On the road again. Off to AZ, they need more blue folks.
Well we headed out of Seattle on Sunday, 3/5 heading to Sun City. Didn't see enough of it in Sicily so we went looking for it and warm/hot weather. Drove to Pendleton, OR then to Twin Falls, ID and Las Vegas, NV on our way to Sun City, AZ. Twin Falls to Las Vegas is an 8 hour drive down through the Great Basin. You want to take the Basin Highway in the winter. It was cold till we got south of Ely which is 4 hours +/- from Twin Falls.
It wasn't too cold in Pendleton and it didn't snow so all there was well. Roads were wet in several places but no ice. We ate at Hamley's Steakhouse for the 2nd time. It's a good place to patronize. Really nicely done interior design. Big wine list. It's larger than the menu. Good beef, and properly prepared. We stayed at the Best Western. It's a pretty standard BW but the breakfast is above par for these kind of places. Comfortable and clean room on the second floor was quiet and the only reason we set an alarm was to ensure we could catch the breakfast.
In Twin Falls we stayed at the Shilo Inn. It was what you can expect from Shilo. A nice room and we got our choice of top floor too. We ate at the nearby Jakers Grill. Pretty expensive place for entrees and not much of a wine selection. They appeared to push the beer more than the wine. The food was good but our server was rushing us. Not what you want after 5 1/2 hours of winter driving. It snowed a corn snow/hail mix a few times after Boise so it would have been nice to be able to sit for a bit. Our waitress pushed us to get beers and other menu items. She actually seemed peeved that we didn't. She came to push dessert when we were only 2/3 finished with our entrees and when we didn't want any the bill showed up about 2 minutes later. Talk about "eat and get out". I hadn't felt that rushed since basic training 45 years ago. On the way down we had to stop in Ely, NV for fuel and found a great little cafe and inn. The All Aboard Cafe and Inn is a bed and breakfast by the railroad museum. Great lunch and a cocktail bar too. Since it's 1/2 way to Vegas we are considering making this part a two day jaunt. We could leave Twin Falls later in the morning and stay here. The Inn has 4 or 5 rooms and if they're as good as the restaurant it should be nice. There is a second small boutique old hotel there that we will check out too.
We chose to stay at the Tuscany Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Everything else except for strip hotels were really expensive and we wanted to be off the strip. The Tuscany suite was nice, the furnishings were a bit cheap, but this is not a top tier place. The Piazza lounge has reasonably priced cocktails for Vegas. The Tuscany Garden is their "fine dining" restaurant. The food's not exceptional and, as can be expected above moderate in price. Service was a bit rushed here too. And after 8+ hours on the road, starting in snow and salt-wet roads we still didn't get to really enjoy a relaxed meal. Marilyn's Cafe in the casino was a good deal for breakfast. I had the chicken and waffle. The chicken batter was a bit salty and the syrup was not a real good grade. I guess they want you to pay the extra $2 for real maple.
We've been in Sun City since last Wednesday . Saw the M's beat the Reds 7-6 on Saturday and tomorrow we head to the middle of nowhere, almost. We're off to Rodeo, NM to see my niece and her husband at their vineyard. We'll be staying with the eldest. He heads down there in the winter to avoid the Northwest weather, just like we tried this year. It didn't work in Sicily, as anyone that follows this blog knows. BUT, it has been in the 90's here and the mid-80's down there in the high desert by the Chiricahua Mountains. I'll try to upload some more photos to this blog when we're down there.