We needed a place to stop for an evening on the way back from Winslow. Heading back to the Phoenix area or even heading back to Flagstaff or even Sedona might have worked. But having JJ along made a 7+ hour drive seem a bit too long. We had never been to Lake Havasu City and there was one thing I did want to see after watching a BBC documentary a few years back.
So, we made the drive to Lake Havasu City. We were staying on an area called "the Island" and since we'd be only spending the evening thought it would be nice to have a view of what I had wanted to see here; the London Bridge. So, I booked a dog friendly room at the Heat Hotel, which had a patio and a view of the Bridge.
And yes, this is really the "London Bridge". It was built in the 1830's and had become unable to handle the traffic in the city by the early 1960's. Robert McCulloch, the founder of Lake Havasu City (which was founded in 1964). I enjoyed this historic documentary on it.
And having recently been to London made it even more significant to us.
We got to the hotel a bit early and our room wasn't ready; so we took JJ for a short walk along the London Bridge Beach area.
It was a bit warm, but JJ did fine.
I hadn't done much research on Lake Havasu City; so it was interesting to see all the "snowbirds"....like I felt like a really young!
We checked into our room and then decided to find a place to get some dinner. As I mentioned earlier; unlike what I'd usually do, I hadn't done much research on Lake Havasu City.......we were just going to chill and not worry about things.
When it came for dinner; I looked for a pooch friendly place and we decided not to stray too far. We basically went across the street.
It seems that all the restaurants are owned by the same company. But here we were...and I (at least) was tired, so I walked into Shugrue's and the very nice young lady greeted me. I asked if we could have the outdoor table, which was right at the entrance of the restaurant. The folks here were quite welcoming and they did love JJ. And the view from our table was not bad at all!
We started with some nice brews.....
And, as we will often do these days, we just went with appetizers.
For some reason, I just decided to order the Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts ($16), which had a "sweet maple glaze". It just didn't seem like something we'd like, but this was our favorite dish of the night.
I'm usually not a fan of sweet stuffs as a main or appetizer; but we enjoyed the smoky-sweet-nutty flavors along with the salty-crunchiness, with the pineapple which actually did a nice job as a palate "cleanser".
I don't know why, but I enjoy fried pickles. But this version ($12) was not a favorite of ours.
There's a ratio of breading to pickle that I think is optimal, which balances out the sour to texture. This was just huge spears which were not evenly breaded.
The Flatbread ($15) was also not a favorite.
A bit too soggy-doughy and too sweet for our taste. We could have used more Portobello Mushroom and less Balsamic Glaze.
Still, the folks Serving were so nice....especially to JJ.
Shugrue's Restaurant & Bar
1425 N McCulloch Blvd.
Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403
And after dinner we took a walk across the bridge.
Where we got a nice view of our hotel.
Our walk on the other side of the bridge was interesting as it seemed to be party central......well, over 60 party central......think Gaslamp for seniors....
After getting back to our room and settling in....well, it was time for JJ's nightly "walk".
And there just happened to be an outdoor bar along the way! How convenient! I got a gin and tonic nightcap overlooking the bridge....
And had a chance to chat with the bartender. I really hadn't done a whole lot of research before choosing Lake Havasu City. I found out it's a haven for snowbirds and seniors and then party central for college students during weekends and spring break which was coming up. I guess we lucked out visiting during the middle of the week in March before Spring Break.
Lake Havasu City was a interesting stop on the way back home. Not sure we'll return; but we got to see the London Bridge!
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