Happy New Year 2013

It has been a busy couple of weeks with of course, Christmas, but Johnny Helm, a friend from California came to Vegas for a few days & we were just the social butterflies flitting around town.

One of the things we Walked through Bally's, the Paris, Bellaggio, & Caesors.  Besides Bellaggio & Sam's Town near where we are staying, there are not a lot of Christmas decorations.  They go more all out for New Year's Eve.

Christmas was very low-key.  We went to Sunset Station for Christmas Eve  & Christmas dinners.  So much easier & cheaper than trying to cook in the trailer.  I did try to make cookies & I burnt a lot before I figured out where to place the cookies on the sheet so they wouldn't burn.  The heat source is in the middle of the oven so anything in the middle of a pan will cook & burn faster.  Live & learn.

We have a leak in some pipe joint so we have to bring the trailer in to a dealer because it is under warranty.  We will have them fix a light toggle switch too.  Luckily we can dry camp on their grounds the night before because we have to be there at 7:30am.  Yep, I said AM.

We got new phones in October & my Droid is so much fun.  I take photos with it all the time & I am uploading more & more to Rod's Facebook page.  Please follow us on Facebook too so you can see our fun photos.

We went to see an 80's band called the Spazmatics at Sunset Station Casino Friday night.  They were amazing.  We first saw them at the Fremont Street Experiance before Halloween.  They are at the Station Casino every Friday night.  I even got Rod up to dance a few minutes.  So fun.

New Year's Eve is huge in Vegas & at first we were talking about going to the Strip with everyone else to watch fireworks at midnight that are shot off the roofs of 4 casinos.  Between the closing of all the streets on the strip & parking blocks away & thousands of people packed in on the streets the decision was made to take a pass.  Actually I am not too keen on being in a huge crowd.  Who knows what could happen.  A bunch a drunk revelers...no way. 

We are going to take a couple of months to go back to Roseburg & try out some of the Thousand Trails in California.

Be safe & more of our travels next year!

Where in the world is Pahrump?

That's what I said.  We thought Pahrump was a small town like Hawthorne, but we decided to try it since there are 2 RPI RV parks we could stay at.

Well, I have to say that Pahrump is our 2nd favorite place.  It is 60 miles west of Las Vegas & it is area-wise the same size, it just has a lot less people.

It does have a Super Wal-Mart, Home Depot & even a Papa Murphy's Pizza.  Actually it has lower gas prices than Las Vegas.  How does $2.89 a gallon sound?  Yeah baby!

Both the RV parks are nice but we like the winery RV park better. Nicer people even though the Preferred RV Park has lots more activities.  Rod and I took 2 stained glass classes & made Christmas ornaments.  Rod made a star & I made a candy cane.  I will post photos of them on Rod's Facebook page.  They turned out really good!

We went to a couple of craft fairs which were disappointing.  I miss Roseburg's craft fairs.  Tomorrow we are going bowling at the casino next door.

Continuing in AZ...

After Ehrenberg we went to Lake Havasu City in time for Halloween.
They had lot of activities & we went to their Halloween party...costumes & all.

For people that didn't have a costume they had sheets with holes in them & a sign to hang around your neck:

• Big Sheet
• Little Sheet
• Dip Sheet
• What a Sheet

You get the idea.  It really was hysterical!  They had a BBQ dinner & games like throw darts at the witch & knock down the bottles which by the way I threw & did not hit 1 bottle.

They also had special dinners every night which were pretty good & we went to a Pancake breakfast on a Sat. at the local firehouse down the street from the RV park.

What is Lake Havasu without going across the London Bridge?  We walked across & back the London Bridge & took lots of photos.  We also checked out the local museum which was really interesting.

Finally we ended up in Laughlin for a week.  Went back to Oatman & walked around and fed the mules, had lunch, saw a lame gunfight show (LOL) & looked around the shops.

We gambled a bit, & over the Veteran's Day weekend there was a BBQ contest with entertainment & food & a Veteran's Fair.  There were so many vets & military guys & gals of all ages.  Young & old.  I wanted to hug them all but I only hugged one & thanked a whole bunch for their service.  I love doing that especially with Viet Nam Vets.

In all, Arizona was interesting, but I like Nevada better. (So does Rod)  We decided to stay in Nevada at least until the end of February going between Las Vegas, Lake Mead, Pahrump & whatever other fun RV parks we can find around the area.  There are more places for us to stay at free or cheap!

We spent my 60th birthday & Thanksgiving in Las Vegas.  Rod had won 2 FREE buffet dinners at Silverton Casino.  We did a little gambling before dinner & I saw that they gave 1000 points on your birthday,  I went to sign up & the gal said to play for one more point & the 1000 points would kick in.

Well, they didn't.  I went back & they discovered when they signed us up they had put my birthday month in wrong (October).  To make it up to me they gave me $40 in Diner Credit (YUM more buffet), a bottle of wine & a Free Slot Play Card.  SCORE!

The next day we decided it would be cheaper to go to a buffet for Thanksgiving since all I could cook in my little oven was a turkey breast.  Have you priced turkey breasts?  Anyway we got to Sunrise Station, one of our favorite casinos, & the wait for the buffet was 1 - 2 hours.  We decided to go to the restaurant & had a fabulous turkey dinner with the works.  They gave us so much I brought home turkey & Rod had a turkey sandwich the next day.

We are on our out week & will be back in Vegas to see the Christmas decorations. Whoo Hoo!

At Last...

We have been unable to get good Internet for a couple of weeks.  Finally...Internet!

•   Bullhead City - RV Park was really nice.  Had a great pool & since it was so hot we went swimming a couple of days.


• Next - on to Ehrenberg, AZ just this side of the CA border.  Blythe, CA was just across the border with a difference of 60 cents more for gas.  Not a lot to do, but Quartzsite was close by & we went to see what that city was all about.

Evidently, in January the town turns into a huge Flea Market for a couple of months.  Some people were there already & there were a number of Flea Market type stores we explored.

There was a really nice crafts store and an amazing bead place.  It was a HUGE warehouse with every kind of bead for jewelry, minerals & rocks & jewelry findings you can imagine and more.

We stopped in the Visitors Center & met some nice women who told us about the Spirit Walk at the cememtary that Sat.  They were both going to participate by dressing up similiar to a person in the cemetary & tell everyone the story behind that person.  One of the ladies said she had to make a gingham skirt for her husband to participate.  Wait... I'm not finished...yes, a skirt.  I thought it was because there was a man from the past wore a ladies skirt.  She had mentioned her husband was a character everyday & wore little clothes. OK, little did we realize she was so not kidding.

We went to the Spirit Walk, & he was there in a short skirt, but here is the kicker...as we were leaving town we saw the same man riding his bike in town wearing...wait for it...a g-string & nothing else.  I mean nothing else & he runs the local bookstore.  I guess this is his attire 365 days & is known by all. 

I LOVE this travelling thing!

More later...
 

October...Around Here...

Still going strong & having fun with our NEW NORMAL!

Sept. 29 - Oct. 2, we stopped in Hawthorne, NV.  Not much there but an Army Ammunition's Depot.  The RV park was really nice, but very little to do.

We explored a little, gambled & won $40.  The laundry was the nicest yet.

On to Tonapah Oct. 3 - 4  The RV park was behind a hotel.  There was a lot to do and I really liked this little town.  We went to the Mining Museum, & the Nevada Museum in one day.

Got to see the Mitzpah Hotel that was featured on Ghost Adventures.  It was bought & refurbished it.   Saw no ghosts.  Poo!

Next...Las Vegas BABY!  Even though what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, not in our case.  We will share.

• Clark County Museum - $2 and it should be more,  It was fabulous!  The curator is often featured on the show "Pawn Stars".  He wears the sort of Amish style hat.
• Went to eat at one of the Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives featured restaurants - Johnny Mull's Roadkill Cafe & BBQ.  It was too die for & with the two dinners we had we enjoyed dinner the next night with my leftovers.  Tons of food for the price!
• Tried to go to the "Pawn Stars" store featured on TV, but there was an hour & a half wait.
• Went to Rick's Restoration which is also on TV & took a FREE tour. Saw Tyler, Cowboy & Kelly.  Too cool!
• Bass Pro Shop is connected to a hotel & Casino & Rod won us two FREE buffet dinners.  Love FREE!
• Walked around Bally's & Paris on the strip.  Can't wait to walk through the other Casinos.
• We had dinner one night with a guy Rod used to work with in San Jose & they haven't seen each other for 28 years.  Ellis Island Restaurant...very good!
• One of my choices to see was the Atomic Testing Museum with a special exhibit - Area 51: Fact or Fiction.  Very fun!
• We met a couple from Alaska that gave us Moose meat & Moose breakfast sausage & a coupon to try an RV Park in Laughlin which includes 2 FREE breakfast buffets.  Love Free!  Just met them doing laundry & they were so nice. 

Next Bullhead City, AZ.  Really nice RV Park.  Met friends at the Avi Casino for Seafood Buffet (& gambling, duh!).  We were there for 4 days & did a lot of exploring.  Went to Oatman for the day that is similar to Virginia City.  It has mules roaming the streets & people feed them carrots.  We didn't get out of the car & walk around because we brought Kilo with us so we will definitely go back.  I did feed a mule a carrot from the window of the truck.

More later & I am setting up photos online so we can share everything we are experiencing.

Reviewing September

Where We’ve Been… This is another long one so get a cup of coffee & a donut.

September into October:

• Our friends, the Chalks in Kelseyville, CA - so much fun seeing old friends, eating, drinking (haven’t had any wine since. Found out wine has become much more expensive than it was 20 years ago.), visiting, & chilling out.
• Lake Minden, CA - though it was out in the boonies with no WiFi (except in the lodge), it was beautiful & lots of fun stuff to do.
• Terrible’s Gold Ranch Casino & RV Resort in Verdi, NV - Great space, daily dinner specials that were to die for, won enough money to eat out every night & gamble a little. Definitely will go back!
• Comstock RV Resort in Carson City, NV - Probably our favorite RV park to date. So much to do in the area, & Virginia City is close by. So much history here.
• Whiskey Flats RV, Hawthorne, NV - Not much to do around here but Rod did win $42 in their small casino. The RV park is really nice & has the best laundry to date. Yes, I am getting used to laundry mats in RV parks.

What We Saw:

• Lots of friends we haven’t seen for 12 years
• Thunder Valley Casino Lincoln, CA (near Lake Minden) - Great buffets

• Thousand Trails at Lake Minden had a lot of activities. I took bead classes & made 3 bracelets, 6 charms for an exchange, & a pair of earrings. We also went to Candy Bingo & won 4 candy bars & then attended an ice cream social.

• Cabela’s & Boomtown (Rod won $80 playing the penny slots)- Verdi, NV
• Streets of Thunder - in Reno & Sparks Lots of motorcycles. The GoGo Bar was particularly interesting.
• Legends Outlet Shopping in Sparks, NV Lots of stores but the coolest was Scheels. It’s like a Cabela’s with a huge Ferris Wheel in the middle of the store along with a huge Aquarium.
• Mark Twain Museum, the Firefighter’s Museum, the Peace Officer’s Museum, & Chollar Mine in Virginia City, NV. We went to Virginia City two days & there is still so much more to see. It is 16 miles from Carson City where we were staying. Chollar mine was on Ghost Adventures where the guys were locked in overnight. Supposedly it is haunted.
• The Nevada State Museum & the Nevada Railroad Museum in Carson City. Again so much more to see so we know we will be back.

October is packed full of discoverng & trying out some more Thousand Trails & RPI RV sites & again meeting up with friends. 

We have booked our spaces for Thanksgiving & Christmas, New Years. I had heard that it would be hard to book for the holidays, but there was no problem & lots of spaces left.

 

We already having some fun in October, but I will share AFTER we have been there & done that!  LOL

 

New Observations:

• Oregon NEVER take for granted the most wonderful thing the legislators ever gave us...Assisted Gas Pumping. OMG do we miss having someone pump your gas? OH Yes! In fact, HELL YES!
• Oregon must be alien to gas pumps. Why? Because every time you want to pump gas, you insert your card & it asks for your zip code and every time we have to go “See Attendant.”
• CA has the most cock-eyed gas nozzles we have ever seen. It keeps popping out every few seconds making it an eternity to actually get the gas in to the tank.
• Oh, and have I mentioned that you can not ask for a fill up?! There is no such thing I guess. You have to give them a dollar amount. So what you have to do is guess, predict, see in to the future, have an out of body experience or whatever to get a full tank of gas.

Actually, I have not had the pleasure to experience all this...YET. Rod, ever even-tempered, low-key, Rod has had to contend with this new found phenomenon.

The last time we filled in Roseville, CA he was heard mumbling, “Let’s see if I have to stand on one foot to get the gas.”

• I will make sure there is WiFi before we make reservations to stay anywhere...and TV
• I miss our DVR.  Choosing to watch one show over another is a           B - itch
• Walk away from the slot machines when you make a big hit.  Tonight I made money for us to gamble, dinner tonight & dinner tomorrow!

 

Catching up...

Our Labor Day weekends host's house

 Marsha & Bob Chalk waving goodbye in front of their "Rock Star" motorhome.

 I took this for Debbie Hamm.  She said she has never seen me drink, but we did drink a lot of wine over the Labor Day weekend!

Rod talking to some of his old buds. 






Finally we have great WiFi so I am a little behind in my posts.  Labor Day weekend was a lot of fun. We both got to see friends we haven't seen for over 12 years. 

After Lake County we were at Lake Minden for 2 weeks in Nicolaus, CA.  It is a small town with lots of walnut orchards.  I really liked this small town & if it wasn't in California could see us settling there. 

We are now in Nevada & will be for the next 6 weeks.  I will be taking more photos & there is so much more to do.  BTW...Yesterday we went to a couple of small casinos & between the two of us won $120. 

Continuing On…

This is a long post so you may want to go get a cup of coffee.

Thanks to all of you for the thoughts & prayers for Poodums. Still no word, but we keep hoping someone will find her or she will allow someone to find her.

We are just south of Marysville, CA now & will be for another week. Not much to see or do around this Thousand Trails, but we are getting our feet wet getting used to our new lifestyle.

We pull in to the Thousand Trails campground on the worst Tuesday of my life. Poods gone, we have been lost because the GPS is taking us the long back roads way, we have to wait a half hour for the Ranger to get back from dinner, no one at the campground has answered our calls for better directions, & we are told the campsites are self chosen. Did I mention NO CABLE or WIFI at each campsite?

OK, 8 pm at night the darkness is coming fast & we circle looking for the perfect spot. In section A the sites have the rigs practically sitting in each others laps & the sewer hook-ups are only allowed to be used certain days of the week depending on your campsite’s number.

B & C section is dry camp, D has electric & water but no sewer hook ups but bigger sites.

9 pm we have a site in the D section because we tried to squeeze in A section to no avail since it IS getting dark. We back in & go to make camp...BUT WAIT...if a day couldn’t get any worse we discover we can not electrically put out the tip out, which by the way is blocking the way to the bathroom & I have to pee!

Rod discovers we have blown the fuse and...wait for it...we are in the middle of no where and WE HAVE NO EXTRA FUSES. We unhitch the trailer & start back up to Marysville at 9:30 pm to find a place selling fuses. About 6 miles towards Marysville we do find a Chevron open that has fuses.

We finally get the tip out out, & get settled in about 10 pm. That was just the first day of our new life. Every day before was our “vacation” remember.

I really felt cursed that day or maybe I was being punished for always saying I was a recovering Cathoholic or saying how things were going so great & telling everyone about our new life we were venturing out & maybe being a bit too boastful? I don’t know, but Tuesday last I was ready to go home. Oh wait, we have no home to go back to.

I am a lot better now. We went to the Adult Lodge the next day while I did laundry & used their WiFi, even though it was very slow, watched some TV & I traded some books for new books.

I wanted to leave where we were before the week was up because to me roughing it is no TV or WiFi, but when you add in no sewer hookups then I say we are way, way roughing it.

When we finished laundry & went back to the trailer, Rod looked at the TV & saw we had an antennae boost & did a channel search & OMG we get TV. So I said let’s stay here another week since we have TV.

So here we are...I even took a bead class on Friday & made a bracelet. We went to dinner with some friends at the Indian Casino near Roseville & had a BBQ.

So as you can see, it will be OK. There will always be ups & downs, but please whoever is still listening to me, just not all in one day? 

Ups and Huge Downs

The weekend was amazing & when we left Lake County, CA something happened...

Poodums literally jumped ship.  Somewhere between Deiner Road & Lower Lake, CA she managed to pull the screen off a window and we had the window cracked & she jumped out of the trailer.  We would have never known, but a car stopped us at the stoplight in Lower Lake & told us the cat jumped out.

We didn't believe it, but when we stopped we found out it was true.  My heart is so broken now & the only hope we have is our friends are keeping tabs with Animal Control & SPCA in Lake County & we made sure she had a chip when we left.

I immediately called the shelter that chipped her & updated the info on her.  PLEASE pray that she is found & returned to us.

I promise to write more about our travels, but right now I am just trying to cope with losing my Poodie.

More Fun...

Did I mention Kilo is having the time of his life?  Rod & I went to Lakeport to pick up some groceries & since Kilo seemed to be a little pooped we left him in the trailer.  The screen door was closed so he or Poodums wouldn't get out.

As we pulled in from the grocery store, who comes to greet us with the rest of the dogs?  Kilo!  Are you seeing where this story is going?  I asked who let him out & someone said he has been here since I got here which was when we left.

I go over to the trailer & by golly...wait for it...Kilo had jumped through the screen door.  Luckily Bob & Rod started working on a project & Johnny (another police officer who worked with Rod) came over & fixed it.

I told you that dog was having way too much fun.  Pooped or not he wanted to be out with everyone!

Now, Poodums, she has found a nest in my clothes closet so she is happy as a clam.  Actually whenever we open a drawer or door she jumps right in.

Loving this life!

Lake County, CA

I am so glad we decided to go to Lake County, CA earlier than we planned.  We rolled in to Bob & Marsha Chalk's 14 acres Thursday & we were met with an absolutely gorgeous place.  I am taking pictures later at the BBQ tonight.

Kilo is in dog heaven.  He is playing ball non-stop with everyone who comes & sits & stays.

Sunday we are also meeting up with Bob & Laisne who I worked with at Clearlake High School & Terrace Middle School.  They retired last year.  The first day of school this year they took coffee & lawn chairs & sat at the entrance to the school parking lot & held up a sign that said "Have a Great School Year".  Is that priceless?!

We are off to the Farmer's Market.  More later.  TTFN

Photos

The Adventure Begins...

We are actually calling this first week our "Vacation". Don't we deserve it after all the packing, hauling, culling (like that big word?), sorting, letting go of a lot of stuff, etc., etc., etc.?!

Musings:

I can't let it bother me...

• when we pull in our spot & there are yapping tiny dogs next to us.
• when we pull in to a site & there is a yakking teenager on her phone talking on & on & on.
• to do laundry in the Laundromat at the RV park.  I do miss my washer & dryer.
• that I have to pay $10 every 2 weeks to do said laundry.
• when we don't have TV or Internet.  Missed some big doings on Big Brother, but we can watch programs when we do have the Internet.

I am so excited...

• that we are finally travelling together with Kilo & Poodums.
• Poodums is travelling well & we don't have to put her in the bathroom when we are on the road.  She probably has the best seat in the house...the entire RV!!!
• Kilo gets in the RV with no help & very little help in to the truck.
• we finally have the Internet & TV.

First 3 nights were at the Valley of the Rogue State Park & it is a wonderful park.  Lunch in Jacksonville at Bella Union & walking around town.  I was a bit disappointed that they still have the
same old same old things for sale so no new ideas.

Rod has a facebook page where he keeps up with San Jose Rangers, police officers from all over he has worked with & especially people he worked with in the 70's at Frontier Village.  One of the people he has been in touch with has a really cute store in Rogue River.  It is called "The Creators".  If you are in Rogue River stop by the address is 100 Depot Street. It is a huge store with vendors selling there amazing crafts from art pieces to jewelry and everything in between.

 We are now in Redding for 3 nights to do laundry, have some friends over we haven't seen for a long time for dinner at "our House".

I am working on a photo collage of week 1.

We miss everyone and please sign-up as a follower.

Later