Christmas Day Brunch

Well we were not sure if our Christmas Brunch would be as delicious as the Thanksgiving Day Dinner we enjoyed at the Francisco Grande  but no worries...everything was delicious again.

This time more friends joined us to celebrate the Day and a good time was had by all.

Click image for larger view.

Click image for larger view.

Merry Christmas!

Have a joyous and safe holiday season. All the best in 2017!

Christmas Day Brunch

We had such a great Thanksgiving Dinner at the Francisco Grande we are going back for their Holiday Brunch,,,,and what a Brunch menu they have!

Think the count is at 4 or 5 couples so the table will be festive with great company.

Hope everyone's holiday season will be filled with joy and happiness.

Some bad/sad news...R.I.P. Bailey

This morning we had to put her to sleep and put an end to more suffering with no relief possible for quality of life.

Bailey had been sick since we got down here and have had her into our vet here in Casa Grande a couple of times since Nov. 23. Last Friday we brought her in again and the vet said she needed a blood tranfusion and more care than she could do here. Took her immediately up to the Emergency Animal Hospital in Gilbert (suburb of Phoenix) where she had been since.

She had serious issues with fluid in the lungs, which they drained, which lead to respitory problems and labored breathing. Also had a sack with fluid around her heart and other big issues.

They say it could be the Valley Fever which is prevalent down here in the desert, cancer or the immune-mediated hemolytic anemia they discovered she had.

Obviously we miss Bailey dearly. She loved camping and swimming anywhere but especially on our trips to Eagle Lake north of Susanville, CA. With that we have her ashes in a beautiful urn and she will continue to travel with us. When not on the road she will be on our fireplace mantle at home.

Dinner as advertised

Delicious!!!

We arrived about 15 minutes before our reservation time but our table was setup and ready...a good start for our Turkey Day feast.

After ordering and sampling a pre-dinner beverage we headed to the buffet.  Everyone said whatever they had off had off the buffet menu was excellent and with all the different dishes it was easy to get into overload early. Most of us just stuck with what we enjoyed most from previous Thanksgiving dinners.

L-R: me, Mike S., Mike & Debbie and Mary A. 

Betty was behind the camera.

Guess who scored a turkey leg?

All in all we have to give this dinner at the Francisco Grande an excellent rating. Found out that they will be doing a Christmas dinner and the gals are talking about coming back for that...hard to disagree.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone has a wonderfull day and if you are on the road...safe travels.

Some History about Thanksgiving around the world.

Thanksgiving Day Plans 2016

This year in S. AZ Thanksgiving Day Dinner will be a treat for 6 of us. For a change someone else is doing the prep, cooking and cleanup.

Here is the Menu for where we are going and only 20 minutes away;

Here is where we'll be...The Francisco Grande Resort.

A little History;

"The Francisco Grande dates back to 1959 when San Francisco Giants owner Horace Stoneham developed the property as a spring training camp for his popular Major League Baseball team. Then Arizona Governor Paul Fannin attended the dedication before the first exhibition game in 1961, as did National League president Warren Giles, to an overflowing crowd. Optimism swirled like desert dust devils when Willie Mays hit a 375-foot home run off Gaylord Perry in the forth inning of the first ever game at Francisco Grande. "Francisco" was taken from the San "Francisco" Giants and "Grande" was taken from Casa "Grande"; thus the name "Francisco Grande." 

While Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal were honing their Hall of Fame skills, the Resort became an exclusive and intimate desert hideaway for Hollywood elites. Legends such as John Wayne, Dale Robertson, Pat Boone, and Gale Gordon made the Francisco Grande their home away from home."

You know if  'John' was there I have to visit. :)

We'll have a post Thanksgiving Dinner 'Review'.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.