Sun Valley, ID . USA

We are back in Sun Valley now after a busy week and two trips to Boise. The first trip was for Josette's graduation from Boise state University with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science, a major milestone for all of us as Josette is last of her five siblings to graduate.
Julie arrived late in the evening prior to the graduation but James and Katie's flight from San Francisco was cancelled due to mechanical problems and there were no other flights available until after the New Year, so they were unable to make it.
The graduation was held in the basketball arena with about 20, 000 of our closest friends. The usual speeches and ceremony occurred and then off for a nice lunch in downtown Boise.
Fortunately, it had stopped snowing so the ride back to Sun Valley was uneventful.As soon as we got here it snowed about a foot and all the locals were pleased to have fresh powder to ski on.
We attended the Nutcracker on ice at the Lodge in Sun Valley Village and watched the fireworks and the skiers come down Dollar Mountain carrying torches, very enjoyable but absolutely freezing. We spent Christmas here with Josette and Julie but James and Katie were sorely missed.  Lots of eating and drinking and present exchanging. Santa brought  the Admiral a new telephoto lens to facilitate better wildlife shots next year.
We went back to Boise on Christmas day to get Julie on her flight  to San Diego and we spent some quality time with the new graduate.
We went to see Les Miserables, the movie and I would strongly recommend it. Hugh Jackman and Eddie Redmayne were brilliant.
We dodged another snow storm and returned to Sun Valley yesterday, to a further six inches of snow and clear blue skies. It's bloody cold though with highs at 23F and lows at 5F.

The Admiral and new graduate in some very high fashion shoes

proud dad and graduate

outside the Sawtooth Club, Ketchum

Fairfield, ID on the way back from Boise. Lots of snow

Sun Valley ID, USA

We have had a busy week doing some land cruising though some geographic extremes. We set off a week ago from San Diego to Rancho Mirage to visit with some old friends and see the sights. We stayed with Len and Kathy in Indian Wells and discussed the state of the world and the years' activities while partaking of the usual lubricants.

The Living Desert Reserve, Palm Desert, CA

We took a walk through the Living Desert Reserve which has grown enormously  in the past  three years.and in the afternoon strolled up and down El Paseo, Palm Desert's  Rodeo Drive. The weather was perfect with clear skies and a temperature in the 70's. The next day was spent doing the doctor visits and getting some routine stuff done at Eisenhower Medical Center, including the long overdue freckle check, considering the amount of UV exposure we get in the tropics. We had an excellent dinner with Doug and Brenda and lunch with Tom and Kathy at some of our old desert haunts. The four days passed very quickly and on Wednesday morning we left for Sun Valley, Idaho. The forecast was for snow that evening and we got to the town of Jackpot, on the Nevada Idaho border  at dusk and it did indeed snow.

With the magic of 4G internet and the Ipad a room was found for the night at a very reasonable rate at the Four Jacks Hotel and Casino which included draft Mexican beers at 25 cents a pop. Even better than Indonesia!

The Admiral with her Dr. Zhivago hat

We went to  the alleged fine dining restaurant at the Cactus Pete Casino down the road and a surprising good dinner was enjoyed. About four inches of snow fell overnight but by 9.30 the following day the weather had cleared as were the roads.
Up to Twin Falls, ID and then on to Sun Valley and our winter wonderland.
They have had quite a bit of snow and all the ski runs are operational. We took a ride down to Hailey to pick out the Holiday Tannenbaum and walk about. It's quite cold with temperatures hovering around freezing at mid-day but the mountains are very beautiful in the snow. Last night was the annual Christmas Tree lighting and carol singing in Sun Valley Village which was lovely despite the cold.
Next week we will be in Boise for Josette's graduation, further report to follow.

the view from the deck. in Sun Valley  Mt. Baldy and the ski runs

Dollar Mountain, Sun Valley

ice sculptures, Sun Valley Village

San Diego, California

It has been awhile since my last post and we have been very busy re-acquainting ourselves with all that sunny San Diego has to offer. The weather has been mostly glorious except for catching the lower edge of a major storm that went through the north west. After the morning marine layer burns off, there has been bright, clear weather with the temperature in the seventies.
Joanne came to visit after Thanksgiving and we had an enjoyable Mexican dinner with Tracy and Van and Marcia in Coronado. We have walked the length and breadth of the Gaslamp district and Seaport Village and with Julie on the beach at Torrey Pines.
Of all the places in the world we have been,  it is hard to beat Southern California.
Last weekend marked the end of Movember and to celebrate we attended a party and one of downtown's trendy nightclub called Block 16. A very interesting experience it was too. It was a themed costume party and there were many Wyatt Earp impersonators, Zorros and one excellent Charlie Chaplin all sporting different kinds of Mo s. We must have been the most ancient couple there but despite that we had a good time.
On Saturday, we went on an eating tour of the Gaslamp and learned quite a bit about the history of downtown San Diego.
Sunday night took us to the Anthology club to have dinner and see Howie Day who gave an excellent show.
Off today, to Balboa Park to go walkabout and see the museums.

The final Mo (pretty awful really)

Thank you to all who made a contribution to the Movember effort. The  contribution total was $350 donated to men's health care issues, a very worthy cause. It took about a month for the Mo to finally grow in and now, not so sadly, the Mo is no more until next year.