1-31-13

Martin: Bendigo Gold mine.

Me: Had breakfast at the Mission cafe followed by a short walk on the beach. We're all staying at Tim's place (he's far left) which is located on Mission Bay. Such a beautiful home!

 Then we were off for our 60 mile bike ride along the coast.

 Sunny in the 60's with a view forever.

 Cheesy pic but we were having that kind of day. Fun!

1-30-13

Martin: Walk in the morning at Nug Nug on our last day there.

Me: Driving to San Diego.

 We'll be at Mission Bay for the next four days with several friends. Great rides planned along the coast and up Mt. Palomar. Looking forward to time on the bike and the beach!

1-29-13

Martin: Driving back to Nug Nug after panning.

Me: Our China Book!

Soon after our return from China my sis-in-law put together an incredible book (via internet) of photos she took along with a description of each day's activities. The book is about 12x12 with 70 pages of beautiful photographs. Thanks, M for doing this! We love having it on our coffee table to remember our grand adventure in China!

1-28-13

Martin: Outside of Bright - we took the wrong back road but still a nice area

Me: Rainy day hike.

1-27-13

Martin: Town of Mount Beauty in the valley below.

Me: More rain this morning followed by a rainbow.

Harley and I are headed to the airport now to pick up Bob. Yay!

PS: Bob's first week of training with American Airlines went well. He found out he'll be flying the 737 and based out of Florida. He'll be home now until February 11th when he goes back to Dallas for 4 more weeks of training. Glad he gets to be home for a bit!

1-26-13

Martin: View from Tawonga Gap

Me: It rained ALL day.
Stayed inside except for one wet walk with Harley.
We liked it!

1-25-13

Martin: Lottie in the river. Kept us company where ever we went.

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Part 3 of Vegas with my sis ...

Me: Have you seen the TV show Pawn Stars? The shop featured is in Las Vegas and Bob gave me two silver dollars to try and sell there.

The shop isn't very big and there was a line out the door of tourists waiting to check out the store. Luckily it didn't take long to get in and we had a good time browsing the different items.

Then I went to the sales counter and showed my 2 coins. They offered $20 for each coin: SOLD! It was a bit more than we thought they'd pay and it was fun to sell something there.

Earlier in the day we came across this sweet girl playing the didgeridoo. I bought a hat and souvenir shirt that she made. I wore the hat the rest of our trip.

Show time! Terry Fator the ventriloquist was fantastic!!! He's already a great singer but then throws his voice through his puppet characters. The range of songs his puppets perform is amazing! Carol and I highly recommend this show; funny, clean, and talent galore.

After the show we went straight to the chocolate shop in Ceaser's Palace that we had discovered earlier in the day. We split a salted caramel chocolate shake. Mmmm.

Took some silly photos. :-)

And then off to Freemont Street which is a throw back to old Las Vegas with casinos like The Golden Nugget.

There were street vendors, musicians and we saw Elvis!

After seeing the lights of Freemont Street we returned to our hotel to hit the hay. That was one fun filled day in Vegas! :-)

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Thursday, January 24th

 On our way out of town Carol and I stopped at Mandalay Bay to see the shark exhitbit. It wasn't open yet so we had their breakfast buffet instead. OH MY...did we eat everything! Eggs, bacon, pancakes, oatmeal, bagels, cheese, sausage, pecan sticky rolls, bread pudding, cake and ice cream. We couldn't help ourselves...it was all so good.

Lastly - were we big winners in Vegas?! Well yes, I turned my 1 dollar bill into $5 on this panda slot machine. I was certain the panda would be good luck and he was (just didn't dare bet any more). The first day I lost a $1.00 at a slot machine so my total trip winnings: $3.00. Woo hoo! We had hoped to play a little Bingo (a game we thought we could handle) but it never worked out. Maybe next time.

So happy my sister, Carol could join me for 24 hours in Vegas. Fun to hang out, see a show and sight see.

1-24-13

Martin: One of the paddocks at Nug Nug.

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Me: Yesterday continued...

We walked through The Mirage and did a little shopping. I bought a Beatles t-shirt from "LOVE Cirque du Soleil". Bob and I saw that show 2 years ago and it was great.

Then Ceaser's Palace. Cool statues and sky.

The Bellagio lobby has this gorgeous ceiling made of glass flowers.

The Bellagio also had an impressive Chinese display with a huge money tree!

Snake, bamboo, lanterns and red sails on a ship.

Children dressed in colorful outfits made of flowers.

This is my kind of dragon (at the Aria hotel)...made entirely of chocolate and surrounded by white sugar flowers. Mmmm.

 Had lunch at Mon Ami Gabi, a Paris hotel restaurant. Delicious oysters, onion soup and fun to place to people watch.

While Carol took a nap, I went to the top of the Stratosphere where they have an indoor viewing deck.

And some crazy rides dangling you over the city.

Awesome view of Las Vegas from the outside top deck!

At 5 o'clock I headed back to The Palace Station to get ready for the show. More on that, the famous pawn shop and Freemont street tomorrow - part 3 of 24 hrs in Vegas. My sister and I are having a blast!

1-23-13

Martin: Ruth couldn't resist feeding a carrot to the horse next to our unit.

Me: While the rest of Las Vegas was sleeping Carol and I got up to see the sunrise over the strip. It was gorgeous!

Then our whirlwind tour began...

We drove the strip (piece of cake at 7am), windows down and gawking at the lights.

New York New York

Paris

Then we toured inside the hotels - lobbys, shops and casinos. Enjoyed walking the quaint streets in Paris with cute pastry shops, cafes and street lights. How cool is that fake sky?!

 Next we visited the Venetian where Faith Hill and Tim McGraw will be performing this weekend. That's a concert I would like to see.

The Venetian was really neat.

No crowds made for the best sight seeing.

It actually felt like we were in Venice! Lovely.

Next the Palazzo Hotel with Chinese lanterns hanging everywhere.

I'm in a rut with yoga poses. :-)

The Palazzo and many of the casinos were featuring a Chinese New Year's theme. Amazing displays of colorful flowers and spectacular dragons.

The Wynn hotel celebrating the year of the dragon.

Love these fresh flower balls hanging from the trees.

Giant umbrellas in the Wynn lobby.

Then we crossed the street to visit The Mirage, Ceaser's Palace, Bellagio and Aria.
More photos to come of those hotel displays and our 24 hours in Vegas!