shorts

T-BALL PREVIEW. Rylee took the t-ball bat to Jackson's game on Saturday, which made a lot of people nervous. I watched him take it into the field behind the stands by himself. He would tap the bat in the dirt in front of him and crouch down into a batting stance. Then he took a full swing, dropped the bat at his feet, ran around the field in a large circle, and slid into the dirt where he began. I've seen him do that in the yard at home, too.

BUSINESS 101. Cyndi decided she wanted a yoga bolster. She called a local company that made them. I don't know the real numbers, but I'll just say she was told it would cost $60 but if she got 5 friends, the cost for each would be $30. So she asked some friends and people in yoga class, and came up with a dozen orders. The company was so pleased, they gave Cyndi's bolster for free. She's been spending the week picking them up and distributing them to everyone.

ROUTE 66. Cyndi and Elley wanted to hear a speaker at the Route 66 Casino Hotel on Friday night. The place is about 25 miles from our house, along the Rio Puerco on the Laguna rez, about another 9 miles from 9 Mile Hill, going west on I40. They reserved two rooms for the night for our two families. They called it a "staycation." I was impressed. It was nearly perfect. The rooms were very new and very nice, with lots of the amenities you would now expect. Someone had put some thought in designing the place. No Southwest motif for a change, unless you count the historic Mother Road theme on the first floor. The staff was remarkably friendly, professional and competent. There was a small indoor pool and wi-fi throughout; an eclectic selection of channels on the tv; a small refrigerator in the room, without the stocked items. They bring in some pretty good shows from time to time and there's a decent restaurant and bar, along with a Johnny Rocket's, a buffet (expensive on Friday night), and an espresso stand in the morning. (Besides the large theater for the concerts, there was also a dance club with a live house band and its own bar visible from the casino.) The biggest plus for us was a space they called Kid's Quest. We signed all the kids in, they took off through the two gates that locked behind them, and we walked away to have beer and wine, appetizers and food just down the long hall toward the casino--four adults with their kids safely closeby but not present. We only meant to leave them an hour, so they could play, but we sat in the cozy bar area and it ended up being two hours. Two hours is probably the max for Ry's age at Kid's Quest.

KID'S QUEST. On one side of the room was an arcade open to anyone, but on the other side, behind two electric gates and an attendant's station, was a child care, equipped with games, toys, a mini sports gym, arcades, an indoor climbing playground, air hockey, arts and crafts, videos, make-believe and even a karaoke stage. All free to the kids with the price of the hourly child care. No tokens to insert; everything up and running or all set up when we got there. Lots of kids on a busy concert night, I was told, but only a few when we checked ours in. Safe and secure, clean, supervised by attentive adults, everything looked new and organized. I was so impressed with the look of it that I surprised my kids and suggested they go and play there. The kids wore nametags that even identified any allergies. There was also a place inside the child care area for them to order little meals if you allowed it at check-in, but I chose not to. I learned later that Kid's Quest is a franchise. Here's a vid.

CHECKING OUT ROUTE 66. We had breakfast together at the same restaurant in the morning under the faux portico. The food for both times was better prepared than the Hyatt meal I complained about recently. The kids behaved well together for a welcomed change, and we may go again for another local getaway. I have only these complaints: the kitchen seemed terribly slow and unorganized, the lobby showed wear and tear, and you can't get away from the smell and itching eyes of second-hand cigarette smoke. That is a problem with all the tribal casino resorts in our area. I mentioned that to someone, and they also mentioned the high-volume din that accompanies casinos. I didn't recall it being loud when Don and I circled through the casino with the kids to get the lay of the land and some hamburgers, fries and root beer floats to take upstairs. This place seemed in retrospect less garish than other casinos. (The loud carpet, with its broad highway running down the middle, is forgiven since the kids loved to race up and down it and I'm sure it reminded them of "Cars".) Even the open arcade, which the kids visited for a few minutes after breakfast the next day, seemed more restrained in its assault on your senses. Valet parking and friendly door men greeted us when we first arrived, and, so you know, a sign on the front desk prominently said there was no alcohol allowed in the hotel.

HIKING ON THE CREST. Patti and her boyfriend, Jay, were visiting this weekend. Cyndi got tram passes on Sunday and Cyndi, me, Jackson, Rylee, Elley, Patti and Jay hiked along the Crest trail from the tram to the Crest and back, about 4 miles in all. We had lunch up top near the tram--green chile cheeseburgers and beer for us, fat hotdogs and sodas for the boys. It was a nice morning. Sunny, not too hot. Cyndi got to try out her new hiking boots and water pack. Jack toughed out the four miles on foot. I carried Ry a bit on my shoulders. Elley loved it. We saw Patti and Jay again later for a little pool party, with a few other high school classmates. Yearbooks were brought out and Cyndi was teased by her friends. You know she was a cheerleader and the prom queen?

VISION. Jack was fascinated to see the resort standing alone by the Rio Puerco, and he talked a lot about his town he's designing, along with his own Smart House. It's all very utopian and resembles his train with the magical wand.

BIRTHDAY. I've been asking Ry what we wants for his birthday. He says he wants his own transformers, but not the bumblebee, which he has. I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, and he said, a sports cake. I asked him what flavor, and he said chocolate. That's about all I've gotten from him.