleball. Tom and I drove separately, as I was meeting the Highland Meadows ladies for lunch. This time, it was Pine Country Restaurant.
Tom's son Jon was talking to us about the Spanish meal called Paella. Paella is a favorite of mine! Jon asked if the spice saffron was really necessary --- as our Safeway does not carry it. I told him that saffron was a signature taste for the meal. I suggested that I could order saffron strings and Italian Arborio rice with Amazon Prime. It would be delivered in two days.
So, on Thursday, Jon and I made the Paella. We added mussel meat, shrimp, chorizo, and fire roasted tomatoes.
We sat down to enjoy the meal, but I had to first take a photo of the final product.
Friday, Tom and I drove to Flagstaff. Tom decided to establish his residency in Arizona. So, we drove to the Department of Motor Vehicles. I walked across the street to my optometrist appointment. There, I ran into Lisa D'arpa. In 2005, Lisa and I worked together at Zion Lodge. I was the dining room manager and she was one of the bartenders. Lisa is also married to one of my former managers, Jeff D'Arpa.
Jeff, Lisa, and their two daughters live in Flagstaff. Jeff is the Xanterra Regional Manager for the Williams' Grand Canyon Railway Hotel and Tusayan's Grand Hotel. It is hard to believe that their oldest daughter, Lily, is 15 years old. I remember when Lisa was carrying her! Their other daughter, Shasta, is nine years old.
After my optometry appointment, Tom and I went to a sporting goods store, Peace Surplus. Both of us want to buy new hiking boots. We had no luck there, and I had to go to my second appointment --- with my chiropractor, Brent Moseng. By the time I was finished with the chiropractor, it was almost 2:00pm. Tom and I were both hungry. So, off we went to Brandy's Restaurant and Bakery.
I had a Brandy's chicken salad sandwich, and Tom had a Jersey cheese steak sandwich with an order of fries. All was delicious!
Fortified again, we drove over to the sporting goods co-op, REI. There, we found hiking boots for me and hiking shoes for Tom.
On Saturday, the dogs and I drove to Kaibab Lake. I was surprised that there was still a lot of snow there. So, we cut that walk short. Later, Tom dropped me and the dogs at "the north 40" area of Highland Meadows. There, I saw my first Trump yard sign.
After zigzagging that residential area, the dogs and I stopped at nearby county park, Cataract Lake, for a photo opportunity.
Pickleball play continues to provide fun and great exercise. A new couple, Gary and Darcy, are new to the sport and they have picked up the game at an awesome speed. They have a home here in Williams and a home in Minnesota.
My sister Carrie recently found great pickleball play in Mission Viejo, California. It is fairly near her home in Coto de Caza. So, Carrie, her husband Brent, Brent's brother Greg, and Greg's wife Fiona all played pickleball together on Saturday.
Monday morning, we woke up to a surprise snow. It was only an inch or so.
I walked the dogs in the neighborhood and took a picture of Mt. Humphreys. I never get tired of that beautiful peak and the San Francisco mountains.
In the afternoon, Tom had an appointment to have Safelite Auto Glass repair his windshield. The manager made a special drive to Williams!
Tuesday, I wrote some emails to Operation Amped, the nonprofit organization that is going to have a Tribute surfboard made in honor of my brother John. John's favorite color was blue. We thought it best to have an emblem of his favorite surfing spot --- Venice Beach.
The actual design and shaping will come later.
I had a massage appointment with Natanya Tuesday afternoon. It is always fun seeing this whiteboard!
Wednesday I had an appointment with Daniel Knight, a very skilled nurse practitioner at the Williams North Country Clinic. I needed some prescriptions updated and a referral for an annual mammogram.
Thursday was my appointment to have my nails filled. The Vietnamese couple, Jennifer and Will, do a nice job for me.
Friday was a travel day to Los Angeles for me. I decided to book the Southwest Chef from Flagstaff to Los Angeles Union Station. It was time for the annual Terrenea Spa Weekend with the Organization of Women Executives. Tom took me to Flagstaff. We ended up having dinner at Sakura Restaurant at the Double Tree. We sat at the sushi bar.
We tried two other sushi restaurants, but it was a busy Friday night. Tom dropped me off at the Amtrak train station at about 8:30 pm. The Southwest Chief was already an hour late. The train came at about 10:38 pm.
The train never made up for the one hour delay. So, we pulled into Union Station a little after 9:00 am. I then took the Gold Line Metro train to South Pasadena. It was an easy commute. Honoria picked me up at the Mission Street Metro station and we drove to Palos Verdes.
The Spa Weekend had already begun for most of the OWE ladies. We had lunch by the spa pool. I then had a pedicure.
Cocktail hour and dinner began at 6:00 pm. It was fun seeing some of the old friends. It is hard to believe that I left Los Angeles almost 17 years ago! The obligatory photo of me, Kathy Sage, and Honoria was definitely in order!
Over the years, we three couples had several rendezvous meetups. Kathy and her husband David live in Rancho Santa Fe. Honoria's husband, Richard, has a home in nearby Rancho Bernardo.
Terrenea Resort was built on the footprint of the old Marineland of the Pacific, a oceanarium and tourist attraction on the Palos Verdes Penninsula coast. It is a lovely setting.
Honoria and I did some shopping Sunday morning --- after a lovely Spa Weekend buffet breakfast in a suite on the 6th floor.
A pair of sterling earrings begged me to take them home. Always room for earrings!
After returning to Honoria's home in San Marino, we freshened up and went shopping in Pasadena. A sale item at Chico's was another acquisition 😃😃😃 It was going to be the perfect jacket for the train ride later. After shopping, I picked up my luggage at Honoria's home, and Honoria drove me to the Gold Metro Station.
It was an easy commute to Union Station. That afternoon was the 2020 Super Bowl LIV game. I was routing for the Kansas City Chiefs. My favorite Traxx Bar at Union Station had the game on the television.
I had to head to the Southwest Chief train after the half-time show. The San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs were tied, 10-10. Later that evening, I found out the the Chiefs won. Yeah!
Due to high winds, the Southwest Chief was two hours late arriving in Flagstaff. Fortunately, I had pre-paid for an Amtrak shuttle from Flagstaff to the Holiday Inn Express in Williams. I was their only rider!
Tom picked me up at the Holiday Inn Express. It was the end of a nice "gals only" weekend!
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