Hilton Head 2008

Preparing for the kayak adventure...Dinner at Hudsons...Amazing Seafood!
The Older Crowd (Elaine in Back and Mom in Front) doing very Well...
Me killing time while others unloaded...

So, I just got back from Girls' Weekend 2008 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. We had a total of 9 women who braved the trip. Mom, Leslee, and I made the trip as usual with 6 others. Tiffany and Sarah (who have never missed a single weekend) came and brought friends with them (Katherine and Debbie). Dinah also came as well as Mom's friend Elaine. We had the best weekend ever from food to beach walks to kayaks to lots of laughs! Sarah maintained her perfect record of bad luck when a "helpful" local dumped her out of her kayak...her head bobbing along the pier...priceless! Other than returning with a horrible cold/sinus infection, the trip was practically perfect. (I got to see Trey, Joey, Job, and my grandparents on Thursday night which was also really nice.) Anyway, here are a few representative photos of our near-perfect escape!

Nana and G Come to Vegas

Red Rock Canyon Visitors Area Red Rock Canyon Scenic Overlook
Nana conquering her fear of escalators...
In the Bellagio Conservatory after Dinner

Well, first of all I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long. I am now working on the weekends at an urgent care place as well as my nursing home rounds and fellowship. Adam works late during the week as well, so we are a little busy these days!


Adam's parents came to Las Vegas to visit us last week, and we had a good time showing them our favorite "hang-outs." We taught them how to play Roulette (even won a few bucks) and toured the town. We also saw Mystere, which was fabulous!


Overall, we enjoyed their visit and sincerely hope they had a wonderful time!

Our Much Awaited Experience at Ka

Adam in the MGM lobby with the Golden Lion

surrounded by real tropical flowers

Me with the Ka Hosts

Adam at the Ka Sign

Me in the MGM Lobby
(These roses are all real!)

Our Tickets (Notice the Watermarks)

Since we moved to Las Vegas, Adam has really wanted to see Ka (a Cirque du Soleil show) at the MGM Grand resort. I just wanted to see any Cirque du Soleil show, so this was fine for me as well. So, we've waited 7 months for a "locals' special" to appear. As of last month, locals got a buy one get one free deal for a period of 6 weeks. Even calling early, we barely got tickets! So, we booked and last night finally arrived. Since the show was late and we didn't want to deal with Saturday night foot traffic on the Strip, we parked at the MGM. We ate at the buffet, which was rather good. (Adam likes the Rio better, but I thought this one was equally good.) After stuffing our faces, we had about 90 minutes to kill so we walked around the hotel, tried to see the lion habitat (the lions were hiding in their cave), and played penny slots. After over an hour of playing, Adam lost $1-2 and I lost $0.20 (including a free cocktail with $1 tip)! We then ambled to the theater and ordered drinks. One nice thing about Vegas is that you can eat and drink in the theater. We got our drinks and sat down. We were in row N, which was very close to the stage. Unfortunately, we were at the far end of the row on the side of the theater (this isn't what I was told when I booked them, but oh well). At first I was really upset, but soon realized that these seats were great! We were able to see the "sides" of the stage and the action in this area which is not seen by those sitting in the middle. The show was absolutely AMAZING! (I was pretty sure these shows were rip-offs, but now I wish I could afford to see all of them!) The money spent to produce these shows is unbelievable and thus the price... Overall, it was a highlight of living here in Vegas for sure! We left the theater, came home, and went to bed around midnight. Here are some pictures...

A Great Long Weekend...

Huntington Beach, California

(Pier in the Background)

Anaheim Palm Trees

On the Sunshine Ferris Wheel at
Disney's California Adventure Park

Adam at the Pacific Ocean for his First Time

Me and a Gigantic Coconut-Covered

Strawberry at Downtown Disney

Since Adam and I haven't been out of town for a weekend together since September, we decided to use our extra day pass at Disneyland. Friday morning, we left for Anaheim and had a very pleasant drive. We arrived at our hotel uneventfully and checked in. We used Hotwire for the hotel (which is always a gamble) and stayed at the Anaheim Maingate. The hotel needs (and is)being updated, but the bed was comfortable and the room was clean. We then walked to Downtown Disney and looked around for awhile before eating dinner at Captain Kidd's buffet. (Pitiful...but at least we left full.) We then walked around the "tourist" area and headed back to the hotel for bed. On Satuday, we got up and went to Disneyland Park. Since we'd been there in September, we went only for one ride that we couldn't do on the last trip (the Haunted Mansion...Adam's favorite ride in all of the Disney parks). After this ride, we headed over to Disney's California Adventure Park. We spent several hours here and rode all of the major rides. We also toured the Tortilla factory and the Sourdough factory. We had dinner at this park, which consisted of Clam Chowder in a fresh-baked sourdough bread bowl for me and a sourdough turkey sandwich with chips for Adam. We then went back to the other park to see Fantasmic and the fireworks. After everything was over, we went back to hotel and went to bed. Today, we slept in and checked out of the hotel. Since Adam had never been to the Pacific Ocean (and it was less than 10 miles away), I decided that we needed to go. On the way to the ocean, we saw at least 20 little doughnut shops and I just HAD to see why these things were everywhere! (I though CA was a healthy, organic type place and just don't see where tons of little private cash only doughnut shops fit into this image!!!) We both tried some and yes, they were wonderfully good! We then went to Huntington Beach to snap a few pics. The beach has brown dirt for sand with oil rigs out in the distance, so nothing like the beautiful east coast beaches. But, we've now been to a L.A. beach, seen skinny people running on the bike trail (just like the TV shows), and Adam has seen the Pacific Ocean! Here are some pics...

Our First Visit to the Doggie Park!

Fonzie's New BuddyFonzie mingling with other chihuahuas...
Abbey and the Nasty Bulldog

(This one was way more interested in me than her!)
Abbey checking out the place with her Daddy...

One thing that seems to be "cool" in large towns is the presence of Dog Parks, and Las Vegas is no exception. Yesterday was a beautiful day here, so we decided to take the dogs out for some sunshine and socialization. (Basically, I watched the Dog Whisperer and wanted to see how well our dogs would do in "social situations".) Both dogs behaved very well, though with some caveats. We kept Abbey on the leash because she startles when other dogs come up on her too fast (since she can't see them coming). And when she startles, she bites! Fonzie cowered around me for the first hour or so, then loosened up and seemed to enjoy himself. I also had the privilege of being molested by a big nasty bulldog who grabbed onto my right leg (claws and all) and proceeded to "hump" my leg. His owner was useless as was my husband who was laughing hysterically... I finally got him off and had a leg full or drool and dirt. Next time, I'll be neutering him on site should he pull that again! Here are some pics. None are particularly good as all the dogs want to do is sniff each other's butts then chase each other!

Our Visit to the Valley of Fire...

A Beehive Formation (There are tons of these....) Fonzie and I at the Petrified Log Area
Fonzie with the Orange Rocks...
Mini Cooper Convention (There were at least 20 of these parked in the lot!)
Fonzie and I

Since Adam is gone, I got a great deal on high end hiking boots yesterday (usually $175, bought for $70- Gortex and all), and Red Rock is too desolate to hike alone, I decided to venture out to the Valley of Fire State Park. So I packed up some snacks and water and headed out with Fonzie. We went by the nursing home, I did some wound care, and then we were off! This park is Nevada's first state park and abuts Lake Mead (though we didn't see it). We went to most of the major areas in the park and did some hiking on some short but georgeous trails. It's really a shame that millions of people come to Las Vegas every year (and live in the town for that matter), and yet fail to this this natural work of art. Here are a few representative pictures that don't even come close to demonstrating the beauty of this park!

Talk About Travel!!!

Snow-covered mountain peaks right outside of the office parking lot...Big Snow Drift at Edge of Lot...
More snow piled up!!!
Bare tree...
Snow up Close in Office "Flower Bed"

Well, talk about travelling! On Thursday night (Valentine's), Adam flew to Louisville, Kentucky and then drove to Ashland to surprise his parents with a 5 day visit! (And they WERE surprised when he pulled into he driveway and called them to open the door... at 4 am!) Today, I got up at 4:15 am and flew out to Salt Lake City to do a special operation and a second large operation with my boss today. I'm already back tonight and quite exhausted. (Got up at 4 am, flew, operated 8 hours, flew back, walked dogs twice today, etc....) I didn't have any real time in Salt Lake, but I stepped outside of the office to shoot a few photos of the snow (which is everywhere). Hope you enjoy...