Ironing it Out

Good morning out there. You made it to February 18, 2023. It’s the weekend and time to relax, at least for us as Hubby and I just returned from our annual anniversary trip. This year, we returned to Laughlin, NV, where we were married six years ago. Right now, though, it is 4:30 AM and both of us have been up for a few hours. Our pets seem happy that we are home. Tacobelle has been a little extra clingy, but I am totally okay with that! Well, time to start this recap of stuff that we have done in the last few weeks, but first, here is a little music to go along with the ride.

Iron Maiden is one of my favorite Heavy Metal bands and the song seemed like the perfect accompaniment for this recap.

Since the last post, we have been a little busy around here. I finished a painting and Hubby has been working on things as well. I love that I get to hear him tinkering on the 6 string and love when he strums a song that I know so I can sort of sing along.

This is a 12 x 12 stretched canvas. This is a recreation of one of the photos from our wedding day in front of the Regency Hotel in Laughlin, NV. I have mentioned that I like heart shapes and framed the clouds around us to the shape of a heart. This was my gift to Hubby this year although, I read that the traditional gift for #6 is iron.

At the beginning of the month, I got to tag along with Hubby to a jam session at a new recording studio in Palm Desert, 3 M Recording Studios. The studio is new to the Coachella Valley and quite possibly the nicest studio I have ever visited. Back in the day, twenty or so years ago, I fondly remember, partying at the “studio”. I had remarked to Hubby after we left the building that it was the nicest smelling “studio” I had ever been to. The last one that I had visited was like an adult club house, where the boys’ played guitars and drank beer or smoked and relived their high school conquests and such. We, a group of acquaintances, used to head over there after the bar closed and we weren’t ready to go home. Anyhow, if you dear reader are in the CV and are looking for a place to rehearse or practice, do check them out.

As I had mentioned, we have been taking drives around the valley. I mentioned to Hubby last week that I wanted to go looking for wildflowers. He asked, “what direction?” So, I went to Google and Diamond Valley Lake appeared. I read a little about the area and then told Hubby, “Diamond Valley Lake.” and that is where we headed. The lake is actually a man-made reservoir located in Hemet, CA. On the way there, we stopped to check out the Cabazon Dinosaurs and their Valentine’s outfits.

The drive to Diamond Valley Lake from our place was about an hour through a two lane, country highway that went through the mountains. Along the way, I “oohed and aahed” several times as we passed as the scenery was a just gorgeous. I tried to snap a few photos of all the cows that we passed but had little luck.

The lake is fairly new and is one of the largest man-made lakes in California. Also, wiki mentioned that the lake is known for fishing. Hubby and I walked around the lake and noticed that there is a bike trail that goes around the entire lake. The sign we saw indicated that the trail is 21 miles long. I may have to rent an E-bike and ride the trail someday.

This was taken on February 16, 2017, in Las Vegas, NV. We were drinking breakfast margaritas. It did have fruit in it.
Cherries count, right?

We returned from our anniversary trip last night and I am tired but not worn-out. This time we relaxed and hung out around the hotel. Truthfully, the weather was cold, and the winds were gusty, so we didn’t walk along the river much. our room had a nice view of the river that I stared at often during our stay. It was nice to lay in bed and see the puffy clouds floating by.

The view from the bed. We stayed at the Edgewater Hotel and had a river view.

Hubby did a great job picking out the hotel that we stayed at. It was located right on the river. The room was also quite nice and love that they included water and a Keurig. The bed though, well, it was well worn, that is for sure. Thank goodness I was exhausted because I slept like a log both nights. I would recommend this hotel if you are planning to visit Laughlin in the future and are looking for inexpensive lodging.

The London Bridge, locate in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

It has been over 30 years since I had been under the London Bridge. The last time that I was there was around 1985. My girlfriend invited to on a family trip to the River. From what I remember, it was a fun trip. We camped in Black Meadow Landing near Parker Dam. My friend’s father owned a boat and took us on a ride up the Colorado River to see the bridge. Funny, but nothing looked familiar to me. I have several photos to review and will post a few later. We found a parking spot near the bridge and walked along the paved path till we were under it. We sat at a few of the benches, and I snapped a selfie of us with the Panasonic.

Happy anniversary 2023.

There were a few benches located just under the bridge. We sat there for a few minutes looking at the scenery. I had gotten up to take a few photos when a man walked our way with his Golden Doodle, Rusty. (Don’t ask me his name as I never can remember a person’s name but an animal…) He chatted with us for a bit, and I got to snap a few photos of Rusty and that colorful, curly hair.

Jim and Rusty.

It was nice trip, and I can’t wait to go back there again. Now, it is time to get on with my day and finish reviewing the photo and video from our trip. The bagels that I just made are starting to smell good. I must be hungry.

Thank you, dear reader, for visiting. Wherever in the world you are today, may it be peaceful. If you are traveling today, may you make it to your destination safely. Hugs.