New Mexico for Rasila's Aunt's Birthday in June 2010

Five years ago, we made a trip to Lake Tahoe for Rasila's Aunt's 65th birthday. This year, the trip was to New Mexico. We took a 4 day weekend, like 5 years ago, but flew instead of driving. We flew Southwest, my new favorite airline, through Phoenix, and arrived in Albuquerque at about noon. We headed over to the Country Club to meet the family for lunch at the pool. Compared to the unseasonably cool weather in Southern California, it was hot (95 F, 35 C)! Rodney got to have his green chili cheeseburger for lunch though. Later that afternoon, we went over to her Aunt's house mid afternoon to prepare for the party that evening. The party was held at Brian and Mary's house, and it was a great party. Lots of friends and relatives and great Mexican food and margaritas. It rained a bit mid-evening, but that cooled off the weather nicely. Since we had woke up at 4 AM, we left early (about 11 PM), and headed off to sleep.

The next morning, we went looking for a coffee shop since Nancy doesn't drink coffee. We knew we weren't in the OC anymore when we had to drive 5 miles to the nearest one! It was a Starbucks (Rodney was hoping to find an independent shop), but it hit the spot nicely. We then headed back over to pack up the party remnants and supplies for a trip to spend the rest of the weekend in Chama, NM. It was a beautiful drive to the place we were staying, Corkins Lodge. We shared a 3 BR cabin with Rasila's Mom and Aunt. It is a beautiful part of the Rocky Mountains, and wonderfully cool in the 8000' (2440 m) elevation. We had a great meal at the largest cabin (the Log Cabin), and slept wonderfully in our cabin.

On Sunday, we drove that morning down to Chama and bought some coffee and checked out the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad station. It was closed due to an arson fire that burned down a trestle, but it looked like it would have been fun to take it to Pagosa Springs, CO. After driving back to the lodge, we hiked a short trail, hung out at the stocked lake, and played horseshoes, among other options. There were 2 deer that wondered the grounds like dogs, and plenty of fishing to have. This evening was another celebration, just for the family, and we had a spectacular meal along with playing some games that evening.

On Monday, Rodney decided to run while Rasila walked down the NM highway that lead back to the US highway. At that elevation, it definitely was a workout! We then joined all for breakfast before heading back to Albuquerque to catch our plane home. It was a great trip!

Rosarito-Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico April 17, 2010

We missed the 2009 ride due to the fact that it was cancelled, then by the time they reorganized, it was too late to coordinate anyone to go along. We've always felt safe in Mexico, but I also like riding with our friends on this ride. In the distant past, we'd have 20-30 of us doing this ride, but this year it was just the 4 of us: John and Ginny from Denver, and Rasila and Rodney.

Rodney and Rasila both took Friday off to pick up John and Ginny at the San Diego Airport. We strapped the tandem and 2 mountain bikes on the back of the Explorer and were waiting in the cell phone waiting lot by 10:00 AM. We picked up John and Ginny and headed to Trader Joe's for bagels, bananas, and water. We topped off on gas and then headed for the border.

Rasila and Rodney usually head off in the afternoon and are crossing the border at rush hour, so it was pleasant to breeze right across and through Tijuana easily. We headed for lobster burritos at Puerto Nuevo, specifically Puerto Nuevo II. It was empty! People are so afraid to go to Baja that the businesses are on the verge of failing. It was very sad to see. We had a wonderful lunch and headed for Ensenada about 2 PM. We arrived at the Best Western El Cid and checked into our normal patio rooms, then John and Rodney went for some beer. The day was great weather for hanging out on the patio and relaxing. We then went for dinner at the restaurant that has the rotating chickens in the window (can't find the name of it) where dinner and a pitcher of margaritas was only $25! A quick trip to Hussong's and then to bed for the ride.

The next morning we got up and made a trip to coffee shop around the corner, then bagels and bananas for breakfast before heading over to catch the shuttle bus to Rosarito Beach. It is a short 1 hour drive up the Toll Road to Rosarito. We were dropped off about 2 miles north, then had to ride to the start line. We skipped the customary pre ride beer since John and Ginny had to register. Rodney took the opportunity to buy a jersey since this year's had a desert scape, a jumping marlin, the outline of the Baja peninsula, and wine grapes to make a great looking jersey. We stopped at our favorite first stopping point, Cantamar, and were once again, the only patrons. The owner said spring break, normally a wild time, was dead, and that he would be out of business by the fall if things didn't change. We had our drinks and pressed on, stopping at the tamale stop, at just past 30 miles, for lunch. There was a cute Australian Cattle Dog there that Rasila fed. We then hopped back on and made it into Ensenada for a total time elapsed of about 3.5 hours. We had fish tacos at the fiesta, then headed back to the hotel and hung out on the patio waiting for John and Ginny. Ginny always is slightly lagging since she never trains for this ride. Since she runs, she has the general good shape, but I'm always impressed she can do it that way. We had dinner at the taco shop next to Hussong's. John and Rodney enjoyed Hussong's while Ginny and Rasila had wine at the wine shop across the street.

The next morning, we got up, packed up and headed back to San Diego. The line was fairly short (45 min) for crossing back into the US. We then met folks at the Cass St. Bar and Grill for lunch before heading to a friends place for the afternoon. We then dropped John and Ginny back at the airport before driving back to Irvine. It was a great weekend and we're looking forward to next Spring's ride!

New Orleans in March for NCAA 1st and 2nd Round Basketball

San Jose and Spokane didn't appeal much to us this year. Since we'd had such a great time in Chicago 3 years ago, we decided to go out of region again. The choices were pretty much New Orleans or Wilmington, NC. For us, it was an easy choice: New Orlens!

Rodney had enough frequent flier miles to get a free ticket and we found hotel suites in the Residence Inn just off the French Quarter. He arrived in the late afternoon, since the only other option was to had to be at the airport at 5:00 AM. He met others in the airport to share the cab ride to the hotel and contact David and Jim, who had been at Patty O'Brian's all afternoon! Needless to say, they were a bit along their way already. After a quick hit of Happy Hour at the Residence Inn, we all met at Dickie Brennan's for dinner. It was spectacular! Rodney had a rib eye smothered in crawfish.

The next day was the full day of games at the New Orleans Arena. The slate was a good one with Notre Dame vs. Old Dominion (Old Dominion won in OT), Baylor vs. Sam Houston State (Baylor won after SMS got tired in the second half), Kentucky vs. East Tennessee St (Kentucky blew them away) and Texas vs. Wake Forest (Wake Forest won in double OT). The food was great, with Po' Boy Sandwiches, BBQ Pork, Catfish fingers, etc. We had Abita Amber beer and some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale to quaff as well.

The next day started with the free breakfast at the hotel, followed by the tradional off day basketball game. The weather was mercifully low humidity, so we played 3 games. We followed this by heading into the French Quarter to find games to watch. We landed at the Crescent City Brewery for lunch (baked Saffron Oysters, yum!), beer, and basketball. That night, we had reservations at Muriel's on Jackson Square. They had a 3 course meal for $35 that couldn't be beat!

The next morning, we ate at the hotel again, then had lunch at the Irish Bar around the corner while watching more basketball. The games started latest for us, so we had until about 4 PM to burn. The Baylor - Old Dominion game was first and was a good game, but Baylor won. No upset. Kentucky killed Wake Forest in the second game. I though for sure they'd win it all, but they ended up losing in the elite 8 and Duke won the tournament this year. Next year, Denver?