Eating Healthy in Las Vegas

Aloha Everyone,

Trying to eat healthy when restaurants and buffets are enticing you with steak and lobster, prime rib, filet mignon, assortments of pasta, and mouth watering desserts is not easy. So here are samples of what I have been enjoying while in Las Vegas

Garden salad

Fresh blueberries and cottage cheese

A complete oatmeal breakfast with cranberries, banana, and strawberries.

Fresh green salad with olives, almonds and sunflower seeds

Vegetarian selection

And to be fair, here are a couple of of J.J.'s meals.

Aloha -- Cathi

Happy Birthday to My Dearest Mother!

To My Dearest Mother,

A very Happy Birthday!

Thank you for letting us celebrate this very special day with you. Wishing you another healthy and amazing year!!!

With much love and affection,

Aloha -- J.J., Cathi, and the rest of your loving family including 4 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren

Death Valley National Park

Aloha Everyone,

Woke up at 3:30 am, an hour before my iPhone alarm rang. Bright moon reflecting on the water of Diaz Lake was a healing sight for my sleepy eyes.

Quick breakfast of banana, coffee, multi-nuts wheat bread with cream cheese

On the road by 5;20 am. 12 miles of extreme winding steep mountainous road before we reached a flat area with low desert shrubs growing. Actually, the main road shifts from winding mountainous area to flat bed with elevation changing from 4,000 ft above sea level to 200 ft below sea level.

According to an official documentation, 133 Fahrenheit is the hottest recorded temperature in Death Valley. The best time to visit is said to be between Christmas and New Year.

7:23 am drove passed the Furnace Creek Campground. At 200 ft below sea level, palm trees and other desert plants seemed to be thriving.

We made it.  By 10:00 am, we are safely checked in at the KOA Las Vegas RV Park.  Honu is settled under a shade of a large tree and we are running the AC to survive the 104 degree temperature outside.

Aloha -- Cathi

Diaz Lake Recreational Park, Lone Pine, CA

Aloha Everyone,

Today we relocated approximately 80 miles South on Route 395 to Lone Pine, CA. J.J. and I've been to Lone Pine many times in the past but never in summer. It is HOT here.

Parts of sides of the Route 395 were covered with ancient lava rocks.

Our lunch stop in Lone Pine

J.J.'s lunch

My grilled cheese sandwich

Portion as usual was too large.

After our light lunch at The Grill, we drove up to the Alabama Hills. Both of us agreed that the scenery improves by three folds when the rocky hills and the surrounding peaks are wearing winter white.

At the National Park Service Visitor Center, we picked up a brochure with a detailed map indicating points of interest in Death Valley National Park. We were cautioned to start early to avoid the day-time temperature of 117 degrees.

Our plan is to leave at sunrise or about 5:30 am to traverse Death Valley and enter into Nevada before 9:00 am.

Honu's home for the night is a lake view site at Diaz Lake Campground located just south of Lone Pine in the Owens Valley. The park is under Inyo County jurisdiction. Although campsites are primitive, the place is popular with families for boating, swimming and biking. We paid $14 for the night. Before dinner J.J. and I took a walk around the campground.

Aloha -- Cathi

Benton Hot Spring

Aloha Everyone,

Natural Hot Springs with various minerals have therapeutic effect on your body and mind. When J.J. mentioned about Benton Hot Spring located about 36 miles from Bishop, I was eager for today's excursion.

Route 6 is straight and well maintained. We stopped at the town's only gas station with cafe to inquire about the Inn At Benton Hot Spring.

Kerisa working in the coffee shop was exuberant and helpful and pointed us to the right direction. A lovely girl, she did not seem to belong to Benton with a population of mere 240.  Sometimes our encounters are too brief that it would be awkward for me to ask for their stories.

Benton Hot Spring was far different from what I had imagined. A road sign says Elevation of 5,600 plus/minus and population of 13 1/2. Surely a baby counts as a whole and not a half.

The Bed & Breakfast Inn has a number of good write ups including their own website. But the gentleman we spoke to at the inn was circumspect, and just kept referring us to the website regarding our questions about their rooms, hot spring and RV park. He stated, "I jus work here," and was not very helpful.

I personally walked away feeling uncomfortable. The Inn is supposed to be over 200 years old. The town was once a thriving community of 6,000 plus residents. What had happened?

Back to Bishop, our lunch was at Aaron Schatz. J.J. had hamburger while I ordered a veggie burger.

The forecast is light rain within an hour. While we wait for such blessing, J.J. and I are comfortable working inside Honu.

Aloha -- Cathi