Beth Ann, co-owner (with husband Michael) of The Flying Pig Ranch (est. 2007), threw a big camping party and BBQ to celebrate Michael's 50th birthday. Complete with T-shirts, a horseshoe contest, and individually-boxed cupcakes, it was fantastic.
By Saturday evening, we had erected a small city of campers. Here is a view from the hillside above.
So many family and friends were there, and a good time was had by all. Thanks for a fabulous party, Beth Ann, and Happy Birthday Michael!
It wasn't just the bunny who had fun in Japan. Our colleague Reina took Vanessa and me out for a wonderful dinner of traditional Japanese food. We had salad, sushi, tempura, and shabu-shabu. Shabu-shabu is one of my favorites. They bring raw veggies, thinly-sliced raw meat, and noodles for you to cook in a pot of boiling water. Then you dip in sauces. It is very very tasty.
Thanks to Vanessa, I rode the subway all over Tokyo while still managing to eat regular meals and find my way back to my hotel after an evening of drinking beer and eating yakitori (skewered grilled chicken). We tried doing yoga on a moving subway train. Vanessa managed a nice Tree pose, but my balance was not so good that day.
This is me at the yakitori restaurant in Ginza. Vanessa was brave and ordered chicken kidney and chicken liver skewers. They were pretty good, actually! 
Last month I traveled to Japan for business and decided to stay for the weekend to do some shopping in Tokyo with my co-worker, Vanessa. At the Boise airport, I bought a Happy Meal. The toy was a small stuffed bunny with a halter dress. I strapped her to my backpack and took her with me to Japan. She had a great time.
While we were there, the bunny (who doesn't want me to publish her name), had many yummy things to eat, like green tea flavored soft serve ice cream...
...and cold soba (buckwheat) noodles and beer. (She drank the whole glass!)
But her favorite thing was the view from her hotel window at the Century Hyatt Shinjuku. She stood there for hours gazing out at the city.
Where will the bunny go next?
My friend Jennifer visited from Pardeeville, WI, last weekend. We took her rafting on the S. Fork of the Boise R. Our 100F+ weather was unfortunately over. The high that day was ~84F, and we had some wind and rain for part of the trip. It was chilly, but we had a great time anyway.
Rick rowed us down the ~15mi. stretch while Jennifer and I rode in (wet) luxury. Mike came along as our scout and rescue boat. Luckily we didn't need rescuing. This is Mike and his kayak stealing a ride on the back of our raft. 
Lancelot (Vail) llll - We loved Lancelot. The prime rib was excellent! A nice thick cut, cooked to our request, every bite very tasty, and oh so tender. The tomato salad with feta, basil, and balsamic was wonderful. And my mom liked her fish too. The downside - noisy, crowded, and the wait staff kept bumping our table as they went by.
Alpen Rose (Vail) lll - We also loved Alpen Rose. Cute and quieter outside dining. Less crowded (although we were there on a Sunday night, and all of Vail was quite deserted.) Bavarian-style food was very tasty. Osco Buco had good flavor and fell off the bone when I touched it with my fork. Dad liked his Hungarian Goulash but said it was a bit too spicy. And again, mom liked her fish. (Mom, add a comment so we can learn more about your fish!)
Ore House (Vail) l - We did not love the Ore House. The service was poor (no salt/pepper, bottled beer served without a glass, no bread plates, and some other stuff I can't remember.) The food was not good at all. My crab cakes looked like they were frozen, Dad's whiskey rib eye was tough with not good flavor. I think it was the first time I saw him not eat even half a steak. And mom ate about two bites of her chicken, which looked like it had a can of condensed soup dumped on top of it. The only good thing about that place was the location, and that was only if you could get a seat on the deck.
D-19 (Aspen) ll - This place was OK. Good service, nice outdoor seating and an interesting menu with lots of things to choose from (I almost tried the pea ravioli.) Mom and Dad both tried the chicken salad, which they both though was good but not the best ever, and $18 seemed high. I had the Angus burger ($15) with cheese, bacon, and grilled onions. It was very tasty, but I had to eat around the raw part - I ordered it medium. The fries were excellent.
This weekend I visited my parents in Vail, CO. They are spending the week there. We took this photo of ourselves on the deck outside our condo one evening at dusk.
On Monday we drove to Aspen. There were many people and many cars. It was difficult to drive around the crowded streets. We did find a nice place to have lunch outside. The pedestrian mall
had nice flowers and was shaded by many trees. But we didn't think the shopping was as great as in Vail. I found some horses and a friendly bear who wanted to hug me.
