what we did: (in pictures)

since we had a three day weekend, we took a day (or so) and headed out of town. (thank you, Kimberly and Noell from Home is Where the Hound Is, for taking care of the furry family members overnight!)

we went here...
(El Encanto Restaurant in Cave Creek, AZ)

we watched (and fed) these guys...
the black duck with the pompadour is called 'James Brown' duck... haha!

we ate this (Queso Guillermo: bubbling melted cheese,
chiles, tortillas, pico de gallo, and char-grilled scallions),
among other tasty things...

we bought one of these...
(chile ristra for the back patio-- they had just gotten them
in, so they're really fresh, bright, and aromatic!)

we drove up here...
a view into the Verde Valley, on the way to Camp Verde, AZ

we stood here
(we were towards the front of the line, thankfully)

then we waited here... this photo was taken from our seats, at the
Stargazer Pavilion event venue. (we sat at the front of the Preferred section;
the security guy in this photo is checking tickets for the VIP section)

then we waited some more, and goofed around... :D

we saw this guy perform... it was a great show!!
(Larry the Cable Guy)

 then we crashed at a local hotel, so we wouldn't

have to drive back home in the middle of the night...

then, we stopped here for some Southwestern history.
(Montezuma's Castle National Monument, just outside of Camp Verde.)
It was amazing to learn about the people who lived here a thousand years ago.

I've got more pictures (I took over 100 before the camera battery finally died); just gotta edit them. But now, I need to get to sleep, since tomorrow's a work day. (insert frowny face here!)