McCain on the Brain

Ho hum, just another day in Havasu. Oh yes, the usual stuff. And McCain stopped by.

I know you normal people out there are like, "So what?" But the rest of us, the Mcainiacs, had to be sedated because we were so nervous and excited.

Nervous?

You betcha!

My hands were shaking so bad this morning, as I got myself ready for our meeting.

No need to be nervous. He turned out to be a really nice guy. We met at the restaurant out at the airport, and although we all didn't agree on all the issues we discussed, we had a great time. And I sat right next to him. Right. Next. To. Him.
My hero. I sat next to my hero John McCain today.
And he would kid around once in a while. Really! In fact, he's kidding around with Buster Johnson in this photo:


He talked about the Economic Stimulus fiasco:



He listened as we all discussed the illegal alien problem in Arizona:


He gave his opinion on the state of the Republican party:


He discussed campaigning in our area, and what our goals should be for the candidates we support:


He posed for pictures, and signed his autobiography for me:



And then he left for other meetings.

All in all, we had about an hour with Senator McCain, and it was the most awesome thing for a person like me who has looked up to him and admired his services to our country.

So, How Was Your Valentine's?

We had a nice meal consisting of stuffed manicotti with spinach and cheese, and an evil dessert that certainly put us over the top. It was a dark chocolate brownie with cherries and almonds.
This year, instead of going out and spending $100 for the two of us to sit uncomfortably in a dimly lit restaurant, I made our dinner, packaged it up, and we met a couple down at Steve's boss's condo which is right on the water. A double date, wonderful view, and pretty darn good food. Nice. Quiet. Relaxed. I liked it!

What Is Rockabilly?

I've been anticipating the Rockabilly Reunion here in Havasu for almost a year, ever since I heard about its inception. I've always wanted to try and have a Rat Rod show here, but never thought it could be pulled off.
What exactly is Rockabilly? I guess it would be a sort of fascination with the 1950's lifestyle, sort of. The pompadour hair and Fonzi outfits for guys, and the overdone curls and hair products, lots of makeup, lots of pencil skirts, platform mary jane shoes for the girls. And the Rat Rods. Oh my GAWD they're cool!
Steve and I took his boss's cars and I dressed up a little bit like a Rockabilly.
My hair took a little bit of planning and effort:

But I certainly wasn't the only one....











But the cars on display were ten times as unique. We go to a lot of car shows each year, and never are the rides this awesome:




We had a couple of the coolest cars with us, but because we weren't pre-registered for the show we weren't eligible for a trophy. Too bad, because the trophies were awesome:

My Mom Lives in B.F.E.

It's the little white square that's nearest the mountains in the center of the photo.

We passed over it on a recent flight, and the guy who was flying with us was literally speechless at how remote their property was.

Once again, as we flew I took photos from my back seat. I am always astonished at how isolated our little community is. When you get past the nearby mountains from Lake Havasu, this is all you see:

A whole lotta nothin.

I guess that's why I've gotten so good at shopping online....

My Car Would Like A Break

I bumped into a pole shortly after I got the little Pontiac. It was an expensive bump, though. The estimate I got was for $750. So we went to a salvage yard in Phoenix, bought the part, paid a little more than $100 to have it painted by some students at the local college, and it was fixed for a grand total of $300.

Well then someone bumped into my car this week. And now I have to slide into the driver's side with the door only open about 6 inches, because this particular "bump" pushed the front fender into the door. And I am still waiting for the insurance company to give me the go ahead to have it fixed.

My car would like a break from all this.

BBQ Competition

Steve was asked to help judge a BBQ Contest on Saturday night, so in a rare move we left the house and socialized!!! Whaaaattt?????
We had no idea what to expect, all we knew was that the competition involved the Big Green Egg grills. You know, the big expensive ceramic grills that use wood instead of charcoal:


The contestants all made their own version of a gourmet hamburger, and they were assigned numbers for the judges. The dishes were put in styrofoam lunch containers, and presentation was a part of the judging.



Steve sat down with the other two judges, Rick and Whatshisname, and they sampled each dish.



The contestants stayed outside in the bar area. I had never been to Mike Love's house, so I had no idea the bar area was an elaborate, spread out structure with a patio, converted garage, and an actual bar with a huge bar window that opens up to the jacuzzi and pool area.
Robin and I walked around out there while Steve and Company performed their judging duties inside. It was raining off and on all day, which is weird, but with the canopy and the garages we had plenty of covered areas. The contestants were all people we knew, from Havasu. They had been there all day, cooking and hanging out.

Once the judging was done, Steve came out and oogled all the collectibles Mike has on his garage shelves. He thought I'd be shocked by the classic cooler collection, but really I already knew about it. Mike Love is the one who inspired ME to begin MY collection!



When the winner was announced, it was quite funny. This was a competitive crowd but they were all friends with one another.
I caught Steve and Rick in one of those spontaneous "Aaahahahahaaaa" moments:

Pretty funny.

The winner, Sharon, hugged each judge:


Then more food appeared, prime rib, brisket, and grilled shrimp. Oh, and deviled eggs made with horseradish. That was AWESOME!!

Many guests sat in the garage with all the comfy chairs, watching a NASCAR race. Steve texted, as usual.


I checked out some of Mike's more interesting collection items:

Because Guys Like to Lay In Bed and Talk on The Phone Too....