1. We were going to stay at a bed and breakfast in Northern California for a truck show. We had to leave on Thursday in order to make the journey and get checked into our very quaint accommodations. We really looked forward to getting out of the 100-degree heat, and we have been overdue for a road trip.
When Steve's boss said he suddenly didn't feel like going to the truck show (it was more than a ten hour drive from here) Steve had to cancel the room reservations. He'd made them about six months ago.
2. Steve's boss invited us to go fly in the lear jet to Vegas to sit in the V.I.P. area at a Bon Jovi concert. This was Friday. He said his charter jet that gets leased by celebrities was going to be taking Paris Hilton to the same concert.
But then after several hours Steve's boss changed his mind.
3. The biggest boat race in the southwest was taking place on the lake here in Havasu, and the best seat in the house was in Steve's boss's helicopter. Flying over those huge colorful boats is such a thrill. They go about 160 miles per hour.
Steve's boss decided he didn't feel like doing that, though.
So what did we do? We climbed in Steve's little plane and went to a pancake breakfast in the middle of nowhere. It took us about 90 minutes to fly there, thru mountains, and the landing strip was a gravel road. There were other little planes there, from different areas of the state. I guess these guys are sort of organized and they do a "fly in" breakfast once in a while.
Here's the view from the gravel landing strip:
We only stayed long enough to have some breakfast and of course use the porta-potty. Steve dropped his very nice sunglasses into the toilet. They stayed there.
We took off and went south to Phoenix, where we have a couple of great friends who invited us to stay with them. Check out this mountain that's in between Fountain Valley (where Stevie Nicks lives) and Phoenix:
I think it's called Red Mountain.
Martin (you may recall previous entries about his escapades) and Mitzi are wonderful people who always have the Welcome mat out for us.
They cooked pork roast all day at their beautiful home so we could enjoy some shredded pork burritos for dinner.
Oh and the lovely, lovely cowboy beans!!!!
Mitzi demonstrated the little hand-held aerator that she uses for her wine:
It was a kick-back, nice evening out on the back patio with nothing but the desert and mountains and stars--and the little fire pit to keep the chill away.
The next morning, Mitzi and I got ambitious and decided to climb the little mountain that's in their neighborhood. I love that about Phoenix; there's hiking paths everywhere. Neighborhoods are nestled in between the mountains:
The little mountain in front of Martin and Mitzi's was a pretty good walk. We took photos while we climbed. This is Steve and Martin playing on the front porch:
The flight home was bumpy and rough because of the wind, so we stopped about halfway on a very remote landing strip that was situated in a cow pasture.
I had to let my stomach stop flipping. What a neat place to rest, though. The Yucca tree nearby NEEDED to be photographed:
We passed over a dam, not sure which one this is. I would have tried to identify it on the map but I'd gotten so dizzy and sick from the flight I was lucky to get this shot before I had to close my eyes again.
It was of course nice to get home, to our own pillows. We had a fire in the fireplace out back, and sat in the jacuzzi while my stomach mended itself. Gonna have to investigate some supplements that will help with the air sickness, huh?
