Hey Look Who’s Back ……….

Posted in Uncategorized by drivindave on December 1, 2011

Hi everyone and welcome to the 49in7 blog.

November has been a busy month for us. It started with a trip to Las Vegas to attend the SEMA Show. We connected with the bunch from “Posie’s Driven Dirty Tour” for some great nights out with some really fine food. I wish I could have made this years trip across the country with Posie, but other matters were on my plate at the time. We had a wonderful time at SEMA and truly enjoyed the cars and all the new stuff.

Next we were off to Disneyland for my youngest Granddaughter’s birthday. She is getting to be a big girl at age 10. I tell you what, I was walked out by the time we were finished with 4 days of Mickey. We made a quick drive back to the Bay Area for a few days before our next adventure to the Southwest.

Because my anniversary fell right in the middle of the 49in7 Charity drive, I planned to make it up with a trip to one of my wife’s favorite places, Santa Fe, New Mexico. We got on a plane and were there in a 1/2 day. The days of through flights to your favorite cities are long gone unless it’s a hub or big city.We picked up our rental car in Albuquerque and drove to Santa Fe. Just before we were to check into our hotel, the car let us know that a tire was going flat. Sure enough, left front was going down fast. So what to do, change the tire? Call the car rental company? Call AAA? As a hot rodder I choose to change the tire and then take it back to the nearest company office in Santa Fe and exchange it for another car. There was a problem, the lug nuts were made for the mag wheels that were on the car. The spare was a regular steel wheel and required different lug nuts. So with the car jacked up and the wheel off I needed to make a call to find out what they wanted us to do at this point. Also the sun was setting and it would be dark in a few hours. The poor guy on the other end of the cell phone had no idea what to do. He had to make a few calls and get back to us. I choose to try and bolt the spare to the car anyway. It looked a bit funny, but seemed like it would work long enough to get us to the rental office and get a new car. So off we went still waiting to hear from the rental guy. Long story short, we got another car and checked in to the hotel just in time for the sunset

The next stop was to Maria’s for some tasty fajitas and a margarita. We ate at all of our favorite places in town: Pasquals; Tomasita’s; Tecolate; Cafe; The Bull Ring; Cow Girl; and Tortilla Flats just to name a few. I believe we ate at Maria’s three times on this trip. Shopping was also on the menu for Santa Fe. My wife does most of her Christmas shopping for her relitives here when she can. The 7 days went fast and the next thing we knew we were on our way home just in time for Thanksgiving.

We landed, got to the house to unpack and get together what we would need for the next week. Lake Tahoe for Thanksgiving was a trip the whole family would be making. Armed with all the turkey and stuffing we headed for the lake. Carol and I got there a day early,went shopping for all the stuff we forgot and had the meal planned and ready to cook the next day. The weather was cold but no snow. The rest of the tribe showed up the next day and soon we were all in Tahoe mode. I started working on a Christmas gift for a buddy of mine, the Grandkids were playing Twister and pies were being made in the kitchen. The Tahoe experience is one of laid back living, sleep in late and maybe get out of the house to catch a movie. There is some fine dining around the Lake and we did our part the day after Turkey Day. We all went to The Sage Room for a non-turkey feast. Time goes by fast when you’re having fun and it was no exception at Tahoe. Soon it was time for the working people and school kids to leave. We stayed on for a few days before returning to the Bay Area for another get together on Carol’s Birthday. So as you can see we have been busy. With Christmas right around the corner we have to stay close to home. We will be attending a few parties and will be on the move, but I don’t think we will be going like we did in November.

All the best, Dave