JANUARY 2014 NEVADA CALIFORNIA ARIZONA ROAD TRIP

Tuesday January 21, 2014 OFF TO LAS VEGAS
After a reasonable night's sleep at the Vancouver Airport, it was 3 hours work before checking in at 830am for the 1005 flight to Las Vegas - which was a little late departing due to something that was broken and had to be fixed!

Flying over the mountains is always a treat - and this morning I had a great view (no camera!) of Mt Helen's and the side that was blown out during the recent eruption - actually it was quite a few years ago now! The top was covered in snow - I missed a great photo! The Westjet pilot made up time during the flight and was landing by 1pm to 27 Celcius temperatures under sunny blue skies with some high white clouds around. Given that the entire North American Continent except for the West Coast is under a freezing blue low pressure with major travel issues today we are so lucky to be here on the West Coast! It is always very dry over the hills and mountains around Las Vegas so very brown as you look down from the plane. It is nearly always very windy as well so a somewhat bumpy approach to the airport!


Another note is that Westjet continues to have NO inflight entertainment the same as every other Westjet flight that we have been on in the last two years - so bad. We also find the seats and leg room smaller than the Air Canada planes. The flight was smooth and in the sunshine so no problems after we had to wait on the ground at YVR for something that was broken to be fixed.

We had some work to do so we sat in the baggage pickup area foor 2 hours working using the WIFI then went to ALAMO for the rental car (NISSAN SENTRA) and then worked there until after 5pm using the WFI. By now it was too late to start the drive to Indian Wells and Primm so booked 1 night at the Flamingo and managed to get work down both Tuesday night and Wednesday morning before heading out at 9am. We also managed to sit at the Margaritaville bar for nachos and The Perfect Margarita - a perfect and welcome libation before bed!



Wednesday January 22, 2014 Indian Wells California
So we were on the road by 9am and enjoying a breakfast sandwich at the Primm Fashion Outlet Centre on the border of Nevada and California by 955am. Then we did a fairly fast blow through both Tommy Bahamas Outlet and Neiman Marcus Last Call before getting back on the road to Indian Wells where we would stay with Wally and Ellen from Pincher Creek for 3 nights.


We love the drive through the desert and stopped in Hesperia and expected to be in Indian Wells before 6pm. Well we did make it just after 5pm but it was dark and after 6pm before we found the gated community of Mountain Cove and where Wally and Ellen were staying for 1 month, an escape from the Pincher Creek Winter. We soon had our bags in the house and enjoyed a bevvie before heading out to the pretty little town of La Quinta - all of the buildigs and palm trees decorated with tiny white lights for a very pleasant vacation feeling. We enjoyed a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and a fabulous meal at the Hog's Breath which is owned by Clint Eastwood - we first went to the Hog's Breath in Carmel back in 1979 - where did those 35 years go to??! Between the four of us we had Caesar salad, ribs, mussels, past and mahi mahi with mashed potatoes. Then it was a short drive home to talk and drink some more before falling into bed.



Thursday January 23, 2014 Indian Wells California - PALM SPRINGS NIGHT MARKET
The day started with work for a couple of hours with welcome black coffee and toast before we headed out along Highway 111 towards Palm Springs and the Desert Hills Outlet centre by the Marongo Indian Casino. It was a really interesting drive as we passed through Rancho Mirage and Palm Springs - huge numbers of homes, lots of gated communities, fabulous desert landscaping and tons of shopping. (We did enjoy a quick look through Ross and couldn't resist a couple of bargains!)

At Marongo we filled up with gas at $3.43 USD per US gallon - 10% cheaper than the other gas stations we had passed. The Desert Hills Shopping Centre was huge - over 340 stores! We had to e very selective and probably went into less than 20 - I think you'd need to spend a week here to do justice to this shopping centre - they had stores including GUCCI, Mulberry, Skagen, ARMANI - amazing! We enjoyed a quick lunch at the Food Court and wandered along - the wind was strong and it was quite cool.

We left around 5pm with the objective being Palm Springs and the Thursday night Market where the streets are blocked off and arts & craft and food stalls are set up. We parked close by and our first stop was at the hamburger stall - oh they were good! The market was excellent and so big - it went for blocks and blocks - not sure how many but we spent over 2 hours slowly wandering down the street and back up again - lots of interesting stalls from food (amazing stuffed dates and nuts), to jewellry, to ceramics (great graters), clothes, shoes and belts, enough variety for everyone to find something!


It was well after 9 when we were back in the condo in Indian Wells - a very full and interesting day and ready for bed!



Friday January 24, 2014 INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA
A fun day starting with work until after 11am and then we walked around the Mountain Cove complex that Wally and Ellen's apartment is in. It is a very nice development with some amazing large homes and fabulous desert gardens set in amongst the mountains with a golf course through the centre and 2 lovely swimming pools - but then we headed out along Highway 111 for the day making it as far as Rancho Mirage with shopping stops at T J MAXX, Marshalls and Walmart on Monterey searching for an Internet on the Go for Ellen (she ordered online in the end). There are huge numbers of palm trees here, beautifully tended gardens and lush right of ways along the roads - lots of gardeners working with ride 'em lawnmowers, and masses of beautiful and very large cactus in all shapes, sizes and varieties.

Just after 3pm we stopped for an early dinner/late lunch at Babe's - a very popular and large BBQ restaurant situated in restaurant row rancho Mirage on Hwy 111. It was decorated really nicely and had a pure cowboy feel to it. We sat outside watching the world go by and as the temperature cooled down the powerful overhead heaters were turned on so very comfortable. We had arrived in time for Happy Hour and so enjoyed $4 house wine and $7 burgers (add 1 or 2 dollars for every optional extra on your burger) Also on the menu were Po' boy pulled pork sandwiches and ribs -lots of ribs.


We sat for over 2 hours having a great chat and catching up with everything that had happened in the last 12 months since we saw Wally and Ellen in Costa Rica. The folks wandering by were mostly in their 60's and 70's - this is definitely a retirement area. Back at the townhouse complex we relaxed and were in bed by 9;20pm after a great day.


Saturday January 25, 2014 - Indian Wells to Encinitas San Diego
Up early to get some work done before we leave Indian Wells and head South West to Encinitas. We said our farewells just after 9 to Wally and Ellen and headed out on Highway 74 up into the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa mountains and the San Bernadino National Forest (Monterey Rd in Rancho Mirage turns into Hwy 74). It was a well paved road, 2 lanes and a zillion U-turns and switchbacks - not for the faint of heart especially would not be fun in the back seat of a car! The temperature dropped from 71F down to 60F at the top of the mountains under sunny blue skies with some clouds. Obviously a popular route especially on the weekends for cars, motorbikes and even cyclists - that would be a hard slog up! We saw "ICY" warning signs at the corners so it must get very cold and icy here at times.


At 10:20am we turned South onto Hwy 371 heading to San Diego 96 miles and noticeably ore trees and greener than on the dry Pal Springs desert side, and here we left the San Bernadino National Forest and into the huge flat ANZA valley altitude 4,000 feet. We passed lots of homes many on large 5 acre lots, and ranches with horses - real cowboy country. By 1145 am we turned right onto Hwy 79 heading towards Temecula where we would join Interstate 15. Last October we enjoyed great wine tasting in Temecula with Lynn and Lou. The temperature was back up to 69F as we descended through the Anza Valley.


We passed Vail Lake resort area and there were thousands of cars parked there and hundreds more down the highway and pouring into here -no idea what that event was buts it was biG!! At one of the entrances there was an amazing life size metal sculpture of a stage coach with a team of 4 horses and stage coach drivers and passengers - simply fabulous! Crossing the traffic to get the photo was quite a challenge! This turned out to be the old Butterfield Stagecoach route which we realised as we reached the Butterfield Stage Rd in Temecula shortly after taking photos of the metal sculpture - there were also metal horse and mountain goat sculptures on top of some of the hills - beautiful!
By 1145am we were through Temecula and on Interstate I15 heading South to Encinitas where Lynn and Lou were waiting for us. After dropping the suitcases we were soon off to Encinitas to eat a wonderful lunch at the Union including cobb salad, breakfast flat bread, egg in the hole brioche with pork, and pork sliders -- interesting menu and great food. Also a micro brewery so Pintail and Swamis beers, with William Hill chardonnay - noisy busy and really fun lunch at Union on Coast Highway Encinitas.


Afterwards we picked up groceries at Seaside Market, then a fun and interesting stop at Tiki Too - very Hawaiian and coastal. Back home we spent several hours chatting and having fun while Lynn made stuffed sweet peppers (with breadcrumbs, ground beef, parmesan cheese, Italian sausage) with pasta and marinara sauce - mmm good! Afterwards we watched photos of Barbados until we fell asleep at 10:30 and fell into a very comfortable bed and crashed.


Sunday January 26, 2014 TERRY'S BIRTHDAY HQ AT SEAPORT DISTRICT, SAN DIEGO
Awake as the sunset came up and the sky was red over the hills in the East. Tomorrow I plan to go out on the kitchen deck and take photos! We had a superb coffee - from Highlander grog from La Costa roasting company (a suburb of Carlsbad). Sue and Audrey skyped at 8am to wish Terry Happy Birthday - 68 today! Terry also had a beautiful Birthday card from Norma and John in New Zealand.


By 10am (maybe the first time we have all headed out at the time we agreed to!) we were out and heading South on I5 to San Diego to the Headquarters at Seaport District - an old historic building which used to be the Police Headquarters but has been sitting empty for decades but just opened in December 2013 as stores and restaurants. temp 66F as we reached San Diego 20 miles South of Encinitas (took 21 minutes from home).
midway 5000 sailors unconditional surrender statue roses sailor navy and military every christmas overseas


The Headquarters at Seaport District was a nice shopping and restaurant centre, and we ate fabulous mahi mahi fish tacos at Seasons 52 - loved the wavy stainless steel serving platter as well! Another dish was lobster and fresh mozzarella flat bread. Then Kelly the waitress brought out a tray full of dessert appetizers - deadly! at $2.75 each we shared pecan pie, carrot cake, raspberry chocolate cannoli, tropical cheesecake, and mocchiata layered cake - all presented in 3 inch by 1 1/2 inch square glasses - mmm good! Lynn bought beautiful European inspired pieces at Lolo owned by a European couple who also own a store in Encinitas

Afterwards we wandered around Seaport Village and the sky clouded in and it was really cool by the time we returned to the car at 3pm before heading North on Interstate 8 to The Container Store in Mission Valley on Highway 163 at the Fashion Valley Mall. Lynn and Lou were looking for a big bin to fit all the new Christmas garlands, they bought this past Christmas for their outdoor railings, for storage. Christmas is a big event in the LIGHTFOOT household.

By 530pm we headed over to Carlsbad where we really enjoyed looking round Kate and Lex's new home where they are just in the process of finishing a reno of their fabulous kitchen from wooden to whit. We savoured DAOU Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 touring their home before heading to the Norte Mexican restaurant in Carlsbad. This is 1/2 block from the beach on the Coast Highway where we enjoyed chili rellano, carne asada taco, vegettarian pinto beans, (frijoles de olla), chicken burrito,crab enchiladas, ultimate margaritas, then we stopped back at Kate & Lex's home and shared chocolate cookies and PATRON coffee tequila - awesome! Lou stayed sobre and had us safely home by 10pm where we soon crashed!



MONDAY JANUARY 27, 2014 - OCEANSIDE & CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA
The day started with some work on the computer and a tour of Lynn and Lou's beautiful home before heading out at 11 for some fun shopping and lunch date at The Harbor Cafe in Carlsbad (The original and still functioning Harbor Cafe is in the Oceanside Harbour). It was a glorious sunny day and a wonderful time to be in Southern California. We walked down the long pier in ? and managed to find the wooden blocks engraved with the names of Jenna and Adrienne - you could buy a plank and get your names engraved - a fund raiser to rebuild the pier. This was followed by the best fish and chips sitting in the fresh air at The Harbour Cafe with the best chips and the lightest batter on the cod - two huge pieces!


Tuesday January 28, 2014 TO LAKE HAVASU
A work morning and we left Encinitas at 11am - it took us a little while to find our way through the highway system but eventually reached Highway 78 heading East through Escondido where we filled up with gas, ($3.47USD per US gallon), so that we could take the scenic route through the hills to Lake Havasu which is in Arizona. We passed the San Diego Wild Animal Park around 12:20pm - we went back in 1985 with Mom and Dad - amazing, that was 19 years ago! So many changes for us in that time.

Hwy78 wound through orange groves loaded with fruit along the sides. Passing\ through Ramona there was a huge metal art sculpture of an elephant but unfortunately too big my carry on suitcase on the plane! Next was Julian - an older Western town. We wound along the dry creek bed pretty but oh so dry! California is desperate for water and are already experiencing wild fires this year and it's only January!! There are huge boulders everywhere - very pretty and barren. The temperature was 73F as we gained altitude climbing up to Julian.t 4,000 feet arriving this historic district at 12 noon.he store frontages the old Western style and now selling to the many tourists with pie shops and coffee shops.


We continued on 78 East heading the 49 miles towards the Salton Sea and crossing the Anza- Borrego Desert and Santa Rosa Mountains. Out of Julian we continued following the dry creek bed through the canyon along a well paved two lane road with all the bends marked with 20 or 25MPH signs! From Julian the altitude went from 4,000 ft to ultimately 1,000 feet in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park.


In the valley there were thousands of cactus everywhere and the backdrop of the Santa Rosa Mountains with the temperature up to 80F. There were ATV rental businesses, Ocotillo Wells airport, and several RV parks (very dry and barren but sunny and warm) advertising at $275 month. Here the roads were two lane well paved and undulating up and down with the occasional FLAsh FLOOD signs. As we reached HWY 86 heading South the USA Mexico border (El Centro and Calexico) there was a huge Palm Tree plantation with thousands of beautiful very tall palm trees, then there were massive fields, thousands of acres, of vegetables with Mexicans working them in them, and obviously all very well irrigated!

Continuing East on 78 we joined with old State Highway 111 for a few miles - the same 111 that we were on last week in Indio Wells, La Quinta and Palm Desert - again acres and acres of agriculture both sides of the Highway. We also passed a massive solar energy field doing dual purpose - using the sun's energy to produce energy and the fields were also full of cattle all sheltering underneath in the shade of these huge solar panels! On the Northern horizon the Chocolate Mountains tracked our drive East - the Chocolate mountains are closed to the Public and are used by the USA Marine Corps as an aerial gunnery range.


As we moved away from the Salton Sea the irrigation stopped and there was no more agriculture. We entered the Imperial Sand Dunes park and the Nort Algodones Dunes Wilderness.- a popular area for ATV's and off road vehicles through these beautiful sand dunes! With 49 miles to go to Blythe, we stopped at the Hugh T Osborne Lookout Point in the middle of the dunes - the views were spectacular - sand dunes for as far as you could see! We even climbed a huge sand dune - not quite as difficult as when we were in Dubai - we think because the dune we climbed there was steeper. The sand here was sooo soft!

As we drove on we started heading North East around the bottom of the Chocolate Mountains and the road was full of "DIPS" as the sign said - the cars coming toward us and in front of us disappeared and then suddenly appeared on top of the bump! Lots of transport trucks as well. Around 330pm we came to an Inspection Station with lots of Border Control vehicles there obviously looking for illegal immigrants coming North across the Mexico USA border from Mexico.

We left the dunes behind vey quickly and were back passing huge agricultural land, sheep farms and tons of hay stacked in the fields. There were a few stary cotton bushes by the road next to empty fields, so I'm not sure if they used to grow cotton here or if they still are fields waiting to be planted with cotton. The Palo Verde Mountains were on the East of us and the Colorado to the West defining the border of California and Arizona.


We reached the town of Ripley (Believe It Or Not!) at 4pm and the sun was starting to sink down towards the horizon. For the next 1 1/2 hours we watched this amazing sunset behind the Turtle mountains - there were lots of strata clouds in the sky and everything ultimately was brilliant red - simply spectacular - as we turned West and crossed the Colorado River into Arizona then turned North on I95 parallel with the Colorado River - 39 miles to Lake Havasu.


Over the last 3 hours there have been non stop resorts and RV Parks along the Colorado River - this is obviously a popular recreation area. As we crossed the California Arizona border the clocks went forward 1 hour so ultimately taking the back roads from Encinitas to Lake Havasu was a very interesting and enjoyable ride, not too much traffic at all, and took us about 6 1/2 hours.


Wednesday January 29, 2014
It had been 30 years since we last visited Lake Havasu City and the city has sprawled North quite a bit since then with lots of very large homes and huge garages for lal the desert and water toys that everyone who lives here seems to own.


Barb and Ivan took us down to the warfront parking right next to LONDON BRIDGE. We then really enjoyed a long walk along the well developed waterfront pathways - there is a huge Rotary park here with lots of beaches, grass, trees, bocce ball courts, an amazing skate boarding park for young and older kids right next to it - a truly wonderful area for everyone to enjoy. It was a perfect morning for walking and driving round the area to see how it has developed and what it has to offer today.


During the March Spring Break the weather has really warmed up here and it is a hugely popular area for everyone to congregate in their boats on the lake - you should see the photos - thousands of boats loaded with everyone wearing swim suits and having a grand time.


The week before we arrived was the annual hot air balloon festival - lots of balloons, some even dipping into the water after they had taken off! Intentionally that is as a stunt! It appears that there are lots of events in lake Havasu to keep everyone interested and enjoying their time there.



Thursday January 30, 2014
What a great day and completely different than what we planned! We were out by 945 set to go on a jet boat ride from Lake Havasu City to Topock Gorge Canyon - from 1030 through 330pm including 1 1/2 hour for lunch (on your own bill) - but when we arrived at the departure dock we were told that the motor on the boat had developed a problem the day before so our boat trip was cancelled.

No problem - we headed off to Oatman in the car, about 54 miles away heading North. Oatman is a gold mine town - and the mine has been open and closed depending on Wars and the price of gold - most recently opened in 2010. The scenery was fascinating - huge rocky mountain ranges, dry desert and lots of dune buggies and ATV's enjoying the various trails and tracks as we drove along - the closer we got to Oatman the closer we got to the Mountains.


We were hoping to make the 12 noon shot out by "The Outlaws" but apparently that doesn't happen at the moment which is the slow season. By the way The Outlaws have raised substantial funds which they have donated to the Shriners' Childrens' hospital. There were lots of tourists roaming around - many of them paying the 41 per bag of food to feed the burros who wander freely through the town.


Oatman is an old town with funky tourist stores, lots of old antiques and stuff for sale, Indian jewellry, a zillion teeshirts, buckles and caps since Oatman is well and truly on Route 66 which goes from Chicago to? a distance of? We spent two hours there wandering along the wooden sidewalks and in and out of every store. Then we headed back to Lake Havasu City with one stop at the memorial on top of a cliff for all the USA


Friday January 31, 2014


Saturday February 1, 2014
Where did the day go to? We headed out to the local Arts & Crafts fair at the Lake Havasu Library, then off to the Classic Car show (charity event) close to the Cha Bones Restaurant. Some pretty cars but my favourite was the 2006 corvette converted into a super charged 1963 corvette - beautiful and I can't even imagine the cost to do the conversion but well over $100,000!

It was a lazy afternoon and then we headed out for a super dinner at Cha Bones to celebrate both Barb and Terry's Birthday. A super nice waitress, very pregnant, and an excellent dinner. The ambience is lovely here and there is also a long bar with lots of TV screens so very popular for sports events.



Sunday February 2, 2014
Another cool day but lots of fun starting with coffee and breakfast before heading over to the Swap Meet by the Cha Bones restaurant where we went last night. You can tell how much we enjoyed it when we arrived around 930am and didn't leave until 12 noon! Lots and lots of stuff to see - everyone's idea of something to sell from old books, signs, metal sculptures, jewellry, hot dogs, old clothes - you name it! We came away with two new khaki canvas shoulder bags for traveling with on safari and elsewhere!


It was cold but we wore heavy coats and were comfortable but the same could not be said for most folks we saw who looked like they were freezing in their light sweatshirts and pants, but at least there was no wind today.

We stopped for a few groceries at SMITH's grocery store - what a beautiful store and selection - amazing number of products and all top quality - you should see the wonderful deli section! We came away with wine (20% off the already reduced prices if you buy 6 bottles) and a tub of excellent freshly made guacamole to take to Las Vegas with us tomorrow.


Back home it was a little work and then off for a walk around the neighbourhood for some exercise before we sat down at 430pm to watch the Superbowl between Denver Bronco and Seattle SeaHawks. During the game I downloaded the free version of INVISIBLE (RED) by U2 - awesome song! This was one of the ads during the game. By early in the second quarter the Seattle Seahawks were 15 to 0 against the Broncos and suffice it to say the SeaHawks trounced the Broncos - it was quite an exciting game and we consumed some excellent fresh guacamole that we bought from SMITH's with taco chips, followed after the game by a lovely grilled chicken salad that Barb made.


Monday February 3, 2014
We packed our bags, said Thank You to Barb and Ivan for a wonderful week in Lake Havasu City made all the more enjoyable by Barb and Ivan's gracious hospitality and all the laughs and jokes we had shared while visiting their Winter home. Today was a travel day - we weren't sure where we would actually end up but wanted to see more of this area that we have not driven before. We started by heading South to Parker - since when we came through on Tuesday night the sun had already set so it was quite dark. Since this 30 miles is all along the Colorado River, actually Lake Havasu since this upstream of the ParkerDam on the Colorado River, we felt we had probably missed a pretty drive. This indeed turned out to be the case and we really enjoyed the drive down on the East side of Lake Havasu. On the West side across the lake there were many resort areas and Rv parks all along the lake with lots of folks enjoying their spot. Obviously many of them appeared to be here for the Winter or several months and had their boats along with them and other bikes and dune buggies for enjoying the acres of land here.

Just after 10am we were back on 95 heading south under somewhat cloudy skies which cleared into sunny blue skies as the morning headed towards noon. Around Havasu Springs it was really pretty and quite warm - felt warmer than the 62F forecast for Lake Havasu City today.


We drove across the Parker dam (which creates Lake Havasu backed up behind the dam) and had a few photo stops before crossing back over the dam to the Eastern shore again and continuing heading South on the 95 to the town of Parker. We could have continued down to Parker on the West side of the Colorado River but then we would have missed all the picturesque spot that we could see looking over the river from the East in Arizona. In Parker we bought a few supplies at Walmart and then headed West on 62 for 18 miles before turning right and heading North on 95 in California towards Needles (on Route 66) and Las Vegas - 156 miles. Yes, there is an Interstate Hwy 95 in Arizona on the East side of the Colorado River and an Interstate 95 in California on the West side of the Colorado River - how confusing is that?!! We had a road runner (bird) race across the highway in front of us - feathers flying back and his little lithe body stretched out across the highway as he ran across - first time I have ever seen a road runner - so cute!!


The I95 north was pretty straight and flat at first with the Turtle Mountains and Stepladder mountains to the East and Chemehuevi Mountains to the North East between I95 and the Colorado river. The highway rolls at times like a roller coaster up and down (maybe 6 to 20 feet dips) the small hills and valleys. At one point we could see way into the distance to our East across the desert and Lake Havasu to the sprawl of Lake Havasu City climbing up the slopes of Crossman Peak in the Plomosa Mountain range.


Shortly after there was a road heading East to Lake Havasu to the Chemehuevi Indian Reserve and the casino - this is the same casino that you go to when you take the $2 round trip boat ride from Lake Havasu City through the T? gorge. There is a sign here that states that you are in the heart of the Mojave Desert which of course has unbearable temperatures during every summer.


We continued North criss crossing the original ROUTE 66 and eventually came up to the city of Laughlin, another city with several casinos sitting on the Colorado River. We first visited Laughlin several years ago when we took our old motorhome down to Lake Chapala in Mexico. But that's another story - just imagine our air conditioning breaking down as we are in the middle of a Mexican summer! We debated spending the night here but decided that we were really enjoying the day's driving and the desert scenery - so we continued on to Vegas about another hour or so further North. We did first check on the web for room rates and it's a good job that we did!


Apparently this week there are 2 large conventions happening in Vegas - the IBIS and HBIS I think, so there were a huge number of rooms taken and at many of the casinos the room rates were high for Monday night. SUCCESS! The Hard Rock Hotel (or HRH) where we had never stayed before was offering a rate of $18 plus $22 resort fee for the night plus taxes - deal! We booked and continued our way North arriving into Vegas from the South through Henderson before the sun set but in the middle of a very busy rush hour!


The HRH is OFF the Strip - and when you go to Vegas, it's always better to be on The Strip so that you ca wander from hotel to hotel. casino to casino, shop to shop, bar to be - people watching at its' best! Most folks probably walk more each day in Vegas than they do each week at home! We were soon checked into a very nice hotel room with luxury linens and a fabulous view of the HRH pool and garden area. We settled in and were soon working before we relaxed for the night.


HRH is an interesting hotel with a real hip and rock feel to it. On the way from the parking lot into the hotel there is a large tattoo shop, clothing stores with very rock
oriented clothing, posters from 50 years ago (The WHO, YARDBIRDS, Beatles, ROLLING STONES- you name it) and display cases with clothing from various performers over the years, James Brown, Madonna etc - interesting to see all this stuff - talk about bringing back memories from many years ago.



Tuesday February 4, 2014
Well today was a change day for us and as we always tell everyone, change days a lot of time! By the time you are packed and checked out, then checked in to the next hotel - half or more of the day has gone! We completed our mandatory work tasks first, and the WIFI at HRH was good (included in the daily $22 resort fee) and then we made two trips to the car to take down our cases and were eventually checked out before 11am.


Many months ago we had pre booked 4 nights at The Flamingo on The Strip - however checkin time is 4pm. Fortunately we had our ALAMO rental car so our bags were stored in the trunk and we headed out to cruise around Las Vegas. We love to hunt for bargains at ROSS - there are 15 ROSS discount stores in Las Vegas including 2 on The Strip but we managed to resist and visited only two. Today being Tuesday is Senior's Day at ross and everyone 50 and over gets a 10% discount. So why is it that when whenever we shop in Ross on a Tuesday we never find anything we can't do without!!



Wednesday February 5, 2014



Thursday February 6, 2014
After finishing the work that we had to for the day, we headed out and walked up the Strip to stretch our legs and see what was going on. Next to the Flamingo there is major construction continuing where Buffalo Bills ? Casino used to be - somehow this is all tied in with the Flamingo so it will be interesting to see how it all ends up. On the corner at Bally's all the massive front area has been demolished! We have always felt was a waste of space and deterred folks from going into the Bally's Casino because it was set so far back from The Strip - wonder what they are going to put there next?


We spent just a few minutes in Paris at the One and a Half Mile circle of shops around the casino but decided we weren't up for that today so headed back across the road to the Bellagio to check out AVATOR - if it was available (there are only two chairs with AVATAR) then we planned to stay. It was available! So we sat and enjoyed a couple of hours in the stereo assisted seats (speakers by your ears and vibrating at the appropriate times) and playing AVATAR with its' fantastic graphics - and the good news? We came away losing very few dollars but we bet very few either!


We then wandered back across The Strip to the Flamingo and decided that we would have lunch at Carlos 'n Charlies - the Mexican Restaurant chain that set up in the Flamingo in 2013. Happy Hour runs from 2-5pm each day but we were there before 2pm so were more than happy with our glass of water versus a $5 margarita! Instead we enjoyed that daily special which was a $9 burger and fries. We were even given complimentary chips and salsa - wow that salsa was good! - because our waitress thought the kitchen were taking too long to bring out our burgers!


Then we went back up to the room, a few works tasks to complete ad tickets to issue - and we turned the TV on while doing this. Lo and behold it was the SOCHI Olympics on CNN! The official opening was scheduled for Friday Feb 7 but apparently there were already skiing and skating events today. The footage was excellent and we settled in to watch the free style snow boarding and the Team Figure Skating - we were enthralled and didn't move for hours! Then decided that we wouldn't head out to The Strip we would just enjoy an Olympic night in our room, and we did just that!


Friday February 7, 2014 Las Vegas AT ITS' BEST
This was a perfect day in Las Vegas although it didn't really start that way. We spent several hours on the computer handling work then headed down to Carlos and Charlie's for breakfast. Well, C and C were not open for breakfast, so we headed over to Margaritaville for breakfast - guess what? YUP! Margaritaville was not open for breakfast! So then it was over to the Quad to the HASH place for breakfast - a lady passing by yesterday and told me how good this was for breakfast. Guess what? Wrong! It was OPEN for breakfast but there were about 50 people in line so we weren't waiting for that line to clear! Back to the Flamingo and picked up the car and headed out.


First stop was Costco looking for the HUGE bottle of PATRON Coffee Tequila that Lex and Katie had when we visited them in Encinitas 12 days ago but with no success! They had bought it at Costco but apparently not available here. In the USA all Costco liquors and wines are such a great price - here in Vegas they had all the PATRON tequilas with the exception of the PATRON coffee tequila! We also noted that the LUMIX camera on sale in California for $299 ($80 off) was $329 here in Nevada ($50 off) exactly the same model! So Terry bought pastries for his breakfast instead! Then it was off to Town Square (South of The Strip) which is a beautiful shopping area - all outdoors with grassy areas, palm trees, water features and pleasant walkways between all the stores.


At Town Square at the South end of The Strip there are a large number of restaurants and bars including the BLUE MARTINI which is supposed to have wonderful $5 martinis at Happy Hour each day, and a lovely outdoor deck - but it was only 2pm so not even open yet! There are a wide variety of stores but one that we really enjoyed was called charming CHARLIE which we had never seen before. OMG the inventory! If you like glitz and sparkle this store is for you - from sandals to purses to scarves to rings earrings bracelets necklaces - overwhelming - and everything colour coordinated! One hour flew by for us there - we loved it!

In the centre of TOWN SQUARE there was an event for children and there were balloons by the thousands blow up in every shape you could imagine including several hearts (for Valentine's Day) larger than us and made up of hundreds of balloons. There
is also a Tommy Bahamas store and restaurant in the middle - inside there was a beautiful ceramic punch bowl with palm tree decorations on it. The store clerk was explaining to me how everything came in sets of 4 - the coasters, plates, glasses etc but the punchbowl came single. I mentioned this to Terry who said "Oh I thoughtthis was a large margarita glass that came in a set of 4!!"'


We drove back down Las Vegas Boulevard to THE STRIP heading for ROSS where there was a specific item I was looking for so we needed just a brief stop - imagine our surprise when we ran into Jackie and Neil! So at 330pm we all 4 headed back to the Flamingo in the car with barely enough time to get showered and dressed for our scheduled appointment at The Oyster Bar in Harrah's for drinks and dinner before the MILLIONAIRE QUARTET show.


Dinner was excellent at The Oyster Bar - Neil and Jackie persuaded me to eat some ? raw and grilled oysters which I quite enjoyed and washed down with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. We then shared clam chowder, caesar salad and creole scallops, while Neil told us some of his interesting, sometimes amazing, stories from when he was a pilot with Canadian Pacific and Air Canada.

The show was about the one day in 1956 that Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis came together at SUN RECORDS. Elvis, Johnny and Carl were all moving on to RCA or COLUMBIA recording studio and Jerry Lee was starting with Sun records. The story was interesting and the music was simply superb - the voices of these men were exceptional and the energy and piano playing of Jerry Lee Lewis was fantastic - GO AND SEE THIS SHOW!!! It lasted a powerful music packed vibrant 90 minutes from 7 through 830pm.


With our feet still tapping, our hands sore from clapping, we headed downstairs to the Piano Bar to enjoy the duelling pianos of the twins - two attractive smiling long blobde haired ladies probably in their late 30's. Their piano playing is amazing but they get the bar supporting them - one side against the other and it's a lot of fun! They take requests as well. We managed to score a table for 4 by the window on to the strip - which enabled people watching all night while in the bar enjoying the music, and what sights we saw! Before the duelling pianos started, we also caught the end of the karaoke - again, there were some very good vices amongst the clients in the pub and it was really enjoyable to listen to. Terry was a good sport and hung in there until after 11pm with us but the noise was so loud that he felt like he was in a tin can full of marbles for most of the night!


It was a short walk to the Flamingo and O'REILLY's bar on the pedestrian LINK street between the Flamingo and Quad was hopping - packed with people! It has been so quiet here in Vegas all week and today, especially tonight, you could feel the energy level rising as the thousands of folks rolled into Vegas to enjoy the weekend. We fell into bed after a fun packed day in Vegas - our last day until our next trip! Let's not leave it too long!


Saturday February 8, 2014 LAS VEGAS TO VANCOUVER WESTJET 17776
Well time to go home! Fortunately our flight from Las Vegas to Vancouver is at the civilised time of 1pm so we didn't have to get up at a ridiculous hour in the middle of the night! Which is a god job since the incredibly loud music on the new street walk below our window (The Link) was deafening all night long!!!


We were packed and checked out by 930am, suitcases in the car and so we headed over to Bellagio and enjoyed our last hour on the AVATAR slot machine - we love that game! And at that time of the morning it's quiet and not smoky! We didn't even lose oney so it doesn't get better than that.


We drove out to McCarran airport, returned the car to Alamo, checked in to Westjet to print boarding passes and baggage tags ( do you ever wonder why the passengers have to do so much them selves these days?) and made it through Security without SSSS (requires special security screening) on my boarding pass this time!


In the International Airport Terminal we signed on to the free WIFI access provided by McCarran Airport and then enjoyed lunch at the Chophouse & Brewery. The airlines no longer provide a meal (you can purchase sandwiches and snacks onboard by credit card only - No Cash allowed!) so it was a better idea to eat lunch before we boarded.


When we took off the sun was shining brightly and the temperatures starting to rise - should make it to 70F by next Friday, maybe we shouldn't g home after all? Sue (in Nanaimo) emailed me this morning and said it was -9C by 6pm last night and it was still -( this morning at 9am! She did say they are forecasting that tonight should be the last night of sub zero temperatures but that it could snow tomorrow - Oh Dear!!!! What are we going home to?


The flight took off on time, it was a little bumpy at times with lots of cloud underneath us as we flew through the sunshine above! Terry soon had his eyes closed and catching a few extra winks of sleep - he is the only person I know who can sleep on any plane for as long as that flight lasts!


We were soon back in Vancouver - and after a rather long wait for our bags (baggage carousel was jammed) we caught the 725pm ferry from Horseshoe Bay back to the Sunshine Coast and we were unpacked and with the laundry going by10am when we gratefully crashed in our own bed for a good night's sleep after a wonderful road trip catching up with our friends in California, Nevada and Arizona.