FIRST TRIP - LEAVENWORTH (charming Bavarian Style Town In The Cascades), WASHINGTON VIA SEATTLE
We are enjoying some snacks and a drink at the Escape Lounge in Sacramento before our flight to Seattle. I got Maker's.
This was our first flight with the new assigned seating for Southwest. Since I am A List, I was able to upgrade us to the Extra Leg Room Row for free 48 hours before our flight.
The Extra Leg Room seats got an extra snack which was a bag of Pistachios. LOL. Alcohol was free also.
I got a nice view of Lumen Field from the air as we made our final approach into Sea-Tac Airport. The Seahawks were in the Super Bowl that year too.
Since we got in late, I booked the Doubletree Sea-Tac Airport for the first night. We had a nice view of the airport when we woke up from our huge balcony.
After breakfast at the Doubletree, we picked up our rental car at the airport location. I booked a SUV since it does snow in the Cascades. We got Volkswagon Atlas.
We stopped for coffee at a typical bikini barista stand in the Seattle area. This one was called Cherry Bombs, and it was near the airport in Tukwila.
We drove straight to Leavenworth from Tukwila. Our first stop in Leavenworth was the Andreas Keller German Restaurant for lunch.
German food is usually pretty bland, but I thought the chicken with the German style potato salad and red cabbage was not bad. I got a traditional soda water and apple juice too.
We figured we had to get dessert since the Germans and Austrians are famous for their bakeries.
The buildings in Leavenworth look like what I saw in Munich, Germany.
We enjoyed our stroll down the main street in the Bavarian Village.
Unfortunately, we did not get any snow since it was a warmer winter. It was cold, but snow is pretty common in winter here.
Leavenworth is also known for the holiday lights. We got a nice preview of them even during the daytime.
We loved this cure meat store called Carnevita. The meats are all raised on a ranch and cured there. I loved their beef bresaola!
Even the Hampton Inn where we stayed looks like a building in Bavaria!
We went to the Blind Tigress after checking into the hotel. This place would not have lasted long during Prohibition if they advertised like that.
The Blind Tigress had some great bourbon and whiskey selections.
Joy and I found a nice nook to hang out in at the speakeasy and get our drinks.
After we left the speakeasy, we experienced the marvel of the holiday lights of Leavenworth!
I can imagine how beautiful this place when it is covered in snow too!
We were in awe of the lights!
They even had hearts on one of the trees for Valentine's Day which was only a few weeks away!
We went to Whistlepunk Ice Cream, a local homemade ice cream store to get a sugar high afterwards.
For dinner, we went to the Mozart's Restaurant in the Bavarian Village. They had live music that night.
I had to have my usual whiskey!
I got the Hungarian Beef Goulash which had a side of spatzle which are noodles made of potatoes.
The Mozart Torte was so delicious!
Leavenworth even has horse drawn carriages.
We had a scenic drive back from Leavenworth.
We stopped at the Cle Elum Bakery on the way back to Seattle. Cle Elum is a nice little town east of Seattle. I think these parts of Washington are more conservative than the freaks in Seattle.
My wife wanted to get lunch at Ivar's Fish Bar so we found one on our route back.
Ivar's Manhattan chowder and fried seafood did not disappoint!
My request was to go to Westland Distillery, which is home to one of my favorite whiskey's from the Pacific Northwest.
I first tried this at the Sheraton in Redding, and I was probably the only one buying it. Westland and Woodinville are two great Washington distilleries.
The Watch Post was their new bourbon. I really liked that one. Some of the other ones I tried had more peat in them like a scotch.
We went to Boeing Field and the Museum of Flight next. Boeing Field has an area where they work on military aircraft like these.
This is a view of Boeing Field's runway from the museum. Boeing can land 747 and Dreamliners on this runway.
Here is a really old flying machine as one enters the lobby of the Museum of Flight.
They had a Concorde at the museum. Let's go inside and explore!
The Concorde was pretty narrow bodied. The seats were like the first class seats on the regional jets of today.
The Concorde was right next to an old Air Force 1 plane!
President Nixon took this plane to China for his historic visit. Let's get on board and check it out. It was raining so we were a little cold.
This is the cockpit of the old Air Force One. I have actually flown an airplane before, but it was a Cessna C-172.
This is the communications center of the 1960s and 1970s where the POTUS could keep tabs on the world from the air.
This was President Nixon's cabin on the plane.
Here is the Presidential bathroom on the plane.
The passenger seats on the old Air Force One are like the size of our current domestic first class seats.
They had a lot of vintage planes as well as a Dreamliner too in the large outdoor area which had the planes displayed.
Here is a vintage TWA plane. I flew TWA as a kid, but it was not on this old plane. LOL.
I flew on the upper deck of a Boeing 747 before. This one was one of the original 747 which did not have the larger upper deck.
They had military airplanes and helicopters too!
The Dreamliner is Boeing's flagship now. I love these planes! Flying has always been a passion of mine so this museum was awesome for me! Joy was kind of bored. LOL.
Rolls Royce makes lots of the jet engines. GE is another big manufacturer of jet engines.
They had an area which had vintage military aircraft too in the museum.
The "Red Barn" was the first Boeing factory. They showed how first generation aircraft were made there.
That front section of an USAir jet caught my attention since I flew them before they merged with American.
I flew US Air's first class before too, but my cabin was newer than this one.
Of course, they had to have a vintage Alaska Airlines plane since Seattle is a hub for them.
We had dinner with my buddy and old fraternity brother, Tom, at Din Tai Fung near the airport before we left.
I love the spicy chickend wontons at Din Tai Fung!
SECOND TRIP - SUN VALLEY, ID via BOISE (Usually President's Day Trip)
We are ready for another adventure in Idaho for Valentine's Day and President's Day weekend! I am sporting my new Canada Goose vest in the Escape Lounge at SMF Airport.
We got another Jeep Wrangler this year for our rental car. LOL. I am not a fan of these since they are loud. This one did not have heated seats or a heated steering wheel also. Boo!
We visited my high school friend James who is a store director for a large grocery store in Boise on Saturday.
Joy and I went to see The House Maid with Sydney Sweeney after lunch in Meridian, Idaho. They had the loungers. Sydney Sweeney is not only beautiful, but she is a patriot!
We had to get ice cream at our favorite shop in Idaho, Stella's, after the movie. Their ice cream is delicious!
We decided to check out the Craft Lounge speakeasy in Nampa after getting ice cream. My friend in town recommended this place.
I decided to take Joy to the nicest Janitor's Closet in Idaho for Valentine's Day. LOL. No, this is the entrance to the speakeasy.
The Craft Lounge was really cool inside!
I got a great whiskey over a big cube. Joy got a mocktail.
I started off Valentine's Day Dinner at Lock Stock and Barrel with a Pappy Van Winkle 12 Year bourbon. This was a $70 pour.
My rack of lamb was delicious!
Got to love the MPG on the Jeep! LOL. Fortunately, President Trump brought down gas prices so much from the high prices under Biden! Plus, I am no green freak so I am good with gas guzzlers!
We arrived in Sun Valley to see a lack of snow which was a common theme in the western states that year. This sucks! We dropped over $700 a night at the Inn that year!
We got our usual view of Mt. Baldy at lunch at the Sun Valley Club. The nordic trails were closed however due to the lack of snow. Boo!
Our consolation prize was the amazing Sun Valley Club cookie that they were served after lunch! Yay!
Joy and I drove up to Galena to walk around in the snow since they got much more up there, but we did not get a chance to cross country ski.
We checked out the Apres Ski party at the Warm Springs Lodge at Sun Valley on the other side of Mt. Baldy. This was our first time exploring that part of Sun Valley. I also debuted the Swix jacket this year at Sun Valley too like my Canada Goose vest.
I went for a swim in the heated outdoor pool at the Sun Valley Inn after we got back.
The usual lights were up in Sun Valley, but we just needed snow!
This was a cool picture I got by the Sun Valley Lodge as we headed over there to get a drink before dinner.
I am sporting my $600 Canada Goose vest as I enjoy my whiskey in the Duchin Lounge at the Sun Valley Lodge!
The Sun Valley Lodge was packed! The rooms there started at $1,700 per night so I do not think the economy is as bad as the liberal media claims! President Trump is doing a great job!
The Sun Valley Resort drove us over to dinner at Rominna's Italian Restaurant in Ketchum for our romantic dinner.
I loved my seafood pasta!
I am sporting my nice Canada Goose vest again as we head to breakfast at Konditorrei at the Sun Valley Village.
I got the Valentine's weekend special pancakes for breakfast. The pink champagne pancakes had strawberries and white chocolate chips!
We stopped in Hailey on the way back to Boise for lunch. The Thai restaurant had a heart shape for the brown rice. I guess it is a Valentine's thing. LOL.
We had time for ice cream at the Stil in Boise when we got back before our flight.
THIRD TRIP - LAS VEGAS (For Joy's 5K Run)
We stayed in a SOHO room at NY NY for this trip. The room looked like a New York city loft with the fake exposed brick.
The wallpaper was pretty interesting too in the room.
We checked out Coyote Ugly at NY NY after we checked in. The bartenders dance on the bar.
Cheers!
We went to Resorts World the next morning to have breakfast.
This is the famous French Toast at Junior's at NY NY. It is a famous New York cafe.
Joy picked up her race bib at Resorts World too.
The Rock n' Roll run is popular in Vegas!
We went to see my nephew later. He built that robotic mop all by himself and was programming it. It is like a Brava Jet.
Joy's 5K started here in downtown Las Vegas.
I walked around downtown Las Vegas when she did her run.
The finishing line was at the entrance to Fremont East District.
While Joy was burning calories, I was gaining them. LOL.
Pinkbox Doughnuts are famous and AMAZING!
The Dubai Chocolate Doughnut was so GOOD! I also got an Ube Doughnut! These are kind of like the Crumbl of Donuts!
At Circa, I played some video blackjack and had a drink at the bar.
This is downtown Las Vegas once Joy finished her run.
We are on Fremont Street here with Joy's medal.
We went to Nobu at Caesar's for dinner that night. My Chase Sapphire Reserve card gives us a $150 dining credit at certain fine dining establishments every six months.
This was our first time at the Caesar's Palace location for Nobu. We have been to the one at the former Hard Rock (now Virgin Las Vegas).
I started off with Ohishi cherry cask Japanese whisky.
The sushi was very fresh! I loved the kanpachi!
The Yellowtail Jalapeno was $38 for six pieces, but it was worth it!
The tenderloin was so good!
Caesar's Place had their Chinese New Year display up still.
Bellagio's Conservatory also had a nice Chinese New Year's theme.
We saw Aakash on Sunday too. He is petting his guinea pigs here.
FOURTH TRIP - PHOENIX (Rangers Spring Training)
I changed my companion to a buddy of mine so we could use my pass for our Spring Training trip to Phoenix. We also got free booze since I got us both upgraded with my status.
After landing into PHX, we went to dinner at Pappadeaux for some delicious Cajun Seafood!
I love the food at Pappadeaux!
The next morning we started our day at the Bikini Beans in Goodyear to get our coffee. I took my Rangers World Series cap for this year's Spring Training.
We checked out the Rangers practice in Surprise after getting coffee.
Monty is back with our team this year! He was on our World Series championship team.
Our starting pitchers are working out here.
Look! It's Evo!
Minor league pitcher Gavin Collyer is signing a ball for me. He had a good spring.
Another Spring Training, and another signed baseball! I love Spring Training!
After lunch, we went to see the Dodgers at Rangers game in Surprise. The Dodgers and Rangers have won the last three World Series!
We had our usual seats behind homeplate again! Duran is on deck here.
Our section won Whataburgers too! They are new to the Phoenix Metro area.
Nice! Texas home run!
That is a view of the outfield in Surprise. Since the Rangers won, they played "God Blessed Texas."
We are waiting in the drive through for our Italian sodas at Bikini Beans Tempe here. They had sugar free syrups too!
We went to Ojo Locos for drinks and a snack after getting our Italian sodas. Not sure what means on the wall. Oh wait, I took my Ray-Ban Metas. They could have translated for me. LOL.
We had dinner at the T-Bone Steakhouse which was like something out of the old wild wild west!
I got a filet which came with cowboy beans too. My buddy from Reno suggested this place.
We went to Rudy's for lunch on Sunday!
We had a feast! I got brisket and turkey. My buddy got chicken too. We also got cole slaw, beans, and potato salad! Yum!
They sell pints of Blue Bell at Rudy's too. We tried the A&W Float flavor.
We headed to Peoria for the Rangers at Mariners game after lunch.
That is the starting line up for both teams.
Jankowski from our World Series championship team is now our first base coach! Duran is next to him.
The Rangers are heading out to play defense from the dug out. Our seats were right next to the Ranger's dug out.
The Rangers are getting ready to play offense now. That is Jake Burger going into the dugout.
This is a view of the Rangers at bat from another part of the ballpark.
The Rangers crushed the Mariners! We won 9 to 4!
I am enjoying a local whiskey in the Chase Sapphire Lounge here at PHX before our flight back home!
Southwest had a
promo towards the end of 2025 that allowed me to get a companion pass
from January to March. Also, I kept my A List with Southwest so
as Southwest moved to assigned seating, I was able to get a free seat
at booking and free upgrades to the extra leg room rows within 48 hours
of the flight. The extra leg room rows served an extra snack
(pistachios) and included alcohol. Joy was my companion for the
first three trips that I took with the companion pass. Then, I
added a buddy of mine so we could take advantage of the 2 for 1 airfare
for our usual Spring Training trip to Phoenix!
The first trip we took with the companion pass was to Seattle. We wanted to go explore Leavenworth, a Bavarian style village in the Cascades. Leavenworth is known for having a lot of lights during the holidays, but usually they have lots of snow on the ground. This year, the west coast lacked major snow storms so we missed out the winter wonderland. We also got to visit a distillery I like in Seattle as well as the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle. Before leaving, we had dinner with an old fraternity brother of mine at Din Tai Fung!
Our next trip was our usual trip to Sun Valley via Boise for President's Day Weekend! We spent Valentine's Day in Boise and enjoyed a speakeasy in Nampa after watching The House Maid and having lunch at Twin Peaks. Then, we had dinner at Lock Stock & Barrel. I was able to order a $70 pour of Pappy Van Winkle 12 year too at dinner. We saw my buddy James too in Boise on that Saturday. Sun Valley lacked snow too. It sucked since we could not do cross country skiing, but we enjoyed the delicious culinary scene of Sun Valley and Ketchum. Joy got to spend a lot again at the boutiques in the Sun Valley Village. I debuted my new $600 Canada Goose vest there also. Life is good for the Roys! 2025 was a windfall year as I left Regeneron for a top 10 pharma company so I had to clear out my stock options with Regeneron within 90 days. Later on, we found out we owed a lot of money for taxes despite all the withholdings for 2025! Federal is bad, but I loathe paying so much to the liberal state of California! Newscum has ruined the state!
The next trip was a week later! Joy and I flew to Las Vegas so she could run in the Rock & Roll Run, and we could also see my nephew. He is so smart! Aakash was building a robot mopping device like a Bravajet and programmed it too! We stayed at NY NY this time in a SOHO Strip View room. I have status with MGM Rewards still. We checked out Coyote Ugly the first night where the bartenders dance on the bar tops. LOL. After Joy's run, we went to Nobu for dinner. Chase Sapphire Reserve gives us $150 dining credit and select fine dining establishments every six months so we took advantage of that. Life is good! I have to repeat that! LOL.
A week after that trip, I flew to Phoenix for Texas Rangers Spring Training with a friend of mine. We got to check out two Rangers game as well as the Rangers practice in Surprise. Moreover, we enjoyed our coffee and the views at a few Bikini Beans locations in town. LOL. Spring Training is always fun! I was upgraded for every flight to the extra leg room row so I have no clue why degenerates were complaining on forums online about the new seating system for Southwest. I liked it a lot! Before this, a lot of losers would lie about needing medical boarding to get on before us elites to take up the good seats. Now, the common folk are put in the back of the plane by Southwest!
The first trip we took with the companion pass was to Seattle. We wanted to go explore Leavenworth, a Bavarian style village in the Cascades. Leavenworth is known for having a lot of lights during the holidays, but usually they have lots of snow on the ground. This year, the west coast lacked major snow storms so we missed out the winter wonderland. We also got to visit a distillery I like in Seattle as well as the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle. Before leaving, we had dinner with an old fraternity brother of mine at Din Tai Fung!
Our next trip was our usual trip to Sun Valley via Boise for President's Day Weekend! We spent Valentine's Day in Boise and enjoyed a speakeasy in Nampa after watching The House Maid and having lunch at Twin Peaks. Then, we had dinner at Lock Stock & Barrel. I was able to order a $70 pour of Pappy Van Winkle 12 year too at dinner. We saw my buddy James too in Boise on that Saturday. Sun Valley lacked snow too. It sucked since we could not do cross country skiing, but we enjoyed the delicious culinary scene of Sun Valley and Ketchum. Joy got to spend a lot again at the boutiques in the Sun Valley Village. I debuted my new $600 Canada Goose vest there also. Life is good for the Roys! 2025 was a windfall year as I left Regeneron for a top 10 pharma company so I had to clear out my stock options with Regeneron within 90 days. Later on, we found out we owed a lot of money for taxes despite all the withholdings for 2025! Federal is bad, but I loathe paying so much to the liberal state of California! Newscum has ruined the state!
The next trip was a week later! Joy and I flew to Las Vegas so she could run in the Rock & Roll Run, and we could also see my nephew. He is so smart! Aakash was building a robot mopping device like a Bravajet and programmed it too! We stayed at NY NY this time in a SOHO Strip View room. I have status with MGM Rewards still. We checked out Coyote Ugly the first night where the bartenders dance on the bar tops. LOL. After Joy's run, we went to Nobu for dinner. Chase Sapphire Reserve gives us $150 dining credit and select fine dining establishments every six months so we took advantage of that. Life is good! I have to repeat that! LOL.
A week after that trip, I flew to Phoenix for Texas Rangers Spring Training with a friend of mine. We got to check out two Rangers game as well as the Rangers practice in Surprise. Moreover, we enjoyed our coffee and the views at a few Bikini Beans locations in town. LOL. Spring Training is always fun! I was upgraded for every flight to the extra leg room row so I have no clue why degenerates were complaining on forums online about the new seating system for Southwest. I liked it a lot! Before this, a lot of losers would lie about needing medical boarding to get on before us elites to take up the good seats. Now, the common folk are put in the back of the plane by Southwest!