Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Thanksgiving in Bayard, NM

For Thanksgiving, Alicia and I went to Bayard, New Mexico to visit her aunt, uncle, and her sweet grandmother. Bayard is just outside of Silver City, if you know where that is. If you are unfamiliar with either, then just know that it is a 5 hour drive west of Phoenix.

We spent Thanksgiving eating and watching the NFL football games on TV. The food was delicious! That afternoon we went on a drive around the area to see where my father-in-law grew up and where his father mined.
We also saw the fourth largest, open-pit, copper mine in the world. It was pretty deep! Alicia's uncle told me that there used to be a small town on the land where the pit is now. The town had a high school, movie theatre, grocery store, houses, etc. Now it is just a big hole in the ground!

Alicia's uncle Ron is a funny guy, always making us laugh and feel comfortable. He kept talking about the "Kneeling Nun" which is a rock formation right above the copper mine that looks like a nun kneeling at an altar. I guess people from all over come to see the Kneeling Nun.

Friday we watched the Texas vs. Texas A&M football game. Boy was my father-in-law nervous! He kept getting up out of the chair and pacing the room. Texas didn't play as well as they usually do and the Texas defense had trouble stopping the option. The A&M QB was a 2nd stringer, replacing their injured QB and he had a lot of heart and determination! Texas had quite a scare and almost lost their number 2 spot, and their undefeated record. Hopefully, that will humble them so they will work harder to win the Big 12 championship and the national championship at the Rose Bowl.

After the game, we drove up to Lakeside/Pinetop to Alicia's parents' house. It was a beautiful drive through rolling hills, mountains, and pine trees. Saturday, Jimmy (my father-in-law) and I had a tee time at a municipal golf course in Show-Low, but it was freezing cold and extremely windy! Jimmy suggested we just hit some balls and determine whether or not we should play. I agreed. The starter told Jimmy that there were a lot of people out there playing. Jimmy didn't want to be thought of as a wimp, so he signed us up for 9 holes.

That was the most miserable 9 holes I have played in a long time. I have played some holes in Boise, Idaho when it was cold, windy, or raining, but this was pretty bad. It was so windy that half of the flagsticks were blown over! The ones that were still in were bending at a 90 degree angle with the force of the wind! To top it all off, I lost my cell phone somewhere on the course. The cart paths are gravel and quite bumpy, so it likely fell out of my pocket.

I was just informed today by Alicia that the golf course called Jimmy and told them that they found the phone. That is a huge relief because a new phone was going to cost me $100-$200. I will probably get it sometime next week. I can't wait until February when I can get a new phone with the Verizon "new after two" program....but that's another story.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Honeymoon in Maui


Our honeymoon in Maui was amazing! We stayed at the Sheraton in Ka'anapali and the hotel and grounds were gorgeous. The snorkeling at Black Rock, which is right by the Sheraton, was great. We even liked it better than the snorkeling in Molikini.

We went to a magic/comedy show in Lahaina and loved it! Since it was our honeymoon, Alicia and I got to sit up front where the magician used us in the show and made fun of us. It didn't hurt my ego too bad, but I'm still recovering. :)

We went to a Luau in Ka'anapali and had ok food and ok entertainment. Most of the time we were relaxing on the beach or by the pool. It was so relaxing that I even read a book...The DaVinci Code. It had been a while since I had actually finished a book.