It's the time of year to plan for some future travel dates. One is coming up in a couple of weeks. Nancy and I decided to visit Lake Tahoe during the month of July. We haven't been to Tahoe for quite a while, so we thought we'd do a midweek stay at the Embassy Suites. We may take in a magic show during our stay and eat at one of the nicer restaurants.

I'll be going back to Louisville in August. It's been three years since my last visit - looking forward to seeing my Louisville friends. As usual, I'll be attending the State Fair.

I've already made my travel arrangements for CES in January. It's best to start your bookings early for CES - hotels and events fill up fast. Mr. Beales has indicated that he will be going, but I don't know about the other guys. Paul Carter will need approval from his principal and Tom Henry may skip CES this year. I'm thinking of seeing a "Cirque" show again. Probably the one at the MGM Grand. It's called "Ka" - if I remember correctly.

Dinner at Fin's

Tonight we had a good fish dinner at Fin's. Halibut is one of our favorites and this meal didn't disappoint. Afterwards, we ventured over to Tom Henry's house and started up his Honda Civic. Cool car, especially with the navigation. He's going to be gone for a few more weeks, so I told him that I would start his car a couple of time before he returns.

After leaving Tom's we went to Costco and bought a few things. Also, I wanted to get some more information on the Bay Bridge FastTrak system. FastTrak is a method for pre-paying tolls so you don't have to stop at the toll booth. Instead. you place an electronic device in your car and it deducts the appropriate toll amount as you zip through. Great idea - and to make it even easier, Costco sells the electronic cards.

Our last stop was at the WalMart Super Center. As of yet, we don't have a Super Center in Elk Grove. However, one is planned for next year. Groceries at WalMart are definitely cheaper. We stocked up on several items that we use regularly.

Dinner at Mi Mi's

We got a late start on dinner tonight. A couple of places where we usually go were already closed - because of the fourth. However, good old Mi Mi's was open. We usually eat a breakfast meal at Mi Mi's, not dinner, but they do have a nice turkey meal with all the trimmings, so that is what we had. Not too many patrons were eating at the time we were there. I guess that most people were getting ready for the Elk Grove fireworks display.

I did see any interesting collection of wine bottles while at Mi Mi's. I used my cellphone camera to capture the picture to the right - a wine bottle in the shape of a trumpet. Most interesting!

Cattleman's Pictures

I've posted a couple of more pictures from Nancy's birthday celebration at Cattleman's. Baby Brandon, the guy who stole the show at the birthday bash, is seen being held by Aunt Gloria. Gloria really enjoyed being around the baby and she held Brandon in her arms several times during the course of our meal. He is quite the charmer.

Birthday Celebration at Cattleman's

We had a good time celebrating Nancy's birthday at the Cattleman's restaurant in Dixon. The food and service was very good. As usual, Baby Brandon was the star of the show as everyone who meets him is so surprised at just how outgoing and poised he is - for being only four month's old, he is already quite a character.

There were nine people in attendance. We choose a restaurant in Dixon so that the drive for Kelly's family wouldn't be too long. They had to come up from the Fairfield area. It seemed to work well and the drive is actually only about forty five minutes for us to come from Elk Grove. We brought my friend, Dave Beales, and Nancy's sister, Gloria.

I've posted a couple of pictures to the right of the blog page.

More News From Chengdu, China

Tom and Wendy are enjoying their day trips. Tom writes that he and Wendy are taking bus rides to somewhat remote areas - away from the city of Chengdu. The picture to the right shows them at the entrance to the mountain that they climbed - along with hundreds of other people. The Chinese don't shy away from exercise, as people of all ages were making this climb, even some elderly folks. According to Tom, as best he could determine, he was the only American doing the mountain climb - that's got to be an interesting experience.

Food wise, Wendy and Tom are eating not only at Chinese restaurants, but at a couple of American ones as well. Grandma's Kitchen fixes a real American breakfast - with bacon, ham, sausage and eggs. It's a small world after all! Hope to get more updates from Tom, as his trip progresses.

My Father's Restaurant

While sorting through old photos I came across a picture of my Dad's restaurant (the Imperial Coffee Shop). The photo dates back to 1959. I was glad I found the picture, because I actually have very few pictures of the restaurant that I literally grew up in. I had a bi-polar childhood upbringing, so to speak. The Westend neighborhood near Shawnee Park, and the downtown restaurant located at seventh and Jefferson, across the street from the Police Headquarters, were two very different areas of town.

My cousin (Jerry), who was almost like a brother to me, and my mother, my aunt and my uncle are also in the picture. There were things I liked and disliked about the restaurant. However, one of the advantages to this dual lifestyle was the great food, and the fact that I could eat pretty much anything I wanted - including lots of ice cream and candy. Not too bad a deal! The picture can be viewed at the bottom of the blog page.