‘Stay-cation’ my kind of vacation

The Lady of the House and I ran into Clovis City/Curry County Commissioner Bobby Sandoval and his wife at a local eatery last Sunday morning.

“We’re just back from an Alaskan cruise,” he said. He was grinning from ear to ear. He had the glow of someone refreshed and rejuvenated.

“I caught a salmon. It was a dream come true,” he said.

“Well, that’s pretty cool,” I said to The Lady of the House as I looked over the menu.

“Yeah,” she said. “An Alaskan cruise. I’d like that.”

“Hey, it’s the Summer Solstice next weekend. It’s our anniversary. Let’s go on an Alaskan cruise,” I said. But then, “Ahh, never mind. I can’t get the time off.”

“Then there’s the little matter of money,” said The Lady of the House.

“Well, let’s celebrate by being tourists in our own town,” I said. “We could go stay at one of those motels with a hot tub.”

“Why not stay at the best place in town?”

“Where’s that?”

“Our house,” she said.

“Because if we stay at home I’ll end up doing chores,” I said. “Um, I mean we’ll end up doing chores. Together. You and me.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“You’re right,” I said, rethinking this concept. “We can be tourists in Clovis!”

“Look at some of the stuff going on. Look at all the stuff in the CNJ,” she said, putting her menu down and pointing to the “Stuff Going On” list in the Sunday paper. Actually it’s called “What’s Happening,” but “Stuff Going On” sounds more fun.

“On Friday, Portales is having ‘Heritage Days’,” she said. “And then there’s a neighborhood reunion, social and dinner at Clovis’ St. John Baptist Church on Gila Street.

“That’s pretty cool,” I said. “I didn’t even know we had neighborhood get-togethers around here.”

“Look at this,” she pointed. “Elida is having a ‘Flea Market and Crafts Fair’ on Saturday.”

We like driving to Elida. We often kid around about living there with a big garden. It’s so out in the middle of nowhere. And it’s the hometown of my good friend Kent Graves, Bard of the Pecos, so that makes it one of New Mexico’s great places.

“And look here,” she went on. “Did you know that Saturday the 21st is also ‘Soap Box Derby’ day in Clovis?”

I remembered the last time we went to Soap Box Derby day on Sycamore Street. Because we have no spectacular hills around Clovis the racers are set up on one of those trucks that has a hydraulic ramp. The racers slip off the truck and zip down Sycamore. I think it’s pretty cool. It reminds me of riding my Radio Flyer red wagon down the big hill back where I grew up.

“There’s a star party at Oasis State Park,” she went on. At an Oasis star party a couple of years ago I saw Saturn for the first time through a telescope.

“I can’t pronounce this,” she said, squinting at the paper.

I took a look. “Saturday, ‘Hweeldi Beenllnllh’ … Fort Sumner at the Bosque Redondo Memorial … arts and crafts vendors wanted. Hmm, I bet it’s something Native American, probably Navajo.”

“See? Lots of stuff to do around town,” she said.

“No hot tub?”

“Sorry, no,” said The Lady of the House. “But if we stay home, the best thing is we get to sleep in our own bed.”

Grant McGee hosts the weekday morning show on KTQM-FM in Clovis. Contact him at: blisscreeknm@gmail.com