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Archives
Category Archives: The West
LA to Chicago Road Trip
In June 2022 Dani and I flew to LA and rented and SUV to bring some keepsakes from Grandma Marjorie’s house back to Chicago. We wanted to take our time and visit interesting attractions over a two-week drive. The original … Continue reading
Posted in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Los Angeles, New Mexico, Travel
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Road Trip: Pacific Northwest
This was a delightful 12-day trip around Washington State and part of Oregon. Dani and I initially planned it, but I was able to talk Linda into going, too. It was so much fun to have the whole family traveling … Continue reading
Posted in Dani, Dining, Family, Linda, Oregon, Theme Parks, Travel, Washington State
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Western Roadtrip
Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico in 12 days and 2600 miles In July 2019 Dani and I set out on a 2600 mile, 12-day road trip of the western states. We had a bucket … Continue reading
Posted in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, The West, Travel, United States, Utah, Wyoming, Yellowstone
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Arizon and Utah Art Photos
I usually only post photos with people in them to my blog, as over the years I’ve found those are the only ones I really care about later. But these five turned out so well, I’ve decided to put them … Continue reading
Posted in Photography, The West
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Las Vegas Dining
We had a jam packed week of fine dining in Las Vegas. Here are some brief thoughts about the various restaurants. Verandah at The Four Seasons This is the coffee shop at the Four Season. The weekend brunch, included in … Continue reading
The Vdara
Dani and I completed our tour of national parks, finishing with two days at the Four Seasons Las Vegas, which is the top five floors of the Mandalay Bay. Then we moved to my favorite (non-smoking casinoless) hotel in Vegas, … Continue reading
Posted in Las Vegas
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Vdara Window Washer Rescue
We had a bit of excitement outside our hotel yesterday. Firefighters had to be lowered from above our 56th floor suite to rescue three window washers when their basket got stuck and started to slip. TV crews gathered down on … Continue reading
Posted in Las Vegas
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Tour Wrap-up: Blogging in the Sticks
Our Tauck Tour is wrapping up, and we reached our final destination: The Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas. It’s my fourth Tauck Tour, and they just seem to get better. I wouldn’t change a thing about this one. Each … Continue reading
Posted in Technology, The West
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Zion
If it’s the only park you go to, Zion is incredibly beautiful, with its contrasting red and white peaks. But it’s always seemed a bit of a letdown to me, after going to Grand Canyon (which is far bigger) and … Continue reading
Posted in The West
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Bryce
I’ve always thought Bryce is the most beautiful of all the National Parks. Our room was at the Bryce Lodge, which is newly refurbished. The weather was perfect, and the sun was just setting as we arrived to take photos. … Continue reading
Posted in The West
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Colorado River Rafting
I’ve been without Internet for one day, and I sure have a lot of updates to do! This trip is definitely keeping us busy, in a fun way. Wednesday morning we checked out of Lake Powell and drove to Page, … Continue reading
Posted in The West
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Monument Valley
I’ve always wanted to visit Monument Valley, but it’s not the easiest place in the world to get to. Even though as a kid I vacationed all over the Southwest, I don’t recall ever passing through. So today we did … Continue reading
Morning at the Grand Canyon, Evening at Lake Powell
This morning I happened to wake earlier, so I went out a little after 5am to photograph the sunrise over the canyon.Clouds to the east provided a dramatic backdrop, but only a few rays managed to hit the canyon walls, … Continue reading
Posted in The West
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Grand Canyon 2012
What a great day! We set out with our Tauck group from The Four Seasons Scottsdale and headed north through the saguaro-littered desert. Soon we had ascended far enough for the cactus to disappear, to be replaced by scrub and … Continue reading
Posted in The West
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Scottsdale
We had a relaxing day at the Fours Seasons. After breakfast we went for a short walk through the desert and took some photos, then back to the room to cool off. Even though it was overcast and in the … Continue reading
Four Seasons Scottsdale
We had an uneventful flight from Chicago to Phoenix (best line by the Southwest pilot: “Well, we’ve found Arizona, now we’re just looking for Phoenix”) and a 45 minute limo ride from a real tech-head that involved discussions of tablets, … Continue reading
l’Atelier
We saved the best for last. Having been to Joel Robuchon’s l’Atelier in London, we knew it was good, but I had expected his formal restaurant, Robuchon, to be better. However I actually prefer the honest flavors of the simple … Continue reading
Backstage at Caesar’s Forum Shops
With our wine group back in Orlando, Linda and I have a few days alone in Las Vegas. Thursday we met Ron Ford of Simon Malls for lunch at Sushi Roku and a backstage tour of the Forum Shops. There … Continue reading
Posted in Alcorn McBride, Dining, Las Vegas, Wine
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Delmonico’s
Delmonico’s was the final restaurant on our Wine Syndicate Las Vegas culinary adventure, and it was easily the best experience. Incredibly attentive and professional wine service by Ryan Anderson made the evening a delight. At last, here was a place … Continue reading
Lotus of Siam
For lunch we went to Lotus of Siam, regarded by many as the best Thai restaurant in America. It’s in a dumpy shopping center off of Sahara, so I’m sure we looked a bit incongruous piling out of a stretch … Continue reading
Pinot Brasserie
Monday Linda and I walked up to the Forum Shops and had lunch at Sushi Roku. Our server, Chase, made some great recommendations. It was a beautiful morning, and we stopped to look back at our hotel across the Bellagio … Continue reading
Robuchon
Today Linda and I explored the area around City Center, including several hotels owned by MGM: The Bellagio, Aria and Monte Carlo. These are connected by a tram, along with the Crystals mall. We had a good lunch of tapas … Continue reading
Vdara
Today is the first day of our Wine Syndicate getaway to Las Vegas. We took advantage of our membership miles to fly first class on Delta through Atlanta. It took most of the day, but it was a pleasant flight, … Continue reading
Las Vegas Star Trek Convention 2005
Dani’s Los Angeles Journal August 1, 2005 We were supposed to leave Saturday night but Delta called to tell us our flight was cancelled, so we ended up leaving REALLY early in the morning on Sunday. We connected in Salt … Continue reading
Posted in Dani, Family, Las Vegas, Linda, Los Angeles, Technology
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Las Vegas 2000
In the Fall of 2000 most of The Wine Syndicate group went to Las Vegas, where we stayed at the Venetian. We had some great lunches, dinners and tastings, and also found time for Star Trek The Experience, a tour of Caesar’s … Continue reading
Los Angeles, Las Vegas & Grand Canyon in Art 1996
The annual “Return of the WEDI” trip in 1996 went to the Grand Canyon for the only time. When I travel I like to keep a journal so I can experience the trip again, years later. Now I use a laptop, … Continue reading
Posted in Art & Sculpture, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, The West
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Bryce, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon 1980
In December 1980 we took a driving trip throughout the western United States, visiting Las Vegas, Zion, Bryce, Lake Powell, and the Grand Canyon. Linda drove her faithful RX-3 station wagon, while I took photographs. We enjoyed the brisk weather, … Continue reading
Posted in Bryce, Grand Canyon, Linda, The West
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