Lake Tahoe: Best of Both Worlds

A few weeks ago, I joined my folks and their friends for a long weekend golfing, relaxing, and enjoying the amazing weather on the North shore of Lake Tahoe.  The trip originated a few years ago as a dudes golfing weekend, but this year turned into a couples trip. Well, and me.  I tagged along with the "over 60 crowd" for the wonderful weekend in the cool climate. 

Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in the US and the second deepest in the US behind Crater Lake by just 300 feet.  Created more than 2 million years ago during the Ice Age, the lake is known for its clear water and surrounding mountains.  While not equally divided, the state line between California and Nevada runs directly through the lake and the highway around the lake provides year round access to Reno, Carson City and Sacramento. The area is popular both as a summertime recreational area with hiking, whitewater rafting and lake activities and a winter time attraction for snow and skiing.  On the Nevada side, you can gamble in the many casinos on both the North and South shores.  

Now the title mentions Lake Tahoe being the best of both worlds.   What do I mean by that?  I don't know about you but I love both the mountains and the ocean.  Well, Lake Tahoe may not be an ocean, but it's SO big you get the same wave like effects and miles of beach front access.  So combine a lovely beach front setting with mountains all around and voila! the best parts of land and sea.  I have never visited the area in the winter but I can only imagine how beautiful it is with the snow covered mountains and blue lake. Perhaps, I need to see this soon...

Upon our arrival in Reno, the fellas hurried everyone off the plane, into the rental cars and zoomed over the pass to Incline Village to drop us ladies off and get to the golf course.  They were quite excited about the 3 days of golf planned at some of the best courses in the area.  The ladies were left to check into our rooms at the Hyatt at Incline Village.  This is a great resort for both families, girls/guys trips, or couples retreats.  The hotel offers standard hotel rooms, suites and even larger condos close to the beach.  The hotel hosts a variety of activities onsite and has plenty of connections with other outfitters to suit your parasailing, horseback riding, kayaking needs. (Fair warning, the concierge while knowledgeable is not great with follow through and can be off putting at times.)

While the fellas golfed, the ladies were free to do whatever we pleased.  Some chose to read and relax by the pool, others chose to gamble, and others enjoyed the amazing Stillwater Spa located within the hotel.  My choices included white water rafting, spa time, gambling and napping where possible.  This is the first trip I've taken in a while that had no real plan other than a few dinner reservations, which was a nice treat to not have any set plan.  Ahhhhh, relaxation!!

Our first full day in Lake Tahoe sent the fellas off for an early tee time and 5 of us ladies headed north 20 minutes to Truckee, California for a half day white water rafting adventure with IRIE Rafting Company.  This is a great company and the guides are well trained and very personable.  I really liked their style and definitely will raft with them again.  Our trip started out on the gentle part of the Lower Gorge of the Truckee River.  We said hello to the fly fishermen scattered along the river and applauded one guy's large trout catch.  The first couple miles provided a refresher on rowing, team work and general commands for the upcoming rapids.  We rafted through a few Class II boulder gardens and warmed up for bigger rapids. Halfway through the trip, the rapids grow larger and closer together as the river begins to narrow and become steeper.  We smoked a few bigger rapids and excitedly awaited the final mile of the river for Jaws and Bronco!  These are fun rapids and ones I've done previously at a higher water level (read more intense).  With it being August, the water flows are lower but these 2 rapids did not disappoint.  Precise rowing and teamwork are necessary for these rapids and our guide, Aryan, did a great job taking us through these rapids.  I almost fell out during Bronco, but managed to throw myself back into the boat and avoided becoming a member of the Truckee River swim team, but didn't avoid a large bruise on my thigh.

On the way back from rafting, we stopped at the Blue Onion Cafe, at the Brockway Golf Course, the oldest course in Lake Tahoe, for a lovely lunch on the patio.  I enjoyed the chicken, spinach, roasted tomato, and feta crepe, while Mom had a killer crabcake salad.  Another lady in our group had a tuna sandwich that looked amazing...avacado, perfectly red tomoatoes, crisp lettuce.  Just being able to sit on the patio at 2 pm and not sweat was a treat.  Our group decided over lunch that for the cold winters the people in this area endure, they deserve to get nice days like that.  It was hard to think about going home when the view, the food, the weather was so lovely there.

Now it seems like I'm jumping from lunch to dinner and I suppose I am, but in between rafting and lunch, I really didn't do much.  I believe there was a nap involved, sitting on a rocking chair outside looking at the mountains, and a bit of gambling.  

Our second evening took us to Garwood's Grill and Pier which is a quick drive from the hotel into California and one of my dad's favorite places to eat on the lake.  Tucked into the shore line in Carnelian Bay, the restaurant boasts floor to ceiling views of the water with indoor and outdoor seating, offers valet boat parking, delicious food and an impressive drink menu.  The famous drink on the menu is the Wet Woody (insert joke here). My selections for the evening included the salmon special served grilled on a bed of basamati rice and grilled asparagus.  The huge portion (too much really) was delicious.  I also enjoyed a Cucumber vodka mojito that was quite refreshing and not too minty. If you're in the area, make a reservation and eat here.  There's really nothing bad on the menu!

As the boys headed off to play their final round, most of us ladies headed to the spa for the morning. I love the Stillwater Spa at the Hyatt.  The hotel does a great job providing a consistent product with their spas across the resort chain.  Some of the ladies enjoyed facials and pedicures, while I chose an alpine glow sugar scrub and an eighty minute massage. It was absolute heaven!

After our pampering, we headed off to the lake for a 2.5 hour catamaran ride on Lake Tahoe.  The clear sky and cool breeze made the excursion quite enjoyable and the drinks and snacks served by the friendly crew topped off a great ending to our weekend getaway.  As you know from previous posts, I love being on the water and this sail was perfect...a little nap on the trampoline part of the boat, a few pictures for posterity and lovely conversation with friends.  During our trip, one of the ladies received a video from her son and daughter in law's baby reveal party...it's a GIRL!  Squeals erupted and hugs ensued!

On our final evening, we headed to the South Shore for dinner at The Chart House.  The restaurant, known for its quality steaks, specialty prime rib, and fresh seafood, is nestled halfway up the mountain a few minutes from downtown Stateline and offers amazing views of the Lake Tahoe basin.  I ordered the house specialty, prime rib, and enjoyed every. single. bite.  The Chart House didn't disappoint from the fresh salad bar, wonderful entrees, and the out of this world chocolate lava cake.  Be sure to tell your waiter you want one of these as it takes 30 minutes to prepare and be share with your table.  You may need to spend a few more minutes in your spin class after this meal, but believe me, it's totally worth it.

As the sun set over the lake and the sky changed from rosy red to blue and starry, we headed back to the hotel with another fun weekend under our belts.  More fun times with friends.  More memories made. And a great way to wrap up the summer and head into the fall.

Until then, happy travels and many laughs...

90's Rock Rules!

Even 15 years later, BUSH rocked the stage at Stubb's last night as part of the 101X 16th Anniversary concert series. The sold out show did not disappoint and I was pleasantly surprised to hear Gavin Rossdale sound just as good in 2011 as he did when I saw him at Rockfest in 1997. They played all of the oldies from Sixteen Stone and Razorblade Suitcase, plus new material for their new album coming out next month.

Now, for those of you who know me, I can be a little high maintenance about concerts. For one, I am not a fan of General Admission/Festival type events. My back issues make standing on a hard surface for hours not very comfortable and frankly I prefer to pay a little more for a reserved seat, which I can choose to stand or sit as I please. Secondly, I run hot. All. The. Time. So summer outdoor events, and especially this summer, are serious sweatfests in my mind. I'm not afraid to sweat, but I hate being like a waterfall! Last night was both a General Admission show and HOT, but I went and I'm SO happy I did. BUSH is one of my favorite 90's rock bands and I love me some Gavin. The show was great! He ended the show with a shirtless performance for the last few songs and ended it with an encore of Glycerin and Comedown.

Last night also brought back many great memories from college...

My freshman year of college, I attended Baylor University (don't ask me why, I don't really know). On Sundays when I'd have to go back to Waco, I would put on my Sixteen Stone CD and haul ass north on 35. I can remember putting it on as soon as I hit the interstate and flying. In the Spring of my freshman year, I might not have wanted to head to Waco but with BUSH blaring, all was right with the world.

In the summer of 1997, between my freshman and sophomore year of college, Blockbuster Video put on Rockfest at Texas Motor Speedway in DFW. The line up was huge...BUSH, Counting Crows, Collective Soul, No Doubt...and the tickets were FREE. Yes, free. So a group of my friends loaded up to spend the weekend at a family friends house and join 300,000 of our closest friends for this one day mega concert. The stories are too numerous but includes lots of traffic, the radio playing a live BUSH concert on the radio and us thinking we were missing the show because of traffic, a girl with a blown out flip flop walking into the show which sparked the suburban to start singing Jimmy Buffett, seeing girls in thong bikinis in the infield area (not common back then), Katie getting hit on the head by a gigantic roll of toilet paper, and when leaving the show, being stuck in traffic in the parking lot for so long we pulled out of the line for a few hours to sleep and when we woke up no one had moved. In short, it was A-Mazing.

The 4:45 am wake up call this morning was early, but in the end, it was totally worth it. This is my life and I'm going to live it to the fullest. I'd rather be dog tired on the plane, than regret not going to that show. As my cousin always says "You can sleep when you're dead."

With that, I'm headed to Lake Tahoe for a few days of beautiful scenery, cooler weather, and material for my next blog entry.

Until then happy travels and many laughs...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Gone Fishin' (Again)

After our quick trip to Nawlins last week, we headed south to Venice, Louisiana and hopped on the Big Valley fishing boat. My folks, a couple others, and I were guests of a long time family friend and business associate, who's company owns the boat. While I won't go into the specifics about the boat, let me just say it's a very nice boat and made the 3 night trip at sea quite comfortable.

Late Wednesday afternoon, we pulled out of the marina and "went down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico" for 2 serious days of fishing. (Did you catch the song lyric there? If you did, here's a high five from me to you!) I watched the sun fade into the Gulf and my cell service with it as we headed out into the middle of nowhere. It was an odd but good feeling to completely disconnect for a few days.

Over the next 72 hours, my agenda consisted of fishing, eating, sleeping, drinking, reading and just being. Thursday morning came bright and early with some Black Fin and Yellow Fin tuna fishing. These fish are so fun to watch jump out of the water...its just a show to watch them leap and jump up and then splash back in the water as they feed on a bait ball. The black fin are like little rockets just barely breaking the surface and shooting back in the water. The yellow fin leap up and make arcs in the air, with the big ones jumping several feet out of the water.

Our host's wife caught the first and the biggest fish of the trip, a huge 80 pound Yellow Fin tuna. So immediately her nickname became "Big Fish." Mom was next and caught a nice size black fin. We each took turns as the reels started screaming and we hauled in fish.

Later in the morning it was my turn again and I was down in the stateroom getting something when I heard dad yell in the cabin "Elizabeth!!! Fish on!!!" I took off up the stairs and ran through the kitchen/living area, out the door and jumped in the big chair. It's a good thing no one was in my way because I'm pretty positive they would have had my foot prints on their body. As I land in the chair and they give me the rod, I see s big ol' dolphin jump out of the air! Oh, yea baby!! It's on!!! With the knowledge I've gained from my Key West fishing trips, I deftly reeled in the biggest bull dolphin I've ever caught!!! 40 pounder!! It put up a good fight, but I prevailed.

Now a couple things about my catch:
1. The dolphin I refer to is also known as Dorado or on the dinner menu, Mahi Mahi. So don't worry, I didn't catch Flipper.
2. I know my pics usually are of things, places or food because this blog is about the story and not about the people per say, but on this rare occasion I include my picture because it's the biggest dolphin I've ever caught and I had to share this picture.

For 2 days and 3 nights, we hauled in Yellow Fin tuna, Black Fin tuna, Dolphin and I brought in my first Wahoo. With no real agenda, other than fishing, I completely "kicked the clutch out" and enjoyed the trip. It's rare that I have time to just sit and reflect on the beauty of nature, snap pictures of oil rigs and sunsets, read a book, take a nap at 10 am on a Thursday, or visit with family and friends deeper than just pleasantries.

As the boat docked on Saturday morning, Captain Fun and the deck hands cleaned our fish, we packed our bags, said our good-byes and headed back to NOLA to catch our plane. The world had not stopped because I couldn't check my phone and those emails, phone calls and texts did wait to be answered. If you haven't had time to check out lately, I suggest you do. I think you'll enjoy it.

Until then, happy travels and many laughs...

The Big Easy in less than 24 hours

Before heading off shore for a few days of deep sea fishing last week, our group (my folks & some family/business friends) wanted to hit New Orleans for some good Cajun food and a "little" drinking. Now while I do love the city, I could've skipped it and headed straight to the boat because I LOVE me some deep sea fishing.

But I digress...

New Orleans is a city unlike any other...rich with history, culture and some amazing food and music. For those of you who haven't been to NOLA, definitely do a little research about the history of the city and what not before you go. But definitely go.

It's a quick flight from Austin and we land with a hustle in our step as dinner reservations loomed merely a hour from leaving the airport. Now it's only 15 min from the airport to downtown, but once we arrived in the French Quarter traffic came to a crawl. With our hotel right on Bourbon street and said street closing at 7 pm each night, we had a little detouring to do to get to our location.

In the past, we've stayed at the Windsor Court , which is a very fancy hotel with high tea served every afternoon and antiques in each room. It's a very lovely experience and it still surprises me that it's one of my dad's favorite hotels. For those of you who know my dad, you understand what I'm saying. For those of you who don't, well let's just say that while well educated both formally and in life, he's a boots and jeans guy and not what I'd call "fancy." And the Windsor Court, she's a fancy lady.

Now that I'm completely off track, let's bring it back to the story.

This time, we stayed at the Inn on Bourbon, which sits at the corner of Bourbon and Toulouse. Great great location for being in the middle of the action. Terrible location if you have a balcony room opening up to Bourbon Street when it's not Mardi Gras. You guessed it! My room was just round the corner and when I went to bed, it was loud. Real loud. Guess I should've had one more cocktail before going to sleep...

For dinner that evening, we walked down a few blocks to Galatiore's. I've eaten here once before and enjoyed the experience. The service is nice but no shorts are allowed and men have to wear a dinner jacket. (Don't worry if you left yours at home, they have quite a few that you can borrow. Size, color, and cleanliness are variables to consider however when packing your bags.) Now I'm all about experiencing well established restaurants and this place is one with a long standing tradition in NOLA. It's known for serving authentic French Creole cuisine and is run by the fourth generation of the same family. However, this evening, I was not impressed. The food was solid. The fried soft shell crab and shrimp remoulade salad appetizers were flavorful and my red fish special was very well prepared. The service was good, but the overall experience was a B- at best.

My complaints? I'm glad you asked.

The place was packed and extremely noisy. Super noisy really. So loud that I thought I needed a hearing aid just to hear my mom across the table. On top of the noise, every 10-15 minutes (and sometimes less than 5 minutes apart) the head waiter would ding a glass to get everyone's attention to announce a birthday or anniversary. Really? Yes. Really. The first time it happened I thought nothing of it but after the 15th time, I was appalled. This is not TGIFriday's or some Mexican food restaurant but a $30+ a plate restaurant!! I suggested to our table that for every announcement made the fellas should get to ditch their jackets for 15 minutes. I felt bad for those guys in 98 degree weather plus humidity with a not so cool A/C running to HAVE to wear a dinner jacket in this not so classy environment. Disappointed to say the least.

Now, let me tell you about a great experience...breakfast the next morning at Brennan's. This is a MUST DO when you're in New Orleans. The restaurant has a great history and if you have time, go check it out on their website. I found it to be an interesting read and insightful of the restaurant's success. Brennan's is also home to Bananas Foster...a tasty cinnamon, sugar banana desert flambeed table side and served with vanilla Blue Bell ice cream. The service here is amazing. The dress code is casual, even with it's formality, but if you want to dress up, I say go for it!! Brennan's offers a Prix Fixe menu with three courses of yumminess!!

Our table selections included...

Starter:
-Southern Baked Apple with Double Cream (OMG! It's like Thanksgiving in your mouth!) -Oyster soup
-Turtle soup (actually better than it sounds and a creole staple.)
-Okra gumbo

Main dish:
-Eggs Sardou: Poached eggs on artichoke bottoms nestled in a bed of creamed spinach and covered with Hollandaise sauce
-Eggs Hussarde: (A Brennan's Original) One of the dishes that put "Breakfast at Brennan's" on the map. Poached eggs atop Holland rusks, Canadian bacon and Marchand de Vin sauce. Topped with Hollandaise sauce.
-Shrimp Sardou: Deliciously spicy fried shrimp atop sliced artichoke bottoms nestled in a bed of creamed spinach and covered with Hollandaise sauce. (I'm getting THIS next time!)
-Eggs Shannon: Poached eggs atop fried trout, served in a bed of creamed spinach and topped with Hollandaise sauce.
-Eggs Bayou LaFourche: Poached eggs atop Andouille Cajun sausage and Holland rusks. Topped with Hollandaise sauce.

Dessert:
-Louisiana Chocolate Pecan Pie: served with Homemade Vanilla Blue Bell ice cream
-Bananas Foster: A Brennan Creation and now World-Famous. Bananas sautéed in butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and banana liqueur, then flamed in rum. Served over vanilla ice cream. Scandalously Delicious!
-Crepes Fitzgerald: A Brennan Creation. Crepes filled with a delicate filling of cream cheese and sour cream served with a topping of strawberries flamed in Maraschino. Scrumptious!

*Descriptions courtesy of Brennan's website.

As for drinks, they are famous for their Bloody Mary's and I personally love the Mr. Funk (champagne, cranberry & peach schnapps).

You may think it's a bit pricey, but let me promise you this...the food is great, the service amazing and the portions large. In short, it's worth every penny!

Now I don't want to forget that before our late breakfast at Brennan's, Mom, Dad and I took a walk to Jackson Square to look around, take a few pictures, and get our pre-breakfast beignets from Cafe du Monde. What's a beignet you ask? Well as my cousin put it, it's "a little treat sent down from heaven." It's a French doughnut if you will. A fried piece of dough, rectangular, and covered with powdered sugar. This place must go through tons of powdered sugar each week. They are quite generous in their application of the sugary substance. Delish!

After enjoying a beignet or two to tide us over before breakfast, we walk around the French Quarter window shopping and picking up a few postcards to send home. The day is hot and humid and only gets more intense as the day continues. While the summer months are not the best time to go with the heat and humidity, in NOLA the good times always roll.

With our visit complete, we load up and head south towards Venice, Louisiana for the next adventure. And my next blog entry.

Until then happy travels and many laughs...

SPI or Bust!

Last week, work took me to South Padre Island for our trade industry's annual administrative conference. Now, I wouldn't say I did much working, but I thoroughly enjoyed the week day trip to the beach. I've made this trip almost every year for as long as I can remember and this year didn't disappoint.

The Beach

If you've never been to South Padre, it's the best beach and blue water you can find in Texas. I'm not knocking any of our other beaches, but SPI offers a nice beach with clear water, good sand and no seaweed. Now, if you've been to Destin or a Carribbean beach, you will definitely need to remember you're in Texas and remind yourself to not be a beach snob.

The Lodging

While there are plenty of places to stay on the Island, we chose to rent a condo at the Sapphire Towers, located on the South end of the island. For the past few years, I've used VRBO by HomeAway to find our rentals at the Sapphire. It's a great website to find vacation rentals all over the US and abroad, not to mention, it clearly provides the rates, dates available, pictures of the condos, and descriptions of what's included in the rental. Our condo was top notch offering beautiful views of the ocean, comfy beds, free WiFi and even NetFlix streaming. The Sapphire is connected with the Pearl Hotel (Formerly Sheraton SPI) next door which allows you access to the hotel pool, swim up bar, and Buddy's Beach rentals, offering beach umbrella/chair rentals, water sports, etc. We rented a couple umbrellas and posted up for a few days of sand and surf.

The Food

My favorite place, Dolphin Cove, closed a few years ago after Hurricane Dolly came through wreaking havoc with her high winds and rains. (Bitch!) I'm still sad that it's closed. This place was the best little dive bar & restaurant around...killer atmosphere ripe for chowing down on some killer boiled shrimp and fried shrimp tacos and knocking back a few cold cervezas.

With that being said, I do still have a few other favorites and "must eats" when I visit SPI.

-Da Pizza Joint: Tasty thin crust pizza and other Italian tasties! Try Da Pizza Special loaded with Italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, olives and lots of cheese. If you like appetizers, the mozzarella sticks are solid and the fried zucchini is delish. On the weekends, the Joint offers a piano player rocking hits from the 50's to the 2000's...he's a little cheesy, but fun.

-Wanna Wanna: This bar sits beach side and offers wonderful atmosphere both day and night. The beers are cold and the food is fried. The kitchen slings solid fried fish, shrimp and oyster baskets, as well as a mean hamburger for you land lubbers. If you're over 21 (or have a good fake ID), check out the house specialty, the Turbo, a pina colada with a shot of Bacardi 151 on top. DELICIOUS!!! I love this place and can spend hours on the deck just drinking beer and hanging out.

-Dirty Al's: While it looks like a dive on the outside (and inside for that matter), it's delicious. You must try the fried fish, fried shrimp or blackened fish tacos! Throw on the magical wing like sauce on top and it's tasty seafood heaven. This local spot also offers a huge botana platter offering all types of fried goodies from the sea. Now there is usually a wait, but for me, the fish/shrimp tacos are totally worth it!

Now there are other places to eat and I'm sure people have their own favorites, but this is my blog and those are my favorites. :) If you have some suggestions for me, please feel free to share in the comments. I'm always up for trying new places and adding "must eats" to my list.

And finally I leave you with one of my shots of the sunset over Laguna Madre, the bay separating South Padre Island from the rest of Texas. Now you can sit at one of the many Bay side bars to watch the sunset, but on this night, I snagged this pic in the parking lot of the IBC Bank. The palm trees added a nice frame to the picture. As I watched the sun slowly sink into the bay, it was as if the sun was melting into the water. The big burning ball dissolved into the horizon and in a matter of moments it was gone. As a avid sunset lover, it was one of the most unique sundowns I've witnessed.

So as Tropical Storm Don brought in higher waves, big clouds, and a little rain, we started our road trip back home with another great beach trip under our belt. This trip a little different from the last, but still with the undertones of relaxation that can only be obtained from time spent with toes in the sand. As I drive north, I begin to think of where my final beach trip of the year will be to successfully complete my 2011 New Year's resolution of hitting a beach once a quarter. Destin, Key West, South Padre Island...what's next? As soon as I figure it out, I'll let you know.

Until then happy travels and many laughs...

Night Work

Early this morning, I headed out to the final bridge deck pour on one of our projects. The pour started at 2am and when I arrived at 4 am, the crews were almost half way done with the deck. It's an amazing process to watch as the rough, rocky mess of concrete is turnedinto a smooth deck by the screed (smoothing/leveling machine) and the hand work done behind the machine. Now I'm a geek for construction so it was definitely worth getting up really early and spending two hours watching our very skilled crews create a beautiful product.

Now why did the pour have to happen in

the middle of the night? By state specification which considers the integrity of the bridge, the concrete cannot have a temperature of more than 85 degrees. In order to obtain a lower temperature, the pour is conducted at night and ice is added to the concrete. Last night, the air temperature was 82 (yes, at 4 am) and the concrete hovered between 81-83 degrees. The state provides contractors with a computer program to determine proper pouring conditions. It's a very helpful tool that helps guarantee proper concrete hardening and limits potential structural problems.

Once the pour is complete, the crews place evaporation retardant on the deck, cover the deck with blankets to assist in moisture retention, and call it a day. Over the next 10 days, the deck will be carefully taken care of to ensure proper hardening and then saw cut to put the required grooves on the deck. The next steps include pouring sidewalks and railings, removing wood forms, and finishing the approaches. Within the next few months, it'll be open to full traffic and our work will be complete.

After a few hours observing the process, I thanked our concrete manager for the informational session on the pour and headed off to find a little breakfast.

Until then, happy travels and many laughs...

Bowling & Some East Side Grub

By now, you all know that I really, really love to travel and am pretty much ready to go wherever, whenever. However, what you may not know is that I truly enjoy the weekends at home in Austin, Texas. It's an amazing city with more things to do on a week day than some places offer in a week.
So on a recent weekend, Bitch B, Bitch C, J1 & I decided to knock down some pins and enjoy dinner at one of Austin's new establishments.

Knock 'em Down, Set 'em Up

Our first stop of the evening was Dart Bowl bowling alley located in north central Austin just off Koenig Lane. It's a little older, but still a nice bowling alley. When we arrived, the place moderately busy and the A/C was definitely working. C found a coupon on the alley's website for a free game, so we cashed in our coupons, picked up our shoes, were assigned a lane, and headed to find the perfect bowling ball. Then we had to get refreshments! I mean, what is bowling without something cold to wet your whistle and assist with the trash talking that comes from a lively game with friends? You don't talk trash to your friends whilst knocking down pins? Uh huh. I thought so.

The bar at Dart Bowl sells cold beers and mixed drinks and if you get a chance, check out the Dart Bowl Steakhouse. The restaurant serves up killer nachos, tasty burgers, and one mean plate of enchiladas! So if bowling isn't your game, the food is definitely worth checking out.

Now our bowling game is less than perfect, but we have one heck of time while doing it. J1 bowled lights out (well for him anyway) the first game to narrowly defeat B. C decided one game was enough for her and during the second game, we all bowled a little worse and I brought home the victory. With a couple of fun hours down, we were ready to find some grub.

Moving on Over to the East Side

J1 suggested trying out Contigo, a new place he's been to a "few times" (understatement) on the East Side. I've been eager to try it out too, but considering the restaurant is 90% outdoors this HOT weather has won out over trying it. But on this night, why not? We headed over to Anchor Lane to try out this new place modeled after a South Texas ranch by the same name. Even in 99 degree weather (it was 7 pm after all), the place was packed, so we put our name on the list for the short wait to be seated. The drink menu includes both house specialties, the Eavesdropper, to standbys, the Old Fashioned, to beer and wine. Once seated, we perused the menu and found an array of tasty apps and main dishes. Contigo seeks to provide local, fresh ingredients and the menu reflects a seasonal spin.

For starters, we enjoyed home made marinated olives and crispy green beans, which were amazing. It was like the green beans had been nicely sauteed but yet ever so lightly fried. With the perfect amount of salt, we gobbled up these delicious vegetables with a side of homemade aioli. For dinner, B enjoyed the Rabbit and Dumplings, C loved her chicken breast over sauteed Swiss Chard, and J1 enjoyed the burger and fries. I went for the special sandwich of the day, but can't remember the name of it. It was a delicious pulled pork sandwich with homemade cole slaw served with a side salad tossed in a light lemon vinaigrette. I passed on the fries in an effort to eat more healthy but I did taste one of J1's fries and they are great! All of the food (and the cocktails) was great and I definitely recommend trying this place, if you haven't yet.

What about the heat you ask? Well, it was a little warm for me, but the overall experience out weighed the sweat factor. The management informed us the misters and new fans would be hooked up the next week, so by now, I bet it's a little more pleasant under the covered porch. This place is going to be great when the cooler weather hits! And by cooler weather, I'd take 90 degrees at this point. I will definitely be back with friends to have some cocktails, enjoy dinner & talk some smack while playing a game of washers in one of the two washer pits Contigo offers.

With another fun evening accomplished, we said our goodbyes, headed home and I started planning my next fun adventure.

Until then, many laughs and happy travels...