NM -> CO

We had to cut our time in New Mexico short due to one of the kiddos coming down with a very contagious virus that none of us wanted to risk getting. And, I wanted to keep any of the other kids from getting it too. So, we are packing up and heading to Colorado a day early.

We had such a great time seeing my in-laws. The newest niece, Kirana, is almost 2 and our great-niece, Kanani, is a little over 2. They are at such a fun age and we loved spending time with them. Kirana took to Kenyon immediately and I felt I was about to win her over just before she got sick.

We were able to see the whole family and we plan to come back again sooner than a year since we cut the trip short.

We’ve enjoyed some yummy New Mexican food and took Ramona and Ken, my mother and father-in-law, to lunch at Papa Felipe’s. We ordered an extra basket of sopapillas since I need to get my “fix”. They are best drizzled with lots of honey. 

We are making the drive today through the scenic trek, which I’ve not been through for about 10 years. I think one more New Mexican food stop is also on the agenda. 

I’m looking forward to seeing Aunt Barb’s kids and grandkids in Colorado.

ID -> UT -> CO -> NM

We made it to New Mexico.  It was a long three days with 1,083 miles driven so far.  We decided to split the trip up into smaller stages of driving in hopes of it being more enjoyable.  I forgot how beautiful the scenery was.

Saturday we drove from Idaho to Logan, Utah and stayed the night at the Anniversary Inn.  The scenery around Logan is amazing.  It is just simply gorgeous surrounded by mountains and greenery.  

We also loved the Anniversary Inn and had been wanting to stay there for a while now.  They refurbished old apartment buildings so the rooms are about the size of a small apartment.  It was really cool.  We stayed in La Hacienda.

On Sunday, we drove from Logan, Utah to Cortez, Colorado.  

We did not have an enjoyable stay at the Super 8, which is why it was so cheep.  The noise level was crazy loud and our room was right next to the breakfast area, which meant noise started at about 4am.  We finally decided to just get up and make the rest of our trip into Albuquerque.

Monday morning we drove from Cortez, Colorado to Albuquerque, New Mexico.  The Indian Reservation casinos beckoned us to stop but we trudged on.  It has been an enjoyable time seeing Kenyon’s family, as well as my Aunt Barb.  She is an excellent cook and after a few days on the road, home cooked food tastes so good!

I’ll check in soon

Hallelujah! We Made It To Friday

This has felt like a very long week for me.  Anybody else? 

I am not sure if it is fact I worked the 10am-8pm shift this week or if it was because I worked four days when last week I only worked three days?  Either way, I am so ready for a break.  And, I’ll get about a 10-day break.  Yippie.

We are rolling out eastward towards New Mexico tomorrow afternoon.  I will pop into my WW meeting tomorrow morning, not sure yet if I’ll stay.  I think I need to get on the scale for accountability and I am hoping to see a loss or at least a close maintain.  I’m hoping that my “buffer” last week helped and that I’ve gotten back on track this week also did the trick.  Of course, I’m super nervous and partly want to skip my official WI.  But, I know I need to keep myself accountable when it comes to back-to-back vacation/social events/eating out and so I need to. 

I had to talk myself down from the ledge of a major Dairy Queen s’mores blizzard as part of their summer blizzard flavors.  I have no idea why an ice cream craving entered my brain at work late in the afternoon but it was raging.  I was having that internal battle with myself but finally decided that a blizzard could easily turn into a “burger and fries on the side” sort of situation so I drove straight home.  I’m definitely glad I made that decision but I am also about 95% sure I’ll be trying a blizzard on my vacation.

I’ll be checking in when I can along our travels.  I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend.

Girls Weekend 2018: The Other Stuff Besides Beer

Don’t forget to check out Part One -

Girls Weekend 2018: 12 Breweries In 3 Days

 

So, what else did we do that didn’t involve beer?  On our first full day in Bend, we woke up bright and early with plans of getting in some activity to offset our beer calories.  We had breakfast at our hotel (delicious bagel sandwiches on homemade bagels) and drove a few miles to Pilot Butte. 

Pilot Butte is an old cinder cone and is a one mile hike to the top.  You actually hike in a spiral and have so many views of the city and surrounding area, including a panoramic one from the top.  The hike both up and down the mountain is about two hours.  We followed the road on the way up so we could have pavement and realized about half way through it was pretty much straight up!  On the way down, we followed the nature trail which appeared to level off and might have felt easier.  However, going down the dirt felt so much harder than pavement.

 

In the early afternoon, we drove to the Old Mill District to rent a four-person bike for one hour.  We had so much fun on our bike and surprisingly, it was quite the workout.  We high-fived people, waved, and even had some frat guys jump on board and help us peddle a bit.  It was way too much fun.

 

The next day we drive about 14 miles south of Bend to tour a Lava River Cave.  It was about a mile deep, very dark, cold, and really creepy.  Also, it had about 35-40 bats inside.  Yikes!  It was also quite the workout.

 

We also had some good eats and some good drinks. 

 

In the middle of our Girls Weekend was National Whiskey Day, which needed to be celebrated.  Phoenix and I went to a nearby whiskey bar called Stihl Whiskey Bar.  We made some new friends with the bar tender Mikey and also met Jesus, who is actually Scottish.  Jesus was in town for his bachelor party.

 

This town kept on entertaining us.

Girls Weekend 2018: 12 Breweries In 3 Days

Girls Weekend 2018 took us to Bend, Oregon.

 

When we decided on where to go for our annual Girls Weekend trip, the appeal to Bend was the abundance of breweries available in one tiny area.  I had also become aware of the Bend Ale Trail and how walkable visiting the breweries would be.  So, Danielle, Phoenix, and I loaded up and headed west for the five hour drive to Bend.

 

Today’s blog post will be all about the breweries we visited, 12 total in three days.  I’ll recap the rest of our trip in another post (or two).  If you have no desire to read about breweries, I’ll see you tomorrow.

The Bend Ale Trail was a really fun activity and gave us a reason to visit different parts of town.  Some were walkable but some we had to drive to.  Doing this tour/trail allowed us to see a lot of Bend, which isn’t as small as it appears.  The trail is split up into 16 different breweries and if you visit 10, collecting a stamp at each one you visit, you earn a prize.  If you visit all 16, you get a trophy!  We weren’t able to visit all 16 because some are in the outer cities around Bend and we didn’t have enough time.  But, we managed to visit 12 breweries so we were pretty pumped to earn our prize at the end!

We wised up on about day two and realized we needed to start sharing “beer flights” which allowed us to taste the most beer but not have to drink a full pint at each place.  Here are the breweries we visited, which were done in no particular order, and some comments about each:

Old St. Francis Pub was located inside our hotel so it was the first stop after our long drive.  I was given a prior recommendation to have a Ruby and a Rubinator (which is the Ruby and the Terminator Stout mixed together).  Both were really good as were many of their beers.  On Day 3, Phoenix had a beer flight so we tried several beers, all of which we liked.  Highly recommended.

 

Deschutes Brewery was up next and we were also in search of food.  I love their Black Butte Porter and after a few samples figured I’d stick with what I love.  They also had half pints available, which I prefer.  Phoenix and I split a burger and fries.  We visited Deschutes on Day 2 for a pretzel and a cup of their chili, which were also very tasty.

 

Bend Brewing Company is the breweries that represents the City of Bend and should shine brighter than them all.  Sadly, it was our least favorite.  We shared a flight but none of us liked the beers, which is a shame.  They had a very nice location and outside atmosphere.

 

Silver Moon Brewing was located in a bit of a sketchy part of town and required a $5 “donation” because of a live singer.  We managed to talk our way into the bar for a quick taste/stamp and left before the music started so we stayed honest.  We all loved the Mango Pale Ale and all hated the Salty Bog Sour (which came up many more times in the course of our weekend as a joke).  I did like the sour beer at other location but Salty Bog was a no-go.

 

Worthy Brewing started us out on Day 2, which we visited after a two mile hike at nearby Pilot Butte.  This brewery was the winner for location as I loved the beautiful outside sitting area and the mosaic tilework inside.  They also had very colorful signs from each of the beer labels.  While I was ready for a refreshing beer after the hike, I spotted the Stout Float and thought that might be something new and different to try.  The vanilla bean ice cream was the best part!  Interesting enough, the stout tastes much stronger when mixed with the ice cream.  These beers were very hoppy, which are grown on site.

 

Immersion Brewing was visited via a four-person bike.  We rented a bike and since we had an hour time limit, we were in/out of Immersion very quickly.  Honestly, it wasn’t worth any more of our time.  The beer wasn’t that great.  There was a cider house located next door that we might have also enjoyed visiting but we jumped back on our bike and peddled away.

 

Crux Fermentation Project is Phoenix’s favorite brewery and we knew we would be visiting a couple of times.  There was construction nearby so you had a hike a bit to get there.  All of these beers were great.  On our first visit, I kept it light with their Hefeweizen but all the beers we tried in Phoenix’s flight were really good.  On Day 3, we visited a second time and had the pretzel and grilled cheese.  The food was really yummy.

 

 

Cascade Lakes Brewing Company started off Day 3.  We toured a creepy and very dark lava cave and mapped out the route for hitting up some of the other lying breweries.  We knew we would be collecting 10 stamps but we were also going to try for 12 or even 13.  By Day 3, I don’t think either of us were 100% looking forward to more beer so we tag-teamed it with a shared flight and really, we let Phoenix drink the most of it (sorry Phe).  Cascade Lakes was in a very pretty area of town and had really great beer.  We also shared some Cuban sliders and tater tots.  If we had more time, we might have stayed longer but had stamps to collect!

 

Good Life Brewing Company was a bit hard to find and was pretty slow for a Sunday afternoon.  We didn’t really like the beers despite the many awards they have won.

 

Sunriver Brewing was so-so.  We didn’t really love the beers but also didn’t stay there very long.

 

10 Barrel Brewing Co also has a location in Boise so we thought we would skip it, however, it was just the next block over from Sunriver.  I had hoped they would have Swill on tap but that was a no-go.  I didn’t care for any other tasters so we let Phoenix take one for the team and was the only one that had a pint.  I almost ordered a pizza because I love their pizza.

 

The final brewery we decided to hit, and was down to the wire as they were closing in 10 minutes, was a close walk from our hotel.  Boneyard Beer is located in a garage and was standing room only.  The sign said they were building a new location.  I was pleasantly surprised that the triple and quadrupole IPA beers were very well balanced and not super hoppy as one might think (I don’t like IPA or hoppy beers).  I loved the mini tasting glasses, although we were in such a rush I forgot to snap a photo.  It was a good brewery to end our tour with.

 

On Monday morning before we left town, we stopped by the Bend Visitor Center to collect our prize.  We were given a silicone beer glass and a promise that our passports never expire and we can complete the rest of the tour at any time.  I guess we have ourselves a new challenge to look forward to.

 

If you ever visit Bend, OR make sure you stop into a brewery or two.  You don’t have to visit 12.  We sure had fun though but I need a serious break from beer right now.

Returning To Normal

Good Morning!

I have returned from Girls Weekend and am still trying to recover.  We had tons of fun, which I’ll recap over the next couple of day.  I have lots of fun photos to share.

I worked really hard to keep myself from going into vacation-mode too early and I am also working really hard to get myself out of vacation-mode too.  I packed myself a big ‘ol salad for lunch today.  I am planning to do my WI and meeting on Saturday morning.

Kenyon and I are on vacation starting Saturday so I’m gearing up for another few weeks out of my normal food/exercise routine.  This is going to be a very busy few weeks overall which a lot of stuff planned.  I’m going to have to work extra hard on my focus.

Looking ahead, July and August are going to be much milder.  It looks like we will have some extra overtime at work as we are losing a couple dispatchers as they start our trooper academy.  Maybe I can make some extra spending money for Europe and slow down on the social activities so I can also lose some extra weight!

It always feels like an uphill battle.

MIA: Girls Weekend Ahead

Please excuse my absence for the next few days.  I’ll be enjoying myself entirely with some of my favorite girlfriends.

 

It’s our 3^rd Annual Girls Weekend trip.  YES!!

 

I’ll be back in a few days to recap all the fun.  In the meantime, here are the recaps from our previous Girls Weekend.

 

Girls Weekend In Walla Walla, WA – Day One

Girls Weekend in Walla Walla, WA – Day TwoAND my 1000th Blog Post!

Girls Weekend in Sun Valley

 

And, for a little extra reading, here are my recaps of my Girls Weekend in Vegas with Danielle.

 

Las Vegas Adventures – Part One

 

Las Vegas Adventures – Part Two

 

Las Vegas Adventures – Part Three

I can’t say it enough, I have such a great group of friends.

 

 

 

 

Acitvity & Food For The Week Thus Far

Happy Wednesday!  It is actually my Wednesday/Thursday since it is a short week for me.  Today is a 12-hour shift though and I’m meeting Kelsey at the gym for a class afterwards.

Speaking of activity, it has been a good week for movement thus far.  On Monday, I walked a 2.5 mile loop around my house with some elevation (but not much sidewalk).  I popped into the Apple Activity app to check my pace and saw there is a graph of my heart rate and it even tracked the elevation.  Pretty cool.

 

Yesterday, Kelsey and I met for a kickboxing class at the Crunch Eagle location.  OMG!  We are so thankful we survived.  This is the hardest kickboxing class I’ve taken since my years of going to the YMCA and it might even be the hardest class I’ve taken since joining the new gym.  I have had a couple others that register up there.  It was good to get our sweat on and it is always good to challenge your body.  The weirdest part is that it is held in the dark. 

The instructor zoned in on us right away saying “newbies, I love newbies.”  Ummmm…I’m not sure why we stood out so much but it was nice of her to talk to us.  She told us it was fast paced and to do our best to keep us.  When she asked if we had any questions, I inquired if the class was held in the dark.  Yep.  She says the lights are harsh and the energy is better in the dark.  Okay then.  A bit hard to see since the only light was from some small windows and the class was packed but again, we survived!  I liked that the leader walked around the class and gave encouragement.  I didn’t get a handy heart rate graph but I did see my heart rate was in the zone for almost the entire workout.

 

Here are some random eats for my week.  Nothing stellar but I’m working on keeping my points in check and 100% tracking.  P.S. I am ready for beer and it’s only Wednesday.

Breakfast this week has been egg muffin.  I made some baked egg muffins using Southwest Egg Beaters (really good flavor), ham, and light mozzarella cheese.  Depending on what type and how much, these are 2 SPV for two egg muffins.  I had some fat free mozzarella that my Mom bought for me and that made them just 1 SPV for two muffins.  I think the Trader Joe’s light mozzarella has the best flavor and is just 1 SPV per 1 ounce of cheese.

 

Yesterday I had my egg muffins alone but today I added some hash browns cooked in olive oil to “beef up” my breakfast.

Lunch on Monday (and dinner tonight) was a Boca Flame Grilled Burger.  I like that flavor the best and I also like to add some hamburger seasoning, liquid smoke, and Red Robin seasoning.  I used my air fryer to make potato fries and they were so crispy and delicious.  I served corn on the cob on the side.  It was a mighty tasty lunch and I’m looking forward to it for dinner again, although perhaps sans potato fries since I had the hash browns for breakfast.

 

Dinner last night was tostadas with the street taco sized tortillas, chile & lime refried beans, olives, light sour cream, and romaine lettuce.  I had some ice cream for dessert.  I really like this flavor as the vanilla base tastes just like regular ice cream.  The cookie dough balls are few and far between since it is 5 SPV per serving.  I think I deserve more cookie dough for that amount of points.

My snacks this week (un-pictured) has been cottage cheese and watermelon, and a combo of light string cheese, deli turkey, and an apple.  I always have my afternoon ice coffee made with chocolate muscle milk and Coconut creamer.