Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

What a wonderful weekend.  Larry and I went to North Hollywood to stay with Erin and Karl for a few days.  We haven't seen the kids since they came up to Idaho for Thanksgiving.  That is way too long to go without seeing your kids!  Erin and I did some shopping and we took time to visit friends and family.

We went to visit my friend, Anne Bertolino, who I haven't seen since we moved out of California.  It was so wonderful to see her.  Anne lives right on the beach in Newport Beach.  She has the most spectacular view of the ocean ... very peaceful ... what a great place to retire.  We also went to see my sister, Nancy.  She made a fabulous low fat key lime pie.  Yum.  I am still waiting for her to email me the recipe.

We went to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack with our friends, Linda and Bill Guyett.  It was so much fun.  The balloon guy made Erin a Buzz Lightyear backpack that was really fantastic.  I will have to download the picture and post it.

Although we drove instead of flying, it was still a great trip.  Hopefully I will be able to spend some more time with Erin at the end of July or beginning of August.  This time I will fly!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Mammoth Hot Springs

Finally we had weather that was decent enough to get out of the house.  Yes, the yard needs tending but there is always time for that.  Larry and I decided to pack a few things and head out camping.  We decided on our favorite location ... Yellowstone National Park.  We have never camped at Mammoth Hot Springs so we thought we would give it a chance. 

We took a leisurely drive to Mammoth Hot Springs and got to the campground.  The camp host was so very nice and gave us a great location.  We set up our camp, pulled out our chairs and decided to relax for a while.  Around dinner time we took off and headed for Gardiner, MT.  It is only a few miles from the North Entrance to the park. 

This is also the entrance that has the beautiful archway that you always see in pictures.  We walked around the town and finally decided on Rosie's for dinner.  The prices were really high but the food was fantastic.  We shared a plate (grilled shrimp mixed with linguine, bacon, and tomatoes) and had spinach artichoke dip and salad.  It was just the right amount.  If we had our own meal, we would've had to bring half of it back to the camp. 

After dinner we walked some more and I picked up another magnet for my collection.  When we got back to camp, we relaxed some more and then called it a day.  The camp was so quiet and peaceful. 

In the morning, Larry said there were elk grazing in the camp.  I decided to be lazy and sleep in for once.  After our breakfast of oatmeal, we packed up our tent and started heading north towards Livingston, MT.  It is a cute little town along Hwy. 90.  We stopped in Bozeman, MT before heading back to West Yellowstone and home. 

Since I love to photograph old barns and buildings, we stopped along the way to grab some more pictures.

We got home in plenty of time to do some things around the house.  It felt like a really long weekend and it was so nice to get away.