Hey! Speaking of the Grand Canyon, what's near enough by it to combine into a vacation for non-outdoorsy types, aside from Las Vegas? (My parents and I are talking about a family vacation, and I had to remind my mother why Banff probably isn't the right place for us....)

I'm just finishing up a bowl of oatmeal. A sandwich is a possibility for dinner, though.

Dude. That was actually a completely different SF trip when I lost my license at the Grand Canyon. Wow, my relationship with that city was ill-fated from the start.

I blame the Grand Canyon.

Speaking of the Grand Canyon, what's near enough by it to combine into a vacation for non-outdoorsy types, aside from Las Vegas?

Paging megan walker! (Who had a long trip through the SW last fall, and had many recommendations.)

Speaking of the Grand Canyon, what's near enough by it to combine into a vacation for non-outdoorsy types, aside from Las Vegas?

There's lots of stuff in Arizona alone -- Desert Museum in Tucson, Petrified Forest, Devil's Canyon, and just driving through the landscape. I LOVE Arizona.

I had a salad for lunch but will have a mozzarella-tomato-prosciutto sandwich for dinner.

The official site actually looks pretty good:

[link]

I had a T-day leftover lunch. I made turkey breast with veggies, mashed potatos, and dressing this weekend. I should have made gravy, but it was still yummers.

I may actually accomplish getting 4 months of invoices for a vendor approved for payment. This has been a curse on many of my days.

Paging megan walker! (Who had a long trip through the SW last fall, and had many recommendations.)

Well, my trip was pretty outdoorsy. You could do a non-active, but scenic loop through Zion (the Utah park you can best see without hiking via the great shuttle bus system), Page/Lake Powell, and the Grand Canyon. Monument Valley is gorgeous and more about driving tours than hiking, but it's a bit out of the way if you are flying into Vegas.

But I think I would revert to my first trip to Arizona/New Mexico (a family trip in 6th grade) and suggest doing a loop that would involve Flagstaff (cute town), Sedona/Red Rock country, Jerome (ghostown), and Montezuma's Castle (cliff dwelling). If you pass through Williams, you must have the pie at the Pine Country restaurant (facing the train station with the trains that take you to the Grand Canyon).

I think Kay Howard ate at Jimmie's once, Lisah. You have nothing to apologize for on that count. Also, I like turkey clubs.

Is it one of those fancy city-driving thingamabobs?

It allows me to drive through the toll plaza of the Bay Bridge and then electronically deduct the toll without needing change or to stop.

So imagine a little plastic rectangle velcroed to the left corner of the front windshield that beeps as I shoot through the FasTrak lanes (which are always open on the weekend as tourists don't get the FasTrak and commuters don't want to go back to the city on the weekend).

Also, the readout at the tollbooth says: "Valid Etc" when you go through. We find this mysterious but validating.

It's like an ATM in reverse!