Our favorite niece, Lisa, arrived last week. It's been almost a year since we saw her, and we were looking forward to her visit.
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We did a little relaxing and catching up, then took a trip up to Cottonwood for some wine tasting, beer tasting, train riding, eating and laughing. Taos accompanied us.
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| Lisa, Janet, Bob and Dave |
Lisa's cousin once removed (I think that's how it goes) and Dave's relative by marriage (this gets really complicated and I can't keep it all straight!) and his delightful wife came over from Scottsdale to see her. After a quick happy hour here we all went to Rancho de los Caballeros for dinner, then they headed back to the Valley.
We rented a nice VRBO house in Cottonwood for three days so we could spread out and enjoy our time together.
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| see Taos watching me? |
It had nice views towards Sedona and the Mogollon Rim in the distance.
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It also had a huge black leather massage chair in the living room. We all tried it out, it was a very weird feeling. Some of us liked it more than others.....
We had lunch at Page Springs Winery, sat beside a busy little stream and tasted some nice wine at DA Ranch, enjoyed a good German Lager at the Belfry in "downtown" Cottonwood, had dinner at Nicks Italian Steak and Crab House, tasted wines and ate a lite dinner at Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery and Trattoria, and had some yummy take-out Thai from Mai Thai on Main. The weather was nice (ish) for our four-hour train ride on Monday, but we enjoyed ourselves, nonetheless.
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| hinge details at Page Springs Winery |
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| the boys walking to DA Ranch winery |
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| waiting to board the train |
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| comfy couch seats |
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| Green Verde River path |
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We rode the Verde Valley Railroad train 20 miles into a beautiful canyon, following the path of the very verde Verde River. Once through a dark tunnel and out of the canyon walls, the brightly painted locomotive engine disconnected, passed us all by, reconnected at the other end and off we went again. The scenery was just as beautiful on the way back!
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| Eagle eye logo on the locomotive fills the window as it passes by a fellow passenger |
Taos was a very good boy on the train ride. He slept beneath the coffee table the entire time, only twitching his nose slightly when we opened our charcuterie boxes for a little snack. He even handled the steep, open backed stairs onto and off the train with only a slight hesitation. Good boy.....
After our visit with Lisa was over and before the next guest arrives tomorrow, Dave took care of a little business. Actually, he's been brainstorming one particular job for a while now. He likes to keep Beluga up to date and to replace things before they break down or malfunction, so in that vein, he bought two new air conditioner units a month ago. How to get the two old units off the roof and then lift the two new, 100 lb. units up and put them in place......
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| up they go! |
Steve came over this morning to help and they had the old ones removed, winched down to the floor and the new ones winched up and in place on Beluga's beautiful white roof! Piece of cake!
Earlier this fall he replaced the inverter that, apparently, fried as a result of a neighbor's birthday balloons hitting our power lines and causing a blackout. Ahem. He also located (with Steve's help, again...) an air leak in the system that provides airbag suspension and brakes......All fixed now!
We don't traditionally have any little ghouls or goblins trick or treating here. Probably not enough houses to make it worthwhile but......here is a little cutie I recognize...
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| go Annie! |
What a delightful post -- thank you, Sue. Great to see Lisa -- she could pass as a younger you even though she's related to Dave! And Taos! What a good traveler -- so many new experiences and he handles them all with grace (um...except for those excited, small blips of zoomies in the house!) Annie's costume is adorable -- bet they all had a fun time at Halloween. Nothing like a little one to bring out the joy and exuberance of life. Cindy
ReplyDeleteWe need some "joy and exuberance" today.....
DeleteFun! Looks like Lisa had a great visit. Loved those hinges at the winery, whoever made those has some skills. Love seeing pictures of Toas, keep them coming!
ReplyDeleteThe hinges were really unique weren't they! Taos is a real sweetie, I'll keep taking pictures of his progress as long as he's here with us...sigh.
DeleteWhat a fun time you guys had and Taos is a good boy--hoping he can teach this wild thing of mine some manners! Dave and Steve are mighty handy guys--we are looking forward to meeting Steve and MonaLiza.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be so nice to have more friends nearby! We'll definitely plan a meeting with the Lowes soon. Taos is a real mellow guy, except for those occasional thunderous zoomies! Get out of his way!
DeleteA very nice visit to Cottonwood, wine tasting and sightseeing. I would gladly pay to have the AC replaced and not risk dropping it on my head :)
ReplyDeleteWell, he didn't drop the units on his head.....but he did crash his head into the garage door opener over Beluga's roof, you know, for another scar! I'm buying him a hard hat!
DeleteA great time all around!! I've had that train ride on my list for a long time - that couch seating is amazing. Great pics through the windows with all that lovely greenery (verdery?) You are so, so fortunate to have a Mr Dave's Fixitall with handy neighbor friends! Annie is so delighted, and so cute. And yes we need all of that we can find today.
ReplyDeleteWe've enjoyed the train very much, especially when we can be outside on the observation car! I'm so fortunate to have Mr David's A-1 Fixitall co. living with me, for many reasons!
DeleteWow, you did all out for Lisa's visit. Fun times at our wine stomping grounds. Taos is a well rounded, well trained guide dog, whoever gets him will be very fortunate. Annie is a cutie, too bad she did not knock at your door physically to give her a hug.
ReplyDeleteIm always amazed at Dave's inguinety and engineering skills. He sure does know how to prop up heavy objects, what a skillful engineer he is! - ML
We had a great time with Lisa and at our chosen wineries up in the Cottonwood area. It was fun, also, to have Taos with us for it all, he's a great addition to any outing! Isn't Annie adorable?
DeleteWhat a wonderful time with Lisa! Love the photo of Taos standing at the wall and taking in the view of the world at that moment. Such a good boy! And sweet and smart too! And just look at Miss Annie…she is the cutest little skeleton ever with treats in hand and making her own paths.
ReplyDeleteOops…that was gay!
DeleteTaos enjoyed his VRBO stay as much as we did I think! I loved the picture of Annie running away with both her hands full! Such a delighted look on her little face!
DeleteWhat a wonderful visit with Lisa. She definitely took home some special memories of her adventures with you three. Taos is just racking up those experiences. I'm sure he is the most experienced dog in the school. I'm surprised he hesitated at the open stairs getting off the train. He had no hesitation at the Lee Canyon Ski Resort. I guess he is getting older and a little more cautious.
ReplyDeleteWe did have a wonderful visit with Lisa, we made lots of happy memories. Taos hesitated only slightly on the train stairs and I think it was because they were two different types of stairs and were very narrow.
DeleteSheesh, have I been bad about keeping up with your adventures!! As always, looks like you've had wonderful family time, great vacations, spectacular food, and the cutest two companions in Annie and Taos. How much longer do you have that sweet doggo? Paging through the pics of New Mexico make my heart long for it, and Costa Rica is one of the places that we've talked about making the exception to out-of-the-country travel for. Keep on keepin' on, and I'll try to do better keepin' up!
ReplyDeleteHi Joodie! We really had a wonderful time in New Mexico this year, a slower pace for sure. Costa Rica was nice, again, the slower pace was nice. To answer your question, we'll get to keep Taos here with us until probably May? The "recall" date is always subjective, depending on his progress, their needs, etc. Fingers crossed he can stay as long as possible; he will be hard to let go.....sigh.
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