Friday 17 April 2015

April 16th, The End of the Journey

We got up at a good hour and made our way down to the breakfast provided in the hotel.  It was excellent, a great variety and everything was fresh and tasty.  The room was very nice as well, but then again it was the most expensive we have stayed in for a while.  Even more than the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.  We really are spending our children's inheritance, LOL.
  It was cool in the morning, looked like there had been a frost in the night.  We made our way over to Smith's where we filled up on go juice.  The price per gallon was the best we have seen since Arizona, so good deal there. 
The guy at the next pump was from Alberta, so came over to ask where we were from.  He said I probably wouldn't know his place of residence, Fort Assiniboine.  Told him that I sure did as I hunted up there for many years while I lived in St Albert and that our former mayor's wife was from there.  Turned out his wife knew Christine and her family, small world. 
  Left Great Falls shortly after 8AM and traffic was light and the roads bare & dry.  I drove north to Shelby where I always top off the tank as it is only 1/2 hour from the border.  I was having a bit of a problem with vertigo and had taken a gravol, which was making me dozey, so Marg drove from there.  It was Marg's first time going through customs as the driver and the line was pretty long, so she had lots of time to stew about it.  When we pulled up the agent asked if we had any liquor.  Well she told him she had made a list, but couldn't find it at the moment.  She thought she put it with the passports, but later [in GP] she discovered it was not where she thought.  Anyway the guy kept saying that's OK just tell me how many bottles you have.  Marg kept going on about the list, pretty funny actually.  Finally she said it was something like 8 or 10 part bottles, then gave him a story about our daughter coming for my birthday and brining 2 unexpected bottles and friends dropping by.  Then telling him about our concerns of leaving part bottles in our park model and if someone broke in and got into the alcohol our insurance might not be valid.  He looked over at me and asked how much was in the bottles & I said a couple of inches up to a half bottle.  By this time the border agent kept looking at the long line behind us [that was growing rapidly] and finally said are you sure it is no more than 10, to which she replied she was.  His reply -- well you know you are over and are  only entitled to 40 ounces each, but go ahead, have a nice day.  I think we were a long way over what he thought, but we did have a nice day.  Now I think I understand why the border line-ups are so long, LOL!
  Marg continued driving up to Lethbridge where we stopped for fuel and Tim Hortons, now we knew we were on Canadian soil.  Got a couple of sandwiches to go as it was pretty much lunch time and we headed out.  I drove from there up through Calgary, as that can be a difficult place with the traffic.  It was early afternoon, so we never bothered with the bypass, just took the Deerfoot and that proved a good decision with the light traffic.
  Stopped in Red Deer for fuel and Marg took the wheel from there.  We got a coffee, which was a mistake for me as making good time means making fewer not more stops.  She turned off at Leduc to bypass Edm and we stopped in Acheson for fuel and a pit stop.  We debated stopping to see mom, but Marg has been fighting a head cold for several days now and I think she may be passing it on to me, so opted not to.  My intrepid chauffeur took off stopping Whitecourt for Macdonald's and fuel.  We ate on the run and she drove all the way to Grande Prairie.  By this time it was about 10 PM.  It made for a long day, about 14 hours in the truck, covering 1,260 km's or about 785 miles.
  We were pretty tired, in fact I fell asleep sitting in my chair, but we slept well in our own beds.  This was a personal best for us, only 2 nights on the road and 3 travel days, but it was tiring.  I don't think it would have been possible without 2 people driving.  She is a good little driver -- LOL!
  That is all for the blog this year, thanks for following our winter adventure with us.

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Day 2 on the road

  Our second day on the road we thought we were on the road early, but found out we had not changed our watches, so were an hour behind the time.  Good thing we got up early - 6 AM, so it worked out OK.
  We got a light breakfast at the hotel and were on the road in good time.  Unfortunately the forces of nature conspired against us, it snow/rained most of the night and in the morning all through Salt Lake City.  There was  wreck on the freeway, so it was stop and go in 6 lanes of traffic. It took us about 2 hours to get through the city and we got gas up in Ogden before leaving the area.  It was chilly, we definitely needed a coat as the temp was in the -1C to +1C range with lots of precipitation and a good stiff wind.  The roads were good and wet with lots of slush on them, making for a tough travel day.
  The roads and weather got better as we went north out of the city and by the time we got to Idaho, there was no precipitation, just the strong head winds and temps of about zero, or just at the freezing mark.  Got out the heavier coats for the day, they were needed.  Stopped in Idaho Falls for some lunch and kept on.  By then we had gone through a gallon of windshield washer fluid.
  We made it through the Monida pass without too much except the wind.  It blew so strong, that I had to slow down to 50 mph & at that was passing guys pulling travel trailers.  At the start of the pass the trailer wanted to go it's own direction, the wind must have moved it sideways at least 3 or 4 feet. and it was over on the shoulder of the road while I was in the driving lane.  The only good news was that the wind direction became head on in the pass, so it was not as dangerous, just slowed us down.
  About halfway through the Elk Park pass we lost the wind and the temps warmed up to about 3 or 4C and we were able to get our speed back up to 70mph.  Made pretty good time through there and stopped in Helena for fuel.  Pretty funny story at the Conoco station.  Marg went in while I fueled the truck and when I went in the guy at the counter said -- Oh good, just in time to help me carry out this horse to load in your trailer.  You're wife just bought it here.  It was about 5 feet high and made of welded stainless steel and all I could think of was really she bought this to take home.  Anyway it was a joke, he asked Marg if it would be OK to pull it when I came in.  Anyway it was a good laugh and the young seemed a very pleasant character.
 We continued on all the way to Great Falls, the travel conditions were ideal from Butte, so made pretty good time.  It made for 11 hrs on the road and we made another 900 or so kms, the map said 620 miles, so one of the two is right.  Saw lots of wildlife today: antelope & elk also lots of road kill.  Hit one of the 6or 8 skunks laying on the road, but fortunately it was early in the day and the wet roads cleaned it up pretty good.
  Dinner was at a Mexican rest. [on the border] in Great Falls.  Food was OK, but not as good as Los Gringos in AJ.  Will be spending the night in the Hampton hotel and fuel up at Smith's in the morning.

Tuesday 14 April 2015

Travel Tuesday

Got up early and showered and then started on the last minute things.   It is amazing how many things have to be left for the last minute, but then again -- nothing makes a person more productive than the last minute!
  We had a few visitors at the early hour wishing us farewell and a few last minute hugs.  Got the pest baits all put out, the vents all covered, the drains covered, cling wrap on the toilet bowl and tank.  Toilet probably has more and varied names than anything I am aware of.  Some that come to mind:  Loo, commode, stool, can, crapper, water closet, etc.
  We got it all together and loaded by a few minutes prior to 8.  That is the time Mediacom opens their door and we were there waiting at about 5 minutes to the hour.  There was already a guy from Ontario there ahead of me.  Got the gear all returned and headed over to the golden arches for a breakfast item and coffee. 
  We were on the road by 8:30AM and traffic was light.  We made it through Phoenix in good time as we were pretty much 60-65 mph all the way.  The temp was already getting warm by the time we got through and stayed that way all of the morning.  The wind was blowing hard and that was pretty much the case all day.  We took the #17 highway north and got the cut-across that comes out just south of Wickenburg.  This is the same route we took with the Smith's to Vegas last week.  Stopped in Kingman for fuel and a bite to eat.  It was a nice break and gave us the capacity to get through Lads Vegas without stopping.  There were dust storms along the highway and around Kingman we saw several dust devils.  Traffic in Vegas was very heavy and aside from the close calls we got through in pretty good time.  The temps were still very warm and we had the AC running all the way up from AJ.  The temp stayed that way until we got to St George, Utah.  We encountered a lot of tumbleweeds today, but in this area, they covered the highway and we all over the place.  North of there around Cedar City, the temp started to drop gradually.  By the time we were an hour north of Cedar City it was noticeably cooler.  We only had the fan on blowing in the outside air, but by the time we got to Beaver, we had the heat on as the temp had dropped to about 4Cor 40F.  When we got to the area north of Beaver around Fillmore, the rains started.  Apparently it had been blowing a dust storm, so when it rained, the rain was like mud.  I have never seen anything like it.  The wipers wouldn't take it away without the washer spray.  Further north the rain had snow in it and there was white stuff along the highway.  It rained hard and we could hardly see the lines on the road at times.    Made it all the way to Provo where we took a hotel room.  We pulled in to the hotel at 8:30 PM. so that makes 12 1/2 hours on the road and about 1100 kms. 
  A long first day, but we are well positioned to make it through Salt Lake City and we hopefully have driven through enough of the storm area to make it to good weather tomorrow.

Monday 13 April 2015

Monday, April 13th

A nice day in the Valley.  We spent most of the day packing up and loading into the trailer and the truck box.  At the end of the day both were pretty much full.  Not sure where all this stuff came from but apparently it is ours.
  We went out at lunch time, why well, I took 4 bags of groceries over to Aggie and 3 bags of various stuff to the dumpster bin.  After that the fridge was totally empty and being scrubbed down.  I told her to keep what they had a use for and discard anything they didn't.  When she stopped by later in the day she said they could use everything except the brussel sprouts - go figure.  She also said she was good for groceries for a couple of weeks now. 
  We went out to the 5 & Diner for lunch.  We had a coupon, so wanted to use one more before we left.  The only problem was both meals had to have a drink, so I ordered a milkshake.  There was so much that they give you a full glass and the metal canister from the mixer and it was still about half full.  In the end we both had all we wanted.  Oh yeh the food was pretty darn good as well.  When we got back Marg gave the coupon book to Sheri.  Apparently they have never had one of the coyote coupon books, but she seemed interested enough to take it.  Happy coupon-ing!
  In the afternoon Marg cleaned all the floors and sinks.  I went to the hardware and got a pair of vents for the tool shed.  I installed them as the heat builds up when it gets hot and I think it will be good to dissipate some of the high temps.  It is an alternative to putting a whirlybird on the roof, so we will see how it goes.
  Marg took the sheets and towels to the Laundromat so they will be fresh when we leave them in the trailer for the summer.  Well we need to sleep on the sheets one more time, but they will be as fresh as they ... well you know.  Me well I took several more big bags to the dumpster.  Then I put some of the reflective insulating stuff in the windows and lowered the last of the awnings so the hang straight down over the windows. 
  All the while there was a pretty good stream of visitors.  I thought almost everyone had left, but it seems there are still lots here.  The whole process was made more difficult with Marg having a nasty head cold and sniffling away all day.  Hopefully she will get over it before too long.
  The guys who are left from the poker group arranged to have one last game tonight, so I played.  Well donated might be more accurate.  On of the guys Stan will not be returning to the south next year.  They are finding the costs prohibitive this year, probably something to do with the 30 cent premium we are paying on the exchange rate.
  As we had a late lunch we went out for supper after poker.  There are not a lot of options that late in the day, so it was the Village Inn.  No pie for either of us though.  Well early to be tonight as we are on the road tomorrow.  Not sure what you can expect on this blog for the next few days as we make our way north to the border and home.  This is the end of our time in Arizona this winter - it has been great.
 

Sunday 12 April 2015

Sunday, April 12th

It was a bit overcast today, but very warm.  I think we were well into the 80's although I never looked at the temp.
  We got started on our packing shortly after breakfast and after a couple of hours went to the Mesa market.  I was looking for a wallet, but it was the only thing we never bought.  I got a couple of hats and Marg got some vanilla and that was it.  Amazing to see it at this time of year, I would estimate that 1/3rd of the stalls were vacant.  It seems the snowbirds are a substantial part of the recreational shoppers out there.  When we got back it was to more packing and loading.  We now have the trailer full and almost all of the truck box is full.  We have a few things left in the fridge, enough for breakfast and maybe lunch tomorrow.  The closets and cupboards are packed and loaded.  Still quite a bit left to do tomorrow, but we are well positioned.
  I was checking the truck mileage, should have done that last week.  Anyway it seems we have put on a lot of miles and consequently need another oil change.  Nothing like leaving things to the to last minute.  With any luck I will get that looked after tomorrow morning.  So much for looking for a good deal, but I should be able to get it done on short notice as the service places should be slower with the snowbird migration on.
  I was checking the weather tonight and it looks like we will have mixed snow and rain through Salt Lake City up north until past Idaho Falls.  The rest of the route looks clear until Friday when they are forecasting rain from Edmonton to home.
  Had a few folks stop by to say their farewells and had one offer to make us supper tomorrow night, but we declined.  We will be in a state of flux tomorrow as we work through all the remaining tasks and get ourselves ready to head out on the highway Tuesday morning after we drop off the television and wifi components at Mediacom.
  Although we have had a great winter in Apache junction, we are looking forward to going home.

Saturday 11 April 2015

Saturday, April 11th

A busy day for us.  Marg has been suffering from some nasty allergy symptoms, but we still managed to have a busy day.  We started out with a group from the rv park with the park managers [Curtis & Aggie] for her famous sticky buns.  They were delicious and it was my first time to enjoy them, although Marg had been previously.  There was a large group, about 20 people from the park invited.  As expected the most often asked question was - when are you leaving?  It seems that within 10 days there will only be the permanent residents and the odd casual camper left in the park.
  After we went out to Costco as we needed some things to take home and fuel.  I was amazed to see how the people traffic in the store has slowed down from the prior month.  We picked up a nice bottle of Irish whisky and other less essential stuff.  LOL.  The price of fuel was pretty good, it has come down a bit in the last week, a trend we hope to see continued for the next week.  On the way back to our place we stopped at Sonic for a hot dog and sundae for lunch.  We have coupons for these in our book and every year we use them this way.  They were 2 for 1, so our combined lunch was about $5.50 and it is actually pretty good.
  After we got back I bbq'd some steaks.  This is the time in our stay down here that we are trying to use up what is in our fridge & freezer.  Marg had a package of steaks out when we were invited to join some other folks for a dinner where Mavis was cooking some chicken from hers.  To allow us some free time in the afternoon, Marg made it into a Swiss steak [one of my fav's] and put it in the slow cooker.
  This gave us time to do some more running around.  Went out for water, then over to Ace hardware, well Bells for Marg.  Marg picked up a few things and I got some glue traps to leave in the place.  When we close it up we close off the vents and drains to try and keep pests out, but also put glue traps down.  They will usually catch any critters that get past the vent barriers; things like spiders and what not.  We also contacted a pest spray applicator to spray the exterior.  This is mainly for: ants, spiders, roaches, scorpions, etc.  They spray next week, then August and December.  It's something almost everyone does so that pest don't get established.
  There were 4 couples for supper, so just a nice sized group and the food was excellent.  One of the other couples is leaving Monday, us Tuesday, the third on Wednesday and the hosts within a week or two.  A common theme here is that people leave to accommodate other events in their lives, usually family.  We had the Swiss steak, mashed potatoes, fried chicken, potato salad and then a slice of cherry pie.  There was also sherbet that Doris had made and left for us, so it was difficult to resist.
  We were pretty full, but still had another engagement.  It was off to the Smith's for rhubarb pie that Bob had made.  They had about a dozen people and we were just about the last to arrive.  Fortunately they still had pie and a nice vanilla ice cream.  Well we were full before, but now were at our maximum.  Had a nice visit with the folks there, good people.  They were watching a 500 mile nascar race and the guys were really in to it.  I had to confess that we don't really see a lot of it on tv at home, so was unfamiliar with the drivers, the strategies or much else about it.
  Got home finally to kick back and chill-ax.  Marg was outside and was chatting some folks where she heard that one of our neighbours is not well.  Really nice guy, so we hope it will work out.
  Yes we are making firm plans on our departure from the valley of the sun.  We should leave Tuesday morning and if our normal routine works out, we should cross the US border at Sweetgrass/Coutts on Thursday and home on Friday.  The weather is mostly looking pretty good, although we may have rain/snow around Salt Lake City Wednesday and rain from Edm to GP on Friday.  Towing the trailer will slow us down a bit & the weather is always changeable, so we'll see.
 

Friday 10 April 2015

Friday

Slept in this morning.  We have not done that for a while, it was nice.  By the time I got my coffee about half down, Pat & Gene showed up for a ride.  We went for about 5 miles today and not having rode for a couple of weeks, the legs were really talking to me on the uphill part of the run. 
  Marg went for water aerobics and one of the ladies had a copy of the CD, so it went well, but I am sure they missed the ad-lib part.  They had a pretty good turnout in spite of the number of  people leaving.  While she was out, I went for a haircut at the little Mexican shop on Signal Butte. 
  After lunch I started packing things and got quite a bit in the trailer.  There was lots of arranging and packing in the trailer around the ATV.  Got it part way done and will finish that tomorrow.  Then I went to play 8 ball with Gene.  I think he is the better pool player, but is new at the 1/15 game, so struggled a bit with strategy.  I enjoyed pretty good success, but I'm certain once he plays more, that will not be the case. 
  Marg got together with Sue and they had the lady come to the park to cut their hair this afternoon.  That takes a bit of time as they also do the dye job thing when that happens.  Everyone looks good and fresh as a daisy.  Our combined loss of hair should give us better fuel economy going home.
  After it was happy hour at Jim & Beth's.  Lots of laughs today and it was a beautiful day to sit out.  After it was corned beef hash for supper.  This is always one of my favourites.
  Marg did laundry after.  There were lots of towels and sheets as well as a bunch of clothes to catch up on.  I think it is her plan to get it clean for packing.  Anyway that chore is done, well except for the steaming.

Thursday, April 9th

We awoke to a nice sunny day.  Pat & Gene were here shortly after 8 and I guess I woke Char & Phil with getting my bike out to join the guys.  It was great weather for a ride and we made about 4 miles as everyone had commitments.  It was a packing day for the Smith family who's spring break vacation came to a close.  It was a day of rest after the lengthy travel day on Wednesday.  Breakfast was eggs & toast on the patio.  Well it really was part of the breezeway, but it was nice in the shade.
  After it was time for water aerobics, but the lady with the tape or CD was not able to be there.  There were a half dozen and they just improvised, with each person contributing input on what they should do next.  I guess it was pretty funny, as Marg said it was her most fun session.  Charlene was quite pleased with herself as she was able to call all the ladies by name.  Katie knew their names as well as those of their spouse and dog.  They still ran it for about an hour.
  While they were gone, I got the Rhino out of the trailer and washed it up.  It was covered in dust from our last time in the desert and it was a fine powder that got all over everything.  When the gals got back we went for a few rides.  First I took Char & Katie out , driving partway with Katie in the back.  Char drove the rest of the trip and we pretty much went out around the area where we ride our bikes.  It was a novelty for her running it on the city streets, but she did a fine job.  After we got back I went out with Phil who drove right from the start.
  When we wound up I put it back in the trailer.  Our parking room around here is at a premium, so we can't leave stuff laying about.  Marg had committed to take Katie to the dollar store a while back, so the gals left for that.  They also stopped in at a Hobby Lobby and that was a big hit.  The store specializes in design stuff and DIY materials.  Between the two they seemed to be excited about the stuff they picked up.  While they were gone, Phil & I played 1/15 8 ball.  It requires a bit of a change in strategy you typically use in 8 ball, but he fared much better than the prior day with having a second chance to try different strategies.
  After that it was cocktail hour and we had a tin or two.  Then it was on to Sweet Tomato for supper.  It was a new place for all of us and we enjoyed many parts of it.  The most controversial for me were the beets on the salad bar table.  The coconut buns were wonderful as was the chocolate lava cake. 
  When we got back we played a couple of games of cards: golf & kings down.  Katie & grandma were the big winners.  We forgot to take the card score book from home, so can't record them except in our memories.
  We left for Sky Harbour airport around 9PM and although the traffic was light on the 202, it was pretty heavy at the airport.  We managed to get them to the right area in plenty of time and they were homeward bound.  It was tough to say goodbye, as always, but we sure enjoyed our time together.

Wednesday 8 April 2015

April 8th

A nice sunny day although a bit chilly in the morning.  Phil & I got out for golf with some of the people from our RV park at Apache Sun.  Although there was no tee time booked, 7 of us just showed up at our regular time and he sent us out.  The snowbirds are leaving in droves and creating lots of capacity everywhere.  The day warmed quickly and it was a perfect day to play golf.  Even the turtles were lenient; there were four of them and none of us had a wet ball today.
  The ladies hung out in the morning and did a bit of visiting in the park.  They caught up on a bunch of gossip and quite a bit has changed in the few days we were away.  They went to water aerobics and there were only 5 there, so our 3 gals made it worthwhile to hold it.  I think that ended today as the lady who organizes it is leaving [Friday I believe]. 
  Lunch today was Katie's call, so we went to Taco Bell.  She loves tacos and the rest of us are good with that.  They have lots of options and some really tasty stuff we don't normally see.  It's a pretty reasonable way to eat as well.  Again there was no wait, just walk up and order.
  In the afternoon Phil & I played pool.  He is getting on to the 1/15 eight ball, but it takes a bit of getting accustomed to from a strategy perspective.  Sometimes you have to ignore and easy shot to position the game ball.  Anyway in the last game we said who ever wins it wins the day and I scratched on the 8 ball, so Phil carried the day.  It was good fun anyway.  The ladies had gone to the dollar store and the Hobby Lobby was right next door to it.  Char & Katie really liked the Hobby Lobby and managed to get a few things there.  On the way back they came across a snake by the roadside, although I think it was run over.  It can't have been too bad as they weren't still screaming.
  By that time it was cocktail hour, so Phil and I had a tin [as he calls it] of Miller high life.  It was nice and cold and by then the temp was pretty warm, around 80F.  We ate out for supper tonight as the Smith's had not been to the #1 Eastern Buffet.  It is a bit of a unique Chinese buffet and they seemed to enjoy it.  Again no line up and lots of tables.  Hard to believe how quickly things change here. 
  After supper we played some cards.  First we played Kings Down and Katie won.  I think I finished last.  Then we played golf and grandma won, snatching victory from Katie's hands.  Me on the other hand not wanting to upstage my granddaughter stayed in the background.  It was great fun for all.
  This was the last full day in Phoenix for the Smith's.  It will be sad to see them off.
  Happy birthday Vanessa, sorry we could not be there to share it with you.

Tuesday, April 7th

Our last day in Las Vegas.  The wind blew strong and steady and the temp was cool this morning.  Not a beach day, so glad we went the other day when it was nice. 
  We got up early and organized ourselves, so we were ready for a prompt start.  I guess Bill got up early and went with the girls to a souvenir shop Just across the strip, but it was not open until later.  Had to wait around to check out and then for the rest of the family so everyone could say their farewells.  It was the last time for Bill's family & the Smith's to do that, so we all met in the lobby before leaving.  After some hugs we left for the highway to make our way back to AJ, while Bill & Patti with their group got packed to fly home.  We stopped in at the golden arches for a quick breakfast and then out on the highway towards Boulder city, so in the end got a little later start, but still in good time.
  We made our way to Laughlin where it was pretty quiet.  Stopped in to have a look at the Colorado Belle because of the unique design.  They have a moat around it to make it seem like it is a genuine riverboat and is on the water.  Katie took the opportunity to feed the fish in it.  Some of the biggest carp I have ever seen and when she threw the feed in they were very excited.  I would guess there are some of them that would exceed 20 pounds.   This is on the Colorado river, which is the state line between Arizona & Nevada and the drive down into the valley is very scenic.
 

  The stop was brief and we went over to Bullhead city where we made another stop at Safeway for a bag of carrots and then on to fuel up.  I left that until this stop as I knew fuel would be cheaper there than in Nevada.  Sure enough it was about 60 or 70 cents a gallon less and we never needed fuel considering the length of the trip from Vegas.  The carrots were because we were stopping in Oatman.  It's an old mining town that was abandoned and later the ghost town was revived as a tourism destination.  It is know for it's quaint character but mainly for the wild burro's that roam the streets.  They are descendants of burro's that were abandoned by miners and now roam the area freely and seem to concentrate in Oatman, mainly because they get fed there.  It was pretty exciting when Katie started feeding the carrots, in fact at times almost a bit overwhelming for her I'm sure.  After a few souvenirs and a gun fight in the streets, we left for the journey back.
  We went through Needles, CA, so it was the first time in California for the Smith family.  A point of interest was the fuel price $3.99/gallon when we had paid $2.37 in Bullhead city.  That is just one of the many reasons why people go to AZ rather than CA.


   From there it was back on the interstate east to Lake Havasau where we had supper and then toured the London bridge.  They have made quite a tourist attraction of it even to the point of constructing some buildings that look like they could be in an English village.  Then it was down highway #95 following the Colorado river until Parker.  From there the highway goes east and connects to the interstate that leads directly into Phoenix.  We got into Phoenix around 8:30, so it was a full day in the truck for all of us.

Tuesday 7 April 2015

Monday, April 6th

Pretty late by the time I got around to this posting, we are keeping that busy.  Our last day & night in Las Vegas, so a pretty busy day.
  It was a windy day, it blew pretty much the entire day and it was a cool wind.  I think the max temp got into the low 70's, pretty chilly for us Arizona folks, LOL.  It was a nice bright sunny day.
  I was up and out of the hotel by 7:30 looking for some early morning munching material.  Ended up at a neighbourhood Walmart and picked up enough to keep us from starting out the day hungry.  Dropped some for Phil & Char and then the 3 girls showed up in our room to share some.  It was just Gatorade, banana's & donuts; but it seemed to fit the need.  We got moving in the late morning and went down to the Outlet Mall south, which is just south of the airport, so not far from here.  The kids scored a few things and then we all grabbed some pizza for lunch.  It was pretty good, some of our group thinking that pizza works for any meal, even dessert.

   There were still unsatisfied appetites for shopping in our group, so we went up to the other Outlet mall [the north one] and the rest of them made out pretty darn well there.  It seems everyone managed to find something they needed.  Bill & Patti's group shopped a bit longer than ours, so we left a bit early.  I was getting a bit antsy about the parking situation.  We found some excellent parking on the first level, but there were hardly any stalls taken.  It was a state of the art parking system in the parkade.  There were overhead indicators telling drivers how many empty stalls were ahead and green lights over the empty stalls/red lights over the occupied stalls.  The stall we had was very good on the first level, but had to drive thru an opening in the barricade tape and posts to get to it.  When I asked the security guard about it he said there was no parking in that area, to which I said there were others there when I drove in.  After a bit of grumbling he said we might as well stay there, which was good.
   On the way back we stopped at what is reputedly the largest souvenir shop in he world.  Again our guests managed to get a few   lt was a good opportunity to pick up the stuff that only tourists buy.  It was a pretty darn big shop and had an amazing assortment of knick knacks, some of which will going home with Char & Katie.
  After we got back to the hotel we all went for the buffet in the Mandalay Bay.  It was easily the best one we have eaten at both for variety and quality.  We managed to get in before the big rush for supper, we seemed to be lucky with that this trip.  The buffet was very good value and even included beer, wine or champagne.  Bill didn't join us because he was to meet up with a guy who stars on a tv show that does tattoos.  That was his second celebrity encounter and this one came about as a result of some sponsorship they had done from home through their company.  Phil had a funny encounter when he commented to a stranger in the dinner queue about good food up ahead.  Later he ran into the same guy at the dessert tables and said something like - are you following me around?  The guy apparently said as soon as he saw Phil he knew there were good eats in that location, so homed in on him.  I guess they had a good laugh over it.
  After supper Bill, Patti and their 4 kids went to the Cirque do Soliel show at the Treasure Island hotel. They had bought the tickets earlier in the day.  The rest of us passed, having seen one of their performances previously.  Instead the Smith's and us went to see the Venetian hotel, which is pretty posh and then on to the Flamingo where they wanted to get souvenirs to take home.  Then Char wanted one more stop at the ABC store.  It was kind of nostalgic as these are everywhere in Hawaii, so we drove to the one on the Strip [Las Vegas Blvd] where Phil & I waited in a construction zone, kind of like a keep your motor running stop.
  Back at the hotel we had a night cap or two and that was our day.  Brennan [who is staying in our room] showed up back in the room sometime in the middle of the night.  Not sure when as we went to be about 12:30, must have been a full day for him as well.

Sunday 5 April 2015

Sunday

A nice day, except the wind blew fairly hard all day long in the sun.  The temperatures were somewhere in the 70's. 
  We got a bit of a late start on the day, although I picked us up a Starbucks coffee to start our day.  The adults had hidden a bushel of candy eggs and such in grandpa & grandma's room, so we had lots of eager visitors about mid-morning.  The eggs were craftily hidden, but the seekers were equal to the task and picked the place clean.  After there was a conference of all the gals in the room where they divided up the spoils of victory.  They even made a pile for Brennan, who slept for much of it.  The kids sure had lots of candy and when they divided up the loot, it looked petty darn even, both in quantity and variety.

  After a but of munching on the candy, we went out for breakfast.  We ended up going to Denny's on the south side of Las Vegas.  We had good turn-around for such a large group and the food was good.  A couple of us ordered off the seniors menu.  Hah!  At our table, Paige started a joke telling idea going and we had lots of laughs.  You can never laugh too much.

  When we left the parking lot I heard a ping, but thought it might be a cell phone or something like it.  We went up to the divide in the road on the south end of the city where everyone takes picture of the welcome to Las Vergas.  We got our share of them.  There was a friendly guy who just hangs around and offers to take group pictures so no one need sit out.  Everyone gives him a tip, but he says he will do it for nothing.  Pretty windy day for it, glad I never bothered to fix my hair for the occasion.  There sure were some neat poses, jumping, laying down, embracing, you name it.  When we got out of there I figured out what the earlier ping was, the alarm for the low fuel light.  This meant a quick trip to the service station for fuel.  Fuel a little more here, about 80 cents a gallon more than I paid in Apache Junction.




  It was back to the hotel where everyone got their trunks on and we made our way down to the pool or beach area.  Very large area with a wave pool, lazy river, warm pool, and a kiddies area.  The entire area is surrounded by sand with lawn loungers on it.  There is bar service on site and they supply most of what you need to have a good time.  The kids spent lots of time in the water, as did auntie Char & uncle Phil.   Grandma was in the lazy river and got wet for a while, but me, I read my book.
  After the beach time, we all went out for buffet.  We drove up to Sam's Town on the Boulder highway.  It gave us an opportunity to show the kids where we stay when we are on the road through here.  It also gave us our first buffet opportunity for Las Vegas.  Pretty cool as the feature tonight was strip loin.  The buffet was offered at a special price with the membership card and we all had one except Char & Phil who needed their passport to get it.  Even so Phil managed to sweet-talk the cashier into the card member rate, so a good deal for all.  We got another good deal, this time on beer, it was $5 for a bucket of draft beer.  There were about a half dozen glasses in the bucket so Brennan came over to our table to join us.  He has been getting drinks pretty regular, except the prior evening in our hotel where they ID'ed him and told him to come back next year.  Anyway the food was good, they even had a lamb roast and it was very good.  For desert the bread pudding was great.
  While we were in the casino, Bill had a pretty big win, he joined the happy crowd.  From there we went back to the hotel where Bill & Marg stayed later in the casino.

April 4th in Las Vegas

A gorgeous day in sin city, not a cloud in the sky.
   We got moving a little late in the day, but went to Ihop for breakfast.  It was a busy place and with 11 of us, seating was a bit tricky.  We did manage to get in within a reasonable time, although we didn't all sit together.  It was a first Ihop for the Smith family and they made out well.  Marg & I had the 2x2x2, pretty normal, especially for me.  It was just bustling in the place, so gave that diner feel which has a lot more character than eating in most restaurants.
  The restaurant was up by the Stratosphere, so on the north end of the strip.  After breakfast we took advantage of the location and went up to Gold & Siler Pawn, it is the shop featured on the tv show Pawn Stars.  We were really lucky as there was almost no lineup and got right in.  Funny thing in the parking lot, the attendant asked if I knew I had a bird in my grill.  I guess I picked it up on the highway yesterday.  Anyway Phil pulled it out, the only birdie for that day, LOL.  It was pretty interesting in the shop, as usual and not sure what anyone purchased, although Marg got me a shirt.


  When we left we drove a bit further north to see where the wedding chapel was.  The Wee Kirk at the Heather, it turns out is the oldest wedding chapel in Las Vegas.  There are dozens of them along that strip and we wanted to make sure we were there for 2PM.  That was time Char & Phil had arranged to renew their vows in the Elvis ceremony.  Then it was back to the hotel to change and on the road again.  The folks at the chapel were great to deal with.  They said they enjoyed the Elvis ceremonies the most and we had their best Elvis.  The ceremony went of well and he was a great impersonator, even singing a couple of songs, finishing with Viva Las Vegas.  We spent quite a bit of time taking photos outside, they don't permit it inside, but Char will no doubt be buying some from them.
  After the ceremony it was over to the Stratosphere for a bite to eat.  Being a bit off peak, we managed to get seating for all of us at one table.  I believe the place was one of the Johnny Rocket restaurants.  Mostly we made out with appies. Marg stopped at a slot outside the door and turned a dollar into 31, so a good experience.
  After eating [I guess that was lunch], the gals went back to the hotel and the guys went to a car show across the road.  It was actually a rat rod club, so not your typical car show, although there were some nice cars as well.  Bill met with some guys from the tv show that does car restoration, buying and selling them, they were called The Count and took some pics on his cell phone.  I wasn't really sure who they were so never got any but they had some nicely decorated cars at the show.
 


  When we got back to the hotel we had a bit of a break and then it was out on the strip for a Las Vegas experience.  The roadway on the strip had been busy, but was nothing compared to the sidewalks.  At times the crowd was so thick it was all we could do to inch along the sidewalk.  There were lots of people dressed up as characters and charging for a picture with them and Brennan did it a couple of times: once with tinkerbell and the second with a scantily clad dancer.  On the way up we walked through the New York New York and it was the first for all of them except Marg & me.  We walked up to the Bellagio [a fair hike from here] and watched the fountain display.  We got an ice cold beer from a street vendor and it was really welcome after that walk.  After we made it to the other side of the strip and stopped at the Harley Davidson café for something to eat.  By then it was about 10PM, so we were all starting to get hungry.  The food was good and we continued our trek back towards the Mandalay Bay.  On the way the girls stopped at an Elvis impersonator to get their pictures taken and then at the M&M store.  By then we were pretty much done so made it back to the Excaliber and took the tram back to the Mandalay Bay.  Marg & Bill stopped for a few pulls on the old slots while the rest of us went back to our rooms.  Not too sure, but I think the casino tried to reclaim some of their dollars, although Marg said she is still up overall for this trip.

Friday 3 April 2015

April 3rd

The wind blew pretty hard most of the morning and it was a bit cooler.  It made for a decent travel day and that was what we did.  We left the rv park after a quick breakfast and were on the road before 8AM.  Had some traffic issues in Phoenix before we got out of town, but nothing serious.  Took the highway #17 to the secondary that comes out before Wickenberg.  Stopped there for an egg mcmuffin and a bathroom break.  The highway was fairly busy, with it being the start of spring break, a Friday and lots of rv's moving north.
  Made it to Kingman in pretty good time.  Stopped in for a bathroom break and picked up a light snack at Dunkin Donuts.  Not sure how our guests made out with that, but Marg and I usually travel light and try to make miles when the travelling is good. 
  Got to the Hoover dam shortly after noon.  Took the time to drive down from the highway as it was the Smith's first time and wanted to see the dam.  It was pretty backed up for the security check every vehicle goes through.  When we got there the parkade was closed, so I dropped them all off on the dam so they could walk around and continued on to the Az side where I took a couple of pictures and hung out for a few minutes.  Then I went back to pick them up and the timing was just about perfect.  I'm pretty sure Char got a ton of photos there, as it is very scenic.
  Got on the road and into Las Vegas just after 2PM.  When we came over the crest to where we could see Vegas, it was a bit of an emotional moment for Char & Marg, it seems they were very happy to see it together, one for the first time.  Got in to the Mandalay Bay, well the Delano tower, and were met by Bill, Patti and the 4 kids.  A long time since they had seen the Smiths and quite a while since we had seen them, so it was hugs all around. 
  We had to wait a bit for our rooms and Bill only got one, so everyone put their luggage in the Bill & Patti's.  It was late afternoon, so we had an early supper at a burger bistro and they were pretty darn good.  It seemed funny sitting there having a bar drink with my grandson.  The kids are sure dating the old guy. 










  After we decided to go down to Freemont Street.  It has always been a happening place, but it is much wilder than I recalled from past trips.  The laser light show on the canopy was spectacular and they also had lots of live performers.  There also were many street performers and they were doing so many different kinds of things, it would be hard to describe them all.  Some were funny, some clever and others were very risqué.  The place as jambed with people just like us, out to enjoy themselves, just like us.
  At the end I had a migraine, so Phil had to drive back to the hotel.


Thursday 2 April 2015

April 2nd

The weather was perfect.  There was a bit of high cloud and the wind blew a little cooler air today.  The sun warmed things up just fine, but it was not the solar furnace of the past couple of days. 
  In the morning Marg & Char finished up their laundry duty with the steamer.  All the clothes were washed yesterday, but it was so late in the day that they left the steaming part until the morning.  There was a fair pile of laundry so it took a while.
  They finished up in time for water aerobics.  The 3 gals headed down there and according to Katie the gossip was not so juicy this morning, nothing major happening in the rv park.  The only thing of note I heard about was that they have decided where we will eat supper on our return from Las Vegas as some of the couples here ate there recently and had enjoyable experiences.  Well that and the fact that we have not been there and the location is across the freeway from the furniture store.  They went through the routines and by now Katie has them down pat and knows what each exercise is as well as what comes next, so gives Char a heads up on the changes.  There was a pretty good number of ladies this AM.
  Phil & I went out, first to the barbers, but he was busy, so I will leave that for next week.  We stopped on the way back at Superstition Harley.  It is a pretty good sized dealership and we admired the iron, but were not serious about it.  Good thing as the salesman advised me they would not sell a new bike to a Canadian.  In fact they only sell new bikes to people with an American address but can sell us bikes having at least 7,500 miles on them.  It was interesting; but just as well as we not really in the buying mode anyway.  After that it was a quick stop at Ace Hardware as I needed a magnetic catch for the rear door.  The old one fell apart last night.
   After a lunch at the rv park, we left for the ruins at Casa Grande.  Well they are just east of the city.  A very interesting place as it was home to a native tribe that has disappeared.  Well that is one side of the story, there are 3 native groups claiming it is the place their ancestors cam from.  Scientists believe that society may have simply moved on owing to lack of water.  Others believe there may have been a tribal war that caused them to move on.   That native tribe lived in the area as long as 7,500 years ago and in this location for 1,500 years, but only 100 after the grand house [Casa Grande] was built [approx. 1,400AD].
  Marg had supper in the slow cooker, so it was back to the trailer for supper.  A nice big pot of pasta accompanied by a bunch of chicken in a tomato sauce.  It turned out great and we even cooked the pasta on the side burner on the BBQ so as not to heat up the house.  It turned out to be a nice supper.
  After supper Blanke's & Binger's stopped by for a few Margaritas and drinks  Had a very nice visit and shared some stories as well as some whisky.  Said our good-byes to both as they will likely be gone before we return from Las Vegas.  We will sure miss those guys, it has been a great winter.  The ladies did some packing for tomorrow and that was the day.



Wednesday 1 April 2015

April 1st

A sunny day for April Fools Day in the valley.  Throughout the day Katie [well and grandma] played some good pranks.  Like she put macaroni in a bag under the carpet and Char thought she was stepping on a bug.  She programmed Chars phone so the text messages would put in another word when she typed in a word [pretty clever].
Happy birthday Phil, it's a big one, so enjoy it.  Anna & Lyzi both managed to catch Phil in a facetime this morning, so a nice way to start his day.
  The day started off with Gerry Canuel showing up for golf.  Charlene had decided to play, so the four of us made it out to Apache Sun.  After hearing so much about it the Smiths got to finally see it first hand and a great day it was.  Charlene was tentative about playing, but it sure didn't show in her game.  She was long drive on a few holes, had one par and carded a 50, pretty remarkable for someone who last played 2 years ago.  She also took the opportunity when presented to tell us she had a better score than us or a longer drive.  On the 5th hole it was a 4 turtle day with another swimming in the area, so it was pre-destined that a ball would make the water.  Pretty funny as Char's first one bounced off the rocks back on to the fairway so she hit it back into the water.  The turtles got their evil deed done today.  Oh yeh, they also got to see the big tortoise on the 3rd hole who was out in the sun.  LOL  It was a fun day and lots of laughs.  There were only 10 golfers today, definitely a sign that the snowbirds are leaving for the north.  We each threw in a buck for the long putt and closest to the hole on a par 3, but no winners in our group.
   We were done in good time and made it back to the rv park for lunch.  While we were gone Katie and Marg went to the water aerobics.  Katie said they went early so they could catch up on all the gossip in the park.  Anyway it seems there was some, so the early trip was not in vain.  The numbers at aerobics were a bit smaller, but they had a good workout.
  Not much else was accomplished today.  It was showers all around when we got back.  It was hot and we sat around in the breezeway after lunch.  Did I say it was hot, well there was a bit of breeze through the breezeway, but it was well into the high 80's today.  We did have some company throughout the day.  Phil also got a phone call from his sister, Cath on his birthday, that was later passed around the family for greetings.
  For supper it was off to the Olive Garden.  Everyone here likes Italian food and it was no disappointment tonight, the food was great.  Large portions were the big surprise, I couldn't even finish mine, so brought a doggie bag home.  Phil was well pleased as they had Peroni beer, one of his favourites.  Great service from our waiter as well tonight.  Char did mention that it was Phil's birthday and the table wait staff came over to give him a cupcake and sing happy birthday.
  On the way home we stopped at DQ where Char picked up the ice cream cake she had ordered yesterday.  When we got back to the rv park two other couples joined us for a drink and cake.  After Marg & Char did laundry and we played some cards.  Yes Kings down.