The Moss Beach Distillery

was our location for lunch today with my friends. This little jewel of a restaurant sits pass the Devil Slide area atop a bluff with majestic views of the ocean. Our initial restaurant was going to be the Chart House which is now the Outrigger, has been closed due to renovation. We drove further down the road and saw the signs indicating the Distillery and followed that. Winding our way through the neighborhood, we saw beautiful homes dotted along the beach front area. It was a little past 1:00pm and the restaurant was quite empty at this time. Our waitress, Courtney, seated us at a table with a commanding view of the ocean. The menu was genuinely authentic with a wide variety of flavors ranging from healthy appetizers to amazingly tasteful entrees. It was a bit expensive but the fare was large in portions and wonderfully fresh. I would definitely love to bring Lynn here for lunch or dinner and go for a stroll along the pathways to watch the sunset. It is absolutely romantic and timeless.
With our bellies full and impeccable service, it was time to go. With restrictions being that we had children to pick up and teenagers that we had to be home for, we were sorry to leave. Another time perhaps and maybe we might even see the "Blue Lady".

Mystery Shopping

is a side occupation that I engage in, enjoy and get paid for my detailed reports based on my customer service interactions. A friend of mine, from the airport, suggested the idea and that I would be an excellent candidate. There are no fees of any type involved nor were there any drawn out questionnaires or applications. The only requirement that most of these companies ask is that you have a Paypal account to deposit your payment from services rendered. I started off small with one company and my "mystery shop" involved coffee shops. After completing a few of the shops, writing reviews and getting paid, I was hooked. I was referred to other companies that offered shops from oil changes, restaurants, gas stations, entertainment centers, convenience stores, sports venues, bars, movie houses, hotels, car rentals and flower deliveries. I figured that most of these domains were centered around my life and what I do on a daily basis, why not mystery shop! Friends and family were frequently taken out to lunches and dinners, children went bowling and miniature golf centers. I planned a route to each venue to make sure that I would maximize my day. At night, I would write my reports and fax or email my receipts to the companies and wait a few weeks to be reimbursed on top of my payments and sometimes bonuses into my Paypal account. Since I was basically an independent contractor with these companies, I could literally write off many of my expenses if I were set up as a small business. The companies do not take out any taxes from your payments and you do have to file these as part of your taxes even tho a W-2 is not issued unless you make more than $660.00 for that company. It is a nice source of second income and you can make your own hours.

Las Vegas

I had to get up early this morning to make an early flight out to Las Vegas from the San Francisco International Airport. The security checkpoint was surprisingly empty at this hour of 6:00am, I'm sure passengers have heard enough about the heavy travel season to heed it's warnings. My flight was full but not oversold. I sat next to two elderly Italian gentlemen who own several Italian restaurants around the Half Moon Bay area and Palo Alto. I usually don't talk to my seatmates unless she's a cute woman or couple but Andrea, who was sitting in the middle seat, was speaking in Italian to Joe, on the aisle seat and pointing to my little picnic of blueberries and dried trail snack food. I offered them some, introductions were made and Andrea was telling me the story of his family owning a grocery store in Half Moon Bay and how they have lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and that I had a good idea to bring some food on board. Andrea stated that he heard of all the advisories of not bringing liquids on board and I told them that solid foods were allowed and you can buy water past security. They didn't look like the type to pack anything but their wallets! They inquired where I was staying in Las Vegas and I always stay at the Rio All Suite Hotel because I have a lot of comps with them and almost unlimited rooms available to me every month. Who needs to buy a condo? I have my airfare for basically nothing and hotel. I just have to get myself to and from the hotel by shuttle service from the airport. They were staying at the Luxor. As our flight landed, we parted ways and another human interaction was borne.
My flight landed about 8:30am and not having any checked luggage makes it easier to get out of the airport. I'm always the last drop off in the shuttle because of the location of the Rio Hotel which is located off of the Las Vegas strip. I check in at the Diamond and Platinum lounge and is cozily located away from the Gold check in. Behind the frosted glass doors pulled open by an employee awaits a generous amount of check in agents to help assist you. Fresh coffee while you wait, if there is a wait. They happily greet you warmly because this is their "creme De la creme", that's right, their high rollers, frequent players and just people that like to drop a lot of money. In my case, I play very little and have won a few significant jackpots to the point where I have accumulated W-2's to take home and file until tax time. I'm still waiting for that elusive "mega-pot"! The whole process of checking in took less than 10 minutes and Mr. Mcadoo is very personable. He knows by my profile that I have been here almost every month since March to take advantage of my complimentary room nights and asks me which tower would I like to stay in. I prefer the Ipanema Tower because Starbucks is located right there. When I need that early morning coffee, I can use my points or cash to get what I want there. For this particular trip, I am here to claim a DVD offer that arrived in one of my mailing promotions. Last month it was the Nintendo Wii which I sold on EBay for a nice price. My son already has an Xbox and isn't interested in the Wii. The DVD, I will give to Lynn as part of my Christmas present to her along with other things that I have accumulated throughout the month. The month before, I picked up an Ipod with speakers and gave that to Lynn's daughter which she highly prizes and plays constantly at home. All of the rooms at the Rio are nicely appointed suites. Easily sleeps 6 but can accommodate 4 in two double beds. My room consisted of a King bed and faced the "strip" and looked out across the pool area. Because I arrived early, I took a nice long nap in my room, watched T.V. as it was a Law and Order marathon day and enjoyed the peace and quiet. 4:00pm rolled around and it was time to go downstairs to the promotion desk to claim my DVD. There was a bit of a line but moved fairly quickly. Kawehi, a local girl, had me sign for the DVD and gave me a nice soft blanket as part of the promotion. Great, more stuff to pack in my one and only carry on! From there, I went on to find a slot machine to play. No luck at those machines and had better luck at the video poker deuces wild machines. Where you really score on those is the "double up". I had won a little over $300 on that one and finally had to leave the machine because I drank too many beers and had to go to the little girls room. It was time to quit anyway and when I came back there was a little ol' lady on it. Feeling a little buzzed and sleepy, again, it was time to go back to the room and watch more Law and Order.