Well, by now, those who care know that the Lobos lost to San Diego State on Friday in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament. A very close, hard-fought game. We had a chance to win it at the end, but didn't get a clean shot off. Nevertheless, UNM still got a 3 seed in the NCAA tournament, so that seeding wasn't likely affected by the loss. On the plus side, the loss gave us, the team, an extra day to rest and prepare for March Madness.
Also, as we hoped and found out Sunday afternoon, UNM plays this Thursday in San Jose, so we're off for San Jose. They play Montana U in the first round.
In the meantime, we had a quiet weekend. On Saturday I went to an exhibition baseball game between the Cubs and White Sox here in Las Vegas. It was a sunny, but chilly and windy day. I moved around a couple of times looking for a seat sheltered from the wind. Nothing memorable about the game, but it was fun to be there. As Jeff E said, a way to ease the pain (freeze the pain?) from Friday's loss.
Heidi helped us both ease our pain by treating us to the buffet at Aria, the hotel/casino in City Center where Heidi works. For me, king crab legs and lobster were the highlights. Dessert, too.
Sunday we went to church at the Green Valley United Methodist Church with our friends the Bornhofts. Went to breakfast afterwards and caught up on family news and some politics, too.
When we crossed the Hoover Dam on Wednesday I could tell that considerable progress had been made on the new bridge since we were through a month earlier, but didn't have a chance to stop for pictures. Rectified that on Monday by driving out early in the morning -- for best sun angle. If you compare these pix to those in the previous posting you can see the bridge platform has been extended by several sections.
Also, as we hoped and found out Sunday afternoon, UNM plays this Thursday in San Jose, so we're off for San Jose. They play Montana U in the first round.
In the meantime, we had a quiet weekend. On Saturday I went to an exhibition baseball game between the Cubs and White Sox here in Las Vegas. It was a sunny, but chilly and windy day. I moved around a couple of times looking for a seat sheltered from the wind. Nothing memorable about the game, but it was fun to be there. As Jeff E said, a way to ease the pain (freeze the pain?) from Friday's loss.
Heidi helped us both ease our pain by treating us to the buffet at Aria, the hotel/casino in City Center where Heidi works. For me, king crab legs and lobster were the highlights. Dessert, too.
Sunday we went to church at the Green Valley United Methodist Church with our friends the Bornhofts. Went to breakfast afterwards and caught up on family news and some politics, too.
When we crossed the Hoover Dam on Wednesday I could tell that considerable progress had been made on the new bridge since we were through a month earlier, but didn't have a chance to stop for pictures. Rectified that on Monday by driving out early in the morning -- for best sun angle. If you compare these pix to those in the previous posting you can see the bridge platform has been extended by several sections.
As I mentioned in a previous posting, the bridge is scheduled to open in December and it will have pedestrian access. Pictures next year!
Susie and Heidi got finger and toenail jobs on Monday. Heidi whipped up some fajitas. Nice, restful day.
Tuesday we left for San Jose. Sunday night I had searched the internet for tickets -- there were lots for sale, but most ticket sellers only indicated that they would FedEx your tickets to you. As we would be traveling, I wasn't sure how we would make the connection. Finally, on the razorgator site I found a phone number and succeeded in talking to a live person on Monday morning who set up a ticket sale and pick-up for us at a FedEx site in San Jose.
Before we left Albuquerque, I put our names on a waiting list to get two of the tickets allocated to the teams that make the tournament. Because we're not Lobo Club members or athletic program donors, I realized I wouldn't be high on the priority list. On my application, though, I noted that I'd been a season ticket holder for 41 years and had also been picked several years ago to be recognized as the 10 millionth fan in the Pit. Didn't seem to work, though, because on Sunday I got email from the Lobo Club saying it didn't look like we would get two of the UNM allocation of tickets, but maybe if some of the folks ahead of us declined their tickets, we'd get a chance. Thus it was that Monday morning I went ahead and bought tickets from razorgator. I had this nagging feeling that because there were no glamour teams, or teams with large fan bases, besides the Lobos, scheduled for San Jose, that there were apt to be lots of street scalpers selling tickets on game day. But, I wasn't sure enough of that feeling to risk being wrong, so for peace of mind, that's why I bought somewhat marked up tickets from razorgator.
I told you all that to tell you this. A couple of hours after leaving Las Vegas on Tuesday morning I got a call from the Lobo Club. Two tickets were available. Did I want them? First I said No. I had already bought tickets. Then, we got to thinking: the UNM tickets were better seats - main level instead of nosebleed upper tier- and we'd be with Lobo fans and that would be part of the fun, so I pulled over and called back. We'd take the tickets and hope we can sell the razorgator tickets when we get there. Stay tuned.
From Las Vegas to San Jose is just over 500 miles. We'd decided to take two days and see something along the way. Between Barstow and Bakersfield you cross a small mountain range. A nice scenic area, shining brightly green with new grass this time of year. At the top of the pass is the town of Tehachapi. It advertizes itself as having four seasons (as opposed to what they have back down there on the Mojave Desert floor). We found a downtown cafe for lunch. The town history on the menu noted a 7.7 earthquake in 1952 that about destroyed the town.
When we drove through Tehachapi a couple of years ago on our way to Monterey, Susie had told me that when Manny graduated from Highlands U, he and she had teaching offers from Tehachapi and another California school district. They turned them down and ended up in Roswell. And the rest is history. It was fun, though, to see the town that might have been.
Tehachapi is a railroad town. Main line goes through here. One feature is the Tehachapi RR loop: the RR makes a spiral as it ascends toward the pass. Here's a picture from the website.
Here's some of the terrain near Tehachapi. As we travel we often see country that reminds us of New Zealand, pardon the country-name-dropping. As Susie points out, we've got a lot of similar country; it's just that NZ has it more compactly. The present highway is at the right edge of this picture. The old one winds down the hillside opposite. Looked like it would be fun to explore the region.
As usual, we don't like to constrain ourselves by a lot of planning but by the time we got in the area it looked like we had time to drive into Sequoia National Park. Warning: We stop for big trees! Stay tuned for the next posting.
Cheers,
Susie and Rob
Susie and Heidi got finger and toenail jobs on Monday. Heidi whipped up some fajitas. Nice, restful day.
Tuesday we left for San Jose. Sunday night I had searched the internet for tickets -- there were lots for sale, but most ticket sellers only indicated that they would FedEx your tickets to you. As we would be traveling, I wasn't sure how we would make the connection. Finally, on the razorgator site I found a phone number and succeeded in talking to a live person on Monday morning who set up a ticket sale and pick-up for us at a FedEx site in San Jose.
Before we left Albuquerque, I put our names on a waiting list to get two of the tickets allocated to the teams that make the tournament. Because we're not Lobo Club members or athletic program donors, I realized I wouldn't be high on the priority list. On my application, though, I noted that I'd been a season ticket holder for 41 years and had also been picked several years ago to be recognized as the 10 millionth fan in the Pit. Didn't seem to work, though, because on Sunday I got email from the Lobo Club saying it didn't look like we would get two of the UNM allocation of tickets, but maybe if some of the folks ahead of us declined their tickets, we'd get a chance. Thus it was that Monday morning I went ahead and bought tickets from razorgator. I had this nagging feeling that because there were no glamour teams, or teams with large fan bases, besides the Lobos, scheduled for San Jose, that there were apt to be lots of street scalpers selling tickets on game day. But, I wasn't sure enough of that feeling to risk being wrong, so for peace of mind, that's why I bought somewhat marked up tickets from razorgator.
I told you all that to tell you this. A couple of hours after leaving Las Vegas on Tuesday morning I got a call from the Lobo Club. Two tickets were available. Did I want them? First I said No. I had already bought tickets. Then, we got to thinking: the UNM tickets were better seats - main level instead of nosebleed upper tier- and we'd be with Lobo fans and that would be part of the fun, so I pulled over and called back. We'd take the tickets and hope we can sell the razorgator tickets when we get there. Stay tuned.
From Las Vegas to San Jose is just over 500 miles. We'd decided to take two days and see something along the way. Between Barstow and Bakersfield you cross a small mountain range. A nice scenic area, shining brightly green with new grass this time of year. At the top of the pass is the town of Tehachapi. It advertizes itself as having four seasons (as opposed to what they have back down there on the Mojave Desert floor). We found a downtown cafe for lunch. The town history on the menu noted a 7.7 earthquake in 1952 that about destroyed the town.
When we drove through Tehachapi a couple of years ago on our way to Monterey, Susie had told me that when Manny graduated from Highlands U, he and she had teaching offers from Tehachapi and another California school district. They turned them down and ended up in Roswell. And the rest is history. It was fun, though, to see the town that might have been.
Tehachapi is a railroad town. Main line goes through here. One feature is the Tehachapi RR loop: the RR makes a spiral as it ascends toward the pass. Here's a picture from the website.
Here's some of the terrain near Tehachapi. As we travel we often see country that reminds us of New Zealand, pardon the country-name-dropping. As Susie points out, we've got a lot of similar country; it's just that NZ has it more compactly. The present highway is at the right edge of this picture. The old one winds down the hillside opposite. Looked like it would be fun to explore the region.
As usual, we don't like to constrain ourselves by a lot of planning but by the time we got in the area it looked like we had time to drive into Sequoia National Park. Warning: We stop for big trees! Stay tuned for the next posting.
Cheers,
Susie and Rob
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