bvi captains log blog

Kind of looks like Vegas doesn't it? Yep, took the drive up on Friday.......


Found some strange looking people there. They look suspiciously like parents. The first of parents arriving, we have Bazza's mom coming from Australia this Thursday too. First time she will have been out of Australia since 1967 when she emigrated from England there. It should be a culture shock for her...


Staying at the Mandalay this time, as that is where the concert is Saturday night...


view from the room and me taking more pictures...


Texas De Brazil for dinner, I think we were the first people at the place when it opened for dinner at 5 PM! It was good, Bazza had lots of lamb for dinner..He was happy...




The sunset was pretty when we came out from dinner, nice soft colors and we decide to take a drive up and down the strip sightseeing. No damn way were we walking in 107 degree heat with many thousand people...








Was playing around taking some pictures at night out of the hotel room. The windows were filthy which really did not help my cause! You can see a billion photographer errors in this picture


pretty lights though...




We opted for a late breakfast, early lunch..I wanted a real smoked meat sandwich...


Bazza opted for hot dogs. The no coffee machine thing in the hotel rooms really sucked. Instead of taking his chances with room service coffee Baz had to get dressed and stand in line at the starbucks in the hotel after he trucked a long way. I probably would not stay here again for that reason. He is not a happy camper without coffee when he first wakes up...



Took a tour through the aquarium at the Mandalay. Humid, and although the parents enjoyed it, we found it a bit lame for the price. That is to be understood since we live in the BVI though and don't need to look at those creatures in a tank...










I could not convince anyone to go to the "beach" although, the beach had many more people on it then we ever do in the BVI too! (except for maybe Cane Garden Bay on Cruise Ship day..)


Went to see Sugarland that night. Floor seats are obviously bad. I saw maybe about three minutes of the main act unless I stood up. Plus if you remained sitting while everyone else was standing it became very hot and the sound was very muffled. Plus we had shriekers directly behind us and the show had lots of trouble with their lights.

I apparently need the concert direct to HD Large screen TV in the living room option...


And nope, we did not come home rich either...

This post is about food..of course, only a few things I blog about and food is one of them. We went to the Black and Blue Steakhouse at Valleyview Casino..it was relatively inexpensive I thought, although I think we all put the difference in the slot machines!

Well, Bazza only lost $6.00 He sucks.




The portions were pretty large. This picture does not show how really large my potato was! Mom and dad will be here next week and then we can go back for the lobster buffet..with even the free coupons we pay for in the slot machines...




Some heard about the outdoor concert for Toby Keith we went to in Irvine. The tickets said 4. We showed up at 3. Chad dropped us off and I had told him to pick us up at 7, should be over by then... He said he was laughing as he drove way watching us disappear hand in hand in our matching pink shirts looking around the parking lot and being much younger then us, realizing that since there was a tailgate party going on in the parking lot, there was not a chance of hell this concert was going to be done by 7..

I joined the line up to get in the port a potty's before we even got in the gate...


Although there were a few ancients like Bazza and I, we slowly realized that we would be sitting in the grass for hours before Toby Keith even came on. I am not really a grass sitting port a potty kind of girl, and Bazza was not either...


To make a long story short, by the time Toby Keith came on at 915 we were tucked up in our bed at home. This is what Bazza looked like when we left the concert at 7 PM!


I will live and learn

We enjoyed the Maine Lobster that Hopper and Swim Vacation sent us... They have 3 charters out on our boat this winter and will be very busy!

I almost think I am in Tortola. I think these are Turtle Doves in the back yard...Enjoying the sunflower seeds out of the bird mix if nothing else! The rest they just scatter around...




Went for a drive on the back roads over to Palm Springs..Took pictures of color for my mother...




Set the scene here, we are just about to go down the hill into Palm Desert...and I said to Bazza "I hate this hill going down" and Bazza says "apparently your family does too!" A reference to me taking my family on this drive and them telling me afterwards that they were scared shitless...


Date Palms at dusk...


I love this car wash sign...where do you see signs like this anymore?


Went to see the movie "the whistleblower" not uplifting at all, but very good and then went to an Austrian Restaurant for dinner..an Austrian Restaurant with quite an Australian influence in the menu from Barrumundi to Kangaroo!


The shrimp cocktail was excellent..


Bazza had duck...


I had the schnitzel...


And the chocolate mousse with a honey/coffee glaze for dinner was wonderful. In fact, the entire meal was and we enjoyed it very much!


A nice drive home and a very nice evening out we had, with still being in bed by 10:30 pm!


Had to go out so I could show off my new hair color! The only day it ever looks this good...