Making Holiday Memories "RV" style

Our Thanksgiving came and went without the normal fanfare of an enormous meal. Jay went to Florida and I stayed in the coach in Las Vegas with Savannah. Prior to his departure I was "schooled" on anything that could possibly go wrong in his absence. I enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal with Jay's sister and sister in law who treated me dinner at a casino while we watched football! No cooking or dishes, I could get used to this routine!

I  prepared a modified version of Thanksgiving before Jay headed for Florida because I wanted to see if it was possible to do so in this small  kitchen! The Turkey breast was perfect and the meal was a huge success and I also had the benefit of  all the leftovers!

I was excited to pick up Jay from the airport because it was now time get ready for Christmas, let's get this coach decorated! we started with a tree...

We placed it in the windshield, it's 36 inches of pure joy! I was feeling bad enough about not spending Christmas with my family and not having my ornaments that I have collected over the years to decorate the tree so, this tree was going to have to do the trick! It started out as a small tree in the window and it has become a competition with all the neighbors to have the most spectacular decorations! Especially when we found out there is a contest for the best display in the park, we hope to get first prize since we made 5 more trips to Target! Stay tuned....

You be the judge...

The most recent addition was the wreath & Florida Santa

I was also ready to see some Christmas lights, every city has holiday light displays and Las Vegas does it well.  Ethel M. Chocolates has a Cactus Garden and I was excited to check it out!

This was a nice place for families and it was free, sort of...I say that because at the end of the tour

we went to the store and purchased a box of chocolate to share for $30. bucks. It was absolutely delicious and I went home in a sugar coma!

I see a theme here...

every cactus is lit up

The weather has become "wintry" by our standards, we didn't see a drop of rain for months and in the past week we are getting rain from the Pineapple Express and it's very chilly, 40's at night and mid 50's during the day.

 It's definitely sweat pant weather! It would be so easy to sit on the couch all day in my sweat pants and watch it rain so I decided to get a part time job for the holidays, not about the money, ALL about the discount! I am having so much fun working a few hours a week at my favorite retailer Bath and Body Works, not since high school have I had such fun working! It's great when you have no management responsibility and you don't need the money. Jay says I smell like candles and lotion when I come home. As of today, the shopping is done, the packages are wrapped and shipped and I even made holiday cookies. Its been a wonderful year of travel adventures and we are planning some new travel adventures in January to California so I will updating this blog more often when we get back on the road!

Happy Holidays and lots of love to all our friends and family!

 Captain Jay and Barbara and Savannah

The Fascination of Las Vegas

I'm finding it difficult to top my observations of Halloween here in Las Vegas. I've had at least two weeks to gather my thoughts, so here goes...
I will attempt to assimilate  my perception of the Las Vegas culture!

I was surprised when I heard that 500 planes land at McCarren Airport every day, I knew it was a lot because we are in the flight path and every time I look up I see a plane coming in and it goes on all night! After 6 weeks I am more in awe than annoyed!

Where are all these people coming from? All you have to do is go anywhere, anytime and you will see all these people! There is a casino on every corner and that doesn't even include the "strip"!
They are always brimming with people, the parking lots are full of cars, am I the only one who finds this fascinating? That's a lot of money changing hands, it boggles my mind! The point I am trying to make here is, this place is humming 24 hours a day!

The city that never sleeps!

Where I come from they roll up the sidewalks at 9pm, dinner is served in restaurants from 4pm

to 9pm, end of story!  The entire population of South Florida is tucked in and asleep before the

11pm news!

 The 24 hour society that exists here in Las Vegas is a phenomenon I am completely unfamiliar with! Grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, they are all jamming 24-7! I guess it makes sense when you consider the service industry that exists here, if you work all night you gotta shop for groceries after work. My internal clock shuts down at 10pm so extended hours at the neighborhood grocer would be lost on me!

A wonderful benefit of living in this locale is that you can take some amazing day trips! Last week Jay said, "lets go for a ride". In my world that means, down to the beach or over to the mall. Here it's possible to see Red Rock Canyon, Death Valley, Lake Mead, even the Hoover Dam.

We hopped in the Jeep with Savannah and headed south towards Boulder City, when we entered the  Lake Mead National Recreation Area and paid our fee Jay asked the Ranger how far to the Valley of Fire? 63 miles around the lake! What?! I said to myself, or maybe I said it out loud, 63 miles?
Jay's response to me was, "It will be worth it, trust me!" I had my doubts... I've seen a lot of rocks around here lately, not sure I wanted to spend the next two hours in the car looking at more rocks!
I decided to grin and bear it and I'm glad I did!

Lake Mead

The Valley of Fire was dedicated in 1935 and is the oldest and largest state park in Nevada.

Petrified wood and red sandstone are two of the natural features formed  from great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs, 150 million years ago.

The weather was pristine and it was an amazing trip! I am so glad I was patient and that we didn't end up at the mall because the view were indescribable!

I will be looking forward to the next time Jay says, "Let's take a ride"!

Halloween Las Vegas Style

Here we are in the city of sin on Halloween, it's sunny and about 70 degrees, just a picture perfect day!
I spent many years up in New England and it was almost always blustery cold and rainy. Halloween in  Florida was a different story, we were always relieved because it signaled the end of hurricane season, "we dodged another bullet", except in 2005!
I really didn't know what to expect here, do kids trick or treat, especially here in an RV park? There are quite a few children here, many families live here permanently in some lavish motor homes!
I always see the kids walking to the bus stop at the end of the street. Today is a school holiday, sweet!
I came to the conclusion this week that Halloween here is like every other place in America except here the weather is likely to be warm and the kids won't have to wear coats over their costumes like I did when I was a kid 20 years ago! (my attempt at humor!)
Whether you live in an apartment, a ranch home or a home on wheels, there is always something at Target that will decorate your home for this ghoulish holiday! Here is some of the examples of what my neighbors did to get in the spirit...

Feed this guy some candy!

Pigs really DO fly!

When I stopped to snap this picture, I said to the owner how much I admired these pigs and he offered to deliver them to me personally, his wife's handiwork, no doubt!

You gotta love the imagination of some folks! 

All week I couldn't decide whether to buy some candy or not. If kids don't show up we would be the ones devouring the candy. Jay suggested we but a bag or two of Snickers and Milky Way, the good stuff so that way if won't go to waste, I like the way he thinks! So our plan is to hang out tonight and wait for some ghost and goblins to show up!  It's

 difficult not to enjoy Halloween whether you are 6 or 62, so enjoy it your way!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Maybe...

My Way!

Lake Havasu Arizona

We've settled into a routine in Las Vegas.... too routine I was told!  On Thursday after walking  Savannah through the neighborhood on her daily walk Jay says,  "Let's get out of here this weekend"!
When Jay takes Savannah for her walks he disappears for at least an hour, he talks to all our neighbors about where they've been and often comes back with ideas for a new trip! Never one to be easily blindsided, I say, "What, like a road trip in the car to the desert"?  No, better!
So his approach went like this...
"Your daily phone conversations with your Mom are getting boring, you are running out of stories to share"' so.....Let's pack up the coach and head to Lake Havasu Arizona for the weekend! "Our neighbor Joe in the Winnabego says it's a great trip"!
 That's our plan, we are leaving tomorrow morning! We packed up the coach, attached the bicycles and headed south on I 95 after a quick stop for breakfast at our favorite Pub!
Lake Havasu City Arizona is famous for one thing, in 1971 a local chap Robert McColloch went over to London and purchased the London Bridge at auction for a mere 2.4 million dollars. It was meticulously disassembled and the blocks were then shipped overseas through the Panama Canal to California and trucked to Arizona . Following the reconstruction of the London Bridge, Lake Havasu City rededicated it in a ceremony on October 10th 1971. The London Bridge is Arizona tourism's second largest attraction after the Grand Canyon, it attracts  thousands of visitors each year and is a popular stroll for people on romantic getaways in Arizona! I'm sure Jay picked this getaway for that reason!

The 148 mile trip was right through the desert and some small towns like Searchlight Nevada and we arrived in this famous locale within 2 and half hours after a brief stop at a roadside stand in Needles California for a quick purchase of some local orange blossom honey.

                                                 

Our weekend destination was right on the lake in a small RV resort called Crazy Horse RV resort.

I haven't seen any horses here, but, I can tell you we have a great spot 30 feet from the water!

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and began enjoying our weekend getaway!

Saturday morning we hopped on our bikes, these are the same bikes we have hauled around on the back of the car for months and have barely ridden!  We didn't bring the car on this trip so I saw this as some imposed exercise! We took off and went over the "famous" bridge and rode around this cute town for a few hours, it's small so we were able to easily see the sights within a short period of time!

We are riding around seeing the sights!

I guess they still use the old flags?!

Whenever we go to a new place we manage to meet some really nice people! Our neighbors to the right of us were two guys from Vancouver here with their motorcycles, seeing our great country and all it has to offer! We shared information on our past stops and I'm sure we will see them again on the road sometime!  Another couple we met just purchased a coach exactly like ours. That was an interesting conversation because we quickly commiserated on common issues, like why the televisions are always a challenge to operate. We have offered to help with any issues, since we already have most of the "bugs" worked out!
Savannah and I spent the afternoon diving in the water chasing the ball and so she I both needed a clean up before we were allowed back inside the coach.  I grilled chicken on the "barbie" and we  turned in early as usual! We had planned to leave on Sunday but decided to stay until Monday morning, aaah, the beauty of retirement!

See ya back in Las Vegas!

               

Our Oasis at The Oasis!

We are ten days into our stay at The Oasis and here is what we know so far...
Its HOT here!

One of the definitions of Oasis is something that provides refuge, relief or a pleasant contrast! Also described as a peaceful area in our everyday life. I think we are up for all that and more!
We will be here for the remainder of 2014, through Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas so we plan to make this spot our Oasis... Back to the comment about it being HOT, for a place that calls itself an Oasis it's lacking in the shade department, we have a puny little tree on our site and I noticed every other site has the same tree in the same spot! That's OK, because we are determined to build our own little Oasis at the Oasis! During our evening social walk we noticed a neighbor who had a SunBlocker shade attached to his coach... Bingo!
The following day the Captain was at Camping World with credit card in hand purchasing the identical shade for our  "Project Oasis"!

As Jay was making this purchase I was at 36,000 feet flying to Florida for a week of family visits, errands, Dr's appointment and lunches with my peeps!
He sent me the picture and  you can see for yourself the project is coming along quite well!

So I believe we are going in the right direction. Now that we have shade I see a lounge chairs, maybe some Marshmallows from Walmart!
One of the things we enjoy in the evenings is the ability to watch TV outside, we have a TV on the side of the coach, two comfy loungers, what a way to enjoy Happy Hour! Oh, and some more amazing sunsets!

Our comfy spot, notice the grass, its real!

Our first week at the Oasis has been about settling in, this is our first extended stay at one location, what will our routine be? So far we have made use of the pools in the afternoon, walks at dusk, checking out our neighbors coaches, every time I lose sight of the Captain, I find him outside talking to one of our neighbors, comparing notes, nice coach, where ya been, where ya going, you know the drill...

Our Palm lined street

The next priority is to locate the Grocery stores, The Home Depot and the neighborhood Pub. Since Jay's sister lives nearby, we feel we are ahead of the game already! Mariellen has made great recommendations and we look forward to her assistance in discovering all the great attractions near our "Oasis"!

Wine tasting with Mariellen and Terri Mercer

Winery just outside Las Vegas

The Journey to Las Vegas

After a long and winding ride through the Arizona desert we arrived in Las Vegas. There's a bit more to this story, so let's back up a bit. We departed Santa Fe after a blissful month of beautiful weather... warm days, chilly nights and amazing sunsets.

We knew change was inevitable, Las Vegas would offer a view of the strip and billboards all around us, change is good, right? Oh and gambling! I almost forgot to mention that!

Not a winning hand...

We began our journey through Arizona with a plan to stay the first night in Winslow Arizona. Yes, there's an Eagles song,  "Standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona"...
We stayed that night in a funky park called Meteor Crater RV Park. The Meteor Crater is a tourist attraction nearby, the worlds best preserved meteorite impact site off  the iconic Route 66 just outside Winslow.
We didn't check it out, maybe next time..
None of the parks in the Southwest have any grass, everything is gravel, Savannah is NOT impressed.

The next morning our destination was Kingman Arizona. We continued on Route 40 West, it was a bumpy ride through the mountains, I think the state of Arizona hasn't upgraded that stretch road, can we say, ever? There was also some wind that challenges your ability to stay straight on the road, did I also mention the other semi's that blow by you at high speeds? By the end of the day the Copilot was exhausted despite the Captains excellent driving skills.  I have to get a better grip on my fears and realize that we WILL make our destination unscathed!
We stopped for a delightful lunch in Seligman Arizona at the Roadkill Cafe, this joint was Americana personified! A nice break from the rough ride!

The food was delicious,(it always is when you aren't doing the cooking) the Iced Tea was cold and sometimes that's all you need to brighten the mood! 

We arrived in Kingman in the afternoon, specifically, The Blake Ranch RV Park, up the hill from a Truck stop, literally!  More gravel, no grass and Savannah was feeling as I was, let's just get this over with and get to Vegas!

Seasoned RVers will tell you that you should travel an average of 300 miles a day or 6 hours on the road, at first I didn't understand that, now that we have traveled over 2500 miles, I get it! 

Driving a coach with a car in tow that weighs almost 18 tons is a task that takes your full attention, its easy to be the copilot (most of the time!)

The driver has to be keenly aware of every other vehicle on the road, cruise control is a necessity because you have to place all your attention on your steering and you don't want to have to monitor your speed, the maximum speed is 65 miles per hour. Oh and by the way ... there is no backing up when you are towing a car and you better make sure you have plenty of room to make turns! The Captain can back up that 40 foot coach easily without a car in tow, of course its equipped with back up cameras and I'm usually out there waving him in when he backs up into spaces. We always disconnect the car when we first arrive at a park unless they give us a "pull thru space", in which case parking is just pulling in! Usually they charge extra for that! 

I got off the track a bit on my story, so we arrive in Kingman aka, extension of the Truck Stop, had a light dinner and settled in for night to the constant hum of the semis in the parking lot nearby.

We were up bright and early ready to complete the last 138 miles of our journey to Las Vegas! I was anxious to get going and so Jay suggested I go on ahead in the car and he would me meet there later so he could stop and get the coach washed at the neighboring truck stop. The Captain has set me free! So I hopped in the car and off I went! It was a beautiful crisp sunny day so I pointed the Jeep west towards Vegas after a momentary recollection of a scene from the movie Thelma and Louise. It was that kind of day, but, I wasn't in a convertable!

It was a wonderful ride, I turned up the radio, and relished the ride through the desert. The scenery is not to be believed, of course I knew it would be! I passed by the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead and in 90 minutes I was on I-215 with a view of the skyline of Las Vegas and the strip.

The famous Hoover Dam

Our home for the remainder of 2014 is 5 miles from the strip. The Oasis RV Park, it's a 5 star RV park with 2 pools, golf, a restaurant and 2000 spaces for potential neighbors! The only place I've ever seen more Palm Trees is our other home on Flagler Drive! 

I met Jay at this behemoth resort, "So Vegas" is all I can say..

We checked in and moved into our site and I can tell you there is no open prairie in this neighborhood!  We will have many more stories to share and this time, what goes on in Vegas won't stay in Vegas!

It's Finally Vegas baby!