Found Not Lost

After attending my daughter’s class play, my husband and I went to our favorite, Torero’s Mexican, restaurant for lunch. Of course, I forgot to take photos of the food again. Sorry. I don’t think it would do their food justice if I take a photo of the left over I brought home now. So just take my word for it.

Toreros is a family owned chain of restaurants. They have three branches right here in Durham. They are that good. It was raining when we got out of the school today so my husband wanted their Molcajete soup. Actually, he wants their molcajete soup even when it’s not cold or rainy. It’s that good. Their molcajete soup has strips of beef and chicken in it with lots of onions and mushrooms in a tomato based soup that is just indescribable. It is like a chili but it isn’t. I haven’t figured out what’s in it yet, and the servers claim it’s an old family recipe. I’m guessing it has to have some ancho chiles in it. It has that slightly smoky and earthy taste with just the right spiciness to it. They serve it topped with grilled jalapeno pepper and scallion. It is served with rice and beans and on the side, a dollop of pico de gallo and sliced avocado. You sop it all up with flour or corn tortillas. Yummy!

It is such a big serving that we really should learn our lesson and just share a serving. Instead, I ordered my own humungous burrito which was delicious too, but we ended up taking home half of both our dishes. The girls aren’t complaining though. They always scarf our left overs down when they get home from school starving.

Well, I really shouldn’t say they don’t complain. They actually complain a lot when we go out to eat without them. lol!

If you are a blogger you are probably a stat junkie and if you aren’t yet, then you will be soon. There are a number of ways that you can track the activity on your blog and of them is myspace counters which you can tell you how many visitors you get in a day, where they are coming from, what type of browsers they are using, how they got to your site, where they came in and where they came out, and many other usefull information. Maybe you don’t care to know all these things… But you will. Most bloggers eventually get curious to see who’s reading their blogs and what interests them. When you know these things, you can start giving your readers what they want.

If you still don’t know what they want, you can also use polls to ask them directly what they would like to see. The best thing is, you can find these services for free!

Hoover Dam is one of the best things about having a family vacation in Las Vegas. Yes, a Las Vegas vacation can still be interesting and educational. The girls, even the little girls, loved the Hoover Dam tour. Even though it was 113 degrees, they sweated through and enjoyed the views anyway. They even found the video about how the dam was made interesting. It is afterall, one of the greatest engineering wonder in the world.One of the trivia they found most interesting is the timeline that divides the dam; the line dividing Arizona and Nevada goes right through the middle of the dam and they have it marked. Great photo op to have one foot in one state and the other in another state :). Time also changes. There is a one hour difference from one side of the line to the other. If you’re going east, you will gain an hour.

There is now a very nice, air-conditioned visitor center as opposed to when I last visited years ago. You can still take a tour of the dam. There is a fee for the tour, but it is worth it. I think it was $10 per person when we went. You go down to the depths of the dam, see the turbines that convert the power of the river to electricity, and you get to see the rock walls damp with water dripping down its sides. The structure is just awesome and well worth the side trip from Las Vegas.

Nobody wants to think of worst case scenarios when they go on vacation, but if you know Murphy, you know that anything can happen. There are a great number of people now who like vacations that are off the beaten path. They are usually more meaningful, more beautiful, less crowded and unmatched. But, if you ever get in trouble in a remote place, and it can happen, it helps to know how to call for help.

AeroCare is a 24-hour air ambulance air coordination center. If yo are in a remote location and need an international air ambulance, all you have to do is contact AeroCare and they will arrange to have their highly trained medivac team will arrange to transport you to the nearest place where you can get quality care.

Their service is one you hope to never have to use, but it is comforting to know that they are there anytime you need them.

Who would have thought that one could have a family vacation in Las Vegas? Yes, it’s possible. We did it and had a great time with the kids in tow. The way we did it? Condotels! Condotels are usually time share properties that are made like condos but run by hotels. This is perfect for famillies with children.You get all the comforts of home-like amenities like a kitchen, full bath, suites with living and designated eating areas, and you get the service of a first-class hotel. You don’t have to get up and scrub the toilets or vacuum the floors or take out the garbage, the maid service will do that for you. Laundry? You get fresh towels every morning. And every night when you lay down, you still get the chocolates on your pillow! Best of both worlds, right? You bet! Just look at those smiling faces.